Ai 


^1 


%. 


•Tk. 


V^.  -T- 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0     !f 


I.I 


1.25 


''  iillM 

50 


111 


US 


140 


M 

IIIM 

1 2.0 

1.8 


14.  ill  1.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


\ 


^^ 


N> 


'^ 


\ 


^1? 


-X^ 


0 


& 


C/j 


16 


CIHM/ICMH 

Micirofiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  canadion  ue  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  thn  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographicatly  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


□    Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommag^e 

[      j    Cove's  restored  and/or  laminated/ 


Couverture  restaurie  at/ou  peUiculde 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  giographiqnas  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  da  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reiid  avec  d'autres  documents 


D 


D 


D 


Tight  binding  may  causa  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

Lareliure  serree  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  da  la 
distorsion  le  iong  de  la  marge  interieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  dtait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  iti  filmies. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentairas  suppldmentaires; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  ete  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-^tre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bihiiographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reprodcjite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 


I      I    Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 


n    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurees  et/ou  pelliculdes 

0    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  ddcolordes,  tachet^es  ou  oiauei 


tachet^es  ou  piquees 


□    Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ddtachees 

0Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


□    Quality  of  print 
Quality  in^gale 


varies/ 
n^gale  de  I'impression 


I      I    includes  supplementary  material/ 


Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 

idition  available/ 
Edition  disponible 


□    Only  edition  available/ 
Seule 


n 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure. 
etc..  cnt  it6  film^es  i  nouveau  de  facon  a 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 
Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessoua. 
10X  14X 


18X 


22X 


26X 


30X 


12X 


16X 


y 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  filmed  hare  has  bean  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

McLennan  Library 
McGill  University 
iVIontreal 

The  images  appearing  her?  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  lagibilir; 
of  the  original  cc.py  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —^(meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

I\1aps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exempiaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
g6n4rosit6  de: 

McLennan  Librarv 
McGill  University 
Montreal 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  §t6  reproduites  avec  ie 
plus  grand  soin.  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettet«  de  l'exempiaire  fiim«,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exen-.plaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimte  sont  filmte  en  commenqant 
par  ie  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  !a 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  ie  second 
plat,  salon  Ie  cas.  Tous  les  autres  oxemplaires 
origiriaux  sont  filmte  en  commenqant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  Ie 
caa:  Ie  symbols  — »►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  Ie 
symbols  T  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  *tre 
filmte  A  des  taux  de  rMuction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  Ie  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
repruduit  en  un  aeui  ciich«.  il  eat  filmi  A  partir 
do  I'angie  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  baa,  en  prsnant  ie  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire.  Les  diagrammea  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithoda. 


1  2  3 


f 


M 


SOM] 


HISTORY 


PIONEER  SETTLEMENT 


or 


mm  m  mmi  numi 


AND 


MOERIS'  RESERVE; 

KMBEACINO  THE  COUNTIES  OF 

OF  ORLEANS.  GENESEE  AND  WyOMIN^ 


TO  -nrHICII   IS  ADDED,  A   SUPPLEMENT 


',   OR  EXTENSION  OF  TOE  PIONKKK  UISTOEY  OP 

MONROE  COUNTY. 


THE   WHOLE  PRECEDED  BT 
SOME  ACCOUNT    OF    FREXrn     *Mn    ..«„, 


SENEOAS-WITH    "a    GLANCE    AT 


THE    IROQUOIS." 


Ik 


BY  0.  TURNER. 

[AUTHOR  OF  THE   "hiSTORV  OF  THE   HOLLAND  PURCHASE."] 


,.,»-*^*..*jB  ^ 


^     ai'     BIT      WILLIAM  .ALtlNG. 


1861. 


34316 


^ 


> 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851,  by  Wir.  Alling,  in  tlie  Clerk's 
Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Northern  District  of  New  York. 


Stereotyped  by 
J.  w.  nuowjf,  Rocliester. 

rniNTEn  by  lee,  maxn  &  oo., 
Rochester,  JV.  Y, 


TO   THE  " 

SURVIVING  PIONEERS 

AHQ    THS 

DESCENDANTS   OP   PIONEERS 

or 

PHELPS  AND  aOEHAM'S  PURCHASE, 

AND 

MORRIS'    RESERVE, 

THIS  -WORK  18  EESPKCTFDLly   DEDICATED:— 

To  the  first,  —  as  a  feeble  tribute,  a  moiety  of  what  is  their  due,  for  the 
ph3,sical  and  moral  triumphs  they  have  won  through  long  early  years  of  toil, 
privation  and  endurance.     In  view  of  the  brief  space  allotted  to  man  by  an 
All  Wise   Providence,  as   an  average  existence  —  (uo   more   than  thirty 
fleeting  yeara  constituting  a  generation)  —  you  live  to  be  the  witnesses  of 
more  than  it  is  often  given  to  man  to  see.    The  wilderness  you  entered  in  your 
youths  — some  of  you  in  middle  age  — you  have  lived  to  see  not  only 
"blossom  as  the  rose,"  but  to  bear  its  matured  and  ripened  fruit.    ^Vhere 
you  have  followed  the  trails  of  your  immediate  predecessors  —  the  Seneca 
Iroquois  --  or  your  own  woods  paths,  are  Canals,  Rail  Roads  and  Telegraphs. 
A  long  line  of  internal  navigation  —  an  artificial  River  — bearing  upon  its 
bosom  the  products  of  your  own  subdued,  teeming  soil,  and  continuous  fleets, 
laden  with  the  products  of  an  Empire,  that  has  sprung  up  around  the  bor- 
ders of  our  Western  Lakes  — winds  along  through  vallies  that  you  have  seen 
but  the  abodes  of  wild  beasts;    from  whose  depths  you  have  heard  in  your 
log  cabins,  the  terrific  howl  of  the  famishing  wolf  !     Aqueducts,  structures 
that  the  architects  of  the  old  worid  might  take  for  models,  span  the  streams  you 
have  often  forded,  and  over  wliich  you  have  helped  to  throw  primitive  log 
bridges.     And  upon  these  Lakes,  whose  commerce  you  have  seen  to  consist 
of  a  few  batteaux,  lazily  coasting  along  near  shore,  putting  into  bays  and  inlets, 
whenever  the  elements  were  disturbed  —  are  fleets  of  sail  vessels,  and  "float- 
ing palaces,"  propelled  by  a  mighty  agent,   whose  powers  were   but  little 
known  when  you  began  to  wield  the  axe  in  the  forests  of  the  Genesee  coun- 
try.    A  subtle  agent  was  occasionally  fljishing  in  the  dark  forests,  indicating 
its  power  by  scathing  and  levelling  its  taU  trees;  then  but  partiaUy  subdued 
to  man's  use;  now  tamed,  hai^essed,  control' 3d;  traversing  those  wirea  and 
bringing  the  extremes  of  this  extended  Union  to  hold  convene  mth  each 
other  with  the  "rapidity  of  thought,"— more  than  realizing  the  boasts  of 
the  spirit  of  the  poet's  imagination,  who  would 

'•  Put  a  girdle  'round  the  Earth  in  thirty  minutes  !" 


IV 


DEDICATION. 


I 


Villages,  cities,  institutions  of  religion  and  learning,  are  upon  sites  where 
you  have,  seen  the  dark  shades  of  the  forest  rest  wi.h  a  profound  stillness, 
that  you  could  hardly  have  expected  to  see  disturbed  by  the  hand  of  improve- 
ment. But  more  than  all  this,  you  have  lived  to  see  an  extended  region  of 
wilderness  converted  inlx>  fruitful  fields ;  a  landscape  every  where  interspersed 
with  comfortable,  often  luxurious,  fai-m  buildings;  surrounded  by  all  the  evi- 
dences of  substantial,  unsurpassed  prosperity.  Who  else  that  have  planted 
colonies,  founded  settlement*,  have  lived  to  see  such  consummations  ?  Peaceful, 
bloodless,  and  yet  glorious !  The  conquerous  upon  battle  fields  have  been 
destroyei-s;  you,  creatore;  they,  have  made  fields  desolate;  you,  have  clothed 
them  with  smiUng promise  and  full  fruition.  The)',  have  brought  mourning; 
you,  rejoicing.  Theirs,  was  the  physical  courage  of  a  day,  perhaps  of  a  for- 
tunate hour;  youi-s,  was  the  higher  and  nobler  attribute  —  the  moral  courage 
—  the  spirit  of  endurance  and  perseverance,  that  held  out  through  long  years 
of  sufiering  and  privation ;  that  looked  dangers  and  difficulties  in  the  face, 
till  they  became  famiUar  associates.  In  the  retrospect  of  well-spent  lives  — 
in  view  of  the  consummation  of  the  great  work  of  civilization  and  improve- 
ment, you  have  helped  to  commence  and  carry  on  —  now  that  the  shades  of 
evening  are  gathering  around  you  —  now  that  you  are  admonished  that  your 
work  upon  earth  is  done  —  well  may  you  say :  —  "  Now  Lord  lettest  thou 
thy  servant  depart  in  peace.^'' 

To  the  second,  —  as  the  inheritors  of  a  rich  legacy,  the  fruits  of  the 
achievments,  of  the  long  years  of  enterj^rise,  toil,  fortitude  and  perseverance, 
of  those  Pioneer  Fathers;  the  conservatoi-s  of  their  memories.  Honors,  titles, 
stars  and  garters,  such  as  kings  may  bestow,  are  baubles  compared  with  what 
they  have  bequeathed !  Far  most  of  them  breaking  out  from  their  quiet 
New  England  homes,  in  youth,  and  strength,  went  firet  to  the  battle  field, 
where  it  was  the  strong  against  the  wealc,  the  oppressor  against  the  oppressed, 
and  helped  to  win  a  glorious  national  inheritance ;  then,  after  a  short  respite, 
came  to  this  primitive  region,  and  won  a  local  inheritance  for  you,  fair  and 
fertile,  as  rich  in  all  the  elements  of  prosperity  and  happiness,  as  any  that 
the  sun  of  Heaven  shines  upon !  Guard  the  trust  in  a  spirit  of  gratitude  ; 
cherish  the  memories  of  the  Pioneers ;  imitate  their  stern  virtues ;  preserAc 
and  carry  on  the  work  they  have  so  well  begun ! 

And  both  will  accept  this  tribute,  from  the  son  of  a  Pioneer  —  one  "  who 
was  to  the  manor  bom," —  who  has  essayed  to  snatch  from  fading  memories, 
gather  from  imperfect  records,  and  preserve  these  local  Reminiscences ;  —  and 
who,  most  of  all  regrets,  that  in  the  execution  of  the  task,  he  has  not  been  able 
to  recognize  more  of  the  names  and  the  deeds  of  the  Found  eus  of  settle- 
ments IN  THE  Genesee  Country.  The  Author. 


I' 

i 


ODE. 

IN  C01IMEM0HATI0.V  OF  THE  FIRST  SETTLIMENT  OF  WESTBEM  NEW-YORK. 


[by  W.  H.  0.  H081IKE,  ESQ.] 

High  was  the  homage  Senates  paid 
To  the  plumed  Conquerors  of  old, 

And  freely,  at  tlieir  feet  were  laid. 
Rich  piles  of  flasliiiig  gems  and  gold. 

Proud  History  exliaustod  thought, 

Glad  bards  awoke  their  vocal  reeds; 
"VVliile  Pliidian  hands  the  marble  wrought 

In  honor  of  their  wondrous  deeds : 
But  our  undaunted  Pioneers 

Have  conquests  more  enduring  won. 
In  scattering  the  night  of  years. 

And  opening  forests  to  the  sun  ; 

And  victors  are  tliey  nobler  far 
Than  tlie  helmed  cliiefs  of  other  times. 

Who  rolled  their  chariots  of  war, 
To  foreign  lands,  and  distant  climes. 

Earth  groaned  beneath  their  mail-clad  men. 
Bereft  of  greenness  where  they  trod. 

And  wildly  rose,  from  hill  and  glen, 
Loud,  agonizing  shrieks  to  God. 

Pur%'eyors  of  the  carrion  bird 

Blood  streamed  from  their  uplifted  hands. 
And  wliile  the  crash  of  States  was  heard. 

Passed  on  their  desolating  hordes. 

Then  tell  me  not  of  heroes  fled  — 
Crime,  renders  foal  their  boasted  fame. 

While  widowed  ones  and  orphans  bled. 
They  earned  the  pAantom  of  a  name. 

The  sons  of  our  New  England  Sires, 

Armed  with  endurance,  dared  to  roam 
Far  from  the  hospitable  fi  es. 

And  the  bright,  hallowed  bowers  of  Home. 
The  storm  tliey  met  with  bosoms  bared. 

And  bloodless  triumphs  bought  by  toil ; 
The  wild  boast  from  liis  cavern  scared. 

And  clothed  in  bloom  the  virgin  soil. 


VI 


ODE. 


Distemper  leagued  with  famines  wan, 
Ncned  to  a  high  resolve,  tlioy  bore ; 

And  flocks,  upon  the  thymy  lawn, 
Eanged  where  the  panther  yelled  before. 

Look  now  abroad  !  the  scene  how  changed, 

Wliere  fifty  fleeting  years  ago 
Clad  in  their  savage  costume  ranged. 

The  belted  lords  of  shaft  and  bow. 

In  praise  of  pomp  let  fawning  Art 
Carve  rocks  to  triumjjh  over  years, 

The  grateful  incense  of  the  heart 
Give  to  our  living  Pioneees. 

Almighty  I  may  thine  out-sti-etched  arm 
Guard  through  long  ages,  yet  to  be, 

From  tread  of  slave,  and  kingly  harm. 
Oca  Eden  of  the  Geneske. 


ERRATA. 

Page  131  —  arta  of  peace,  instead  of  "  acts." 

Page  151— read  sister  instead  of  "  daughter  of  Zachariah  Seymour." 
Page  174— in  note—  Judge  Taylor,  should  be  in  place  of  "Judge Wells. " 
Two  references  whicJi  belong  to  ])age  325  are  earned  over  to  page  326. 
Page  483  —  Shay's  Rebellion  — "  General  order" —  ilate  sliould  have  been  1786. 
Page  314  —  8th  line,  "  after,"  should  precede  "his  appointment." 
Page  416  —  9th  line  $200  instead  of  $2,00." 

Page  597— 15tli  Une,  receipts  of  Rochester  P,  0.,  should  be  as  iu  a  few  lines  above, 
:3,4b,  instead  of  "|34G." 


ii 

E 


V 


.*.*>^*t*-':*^*i>^^ 


'^. 


'hJ^'o,:        ■  :^•■^ 


-^^^ 


PREFACE. 


I  ^  ^  f  '  f  ""^'in^ed  nearly  one  year  since,  the  publication  of  which  has  been 
f£'rtt\^^°''^  tt«F°'ni«cd  period,  owing  to  causes  unforBecn - princiLly  to 
the  fact  that  it  is  of  greater  magiiitude,  and  has  fnvolved  a  fur  greater  amount  o?£e 
labor  and  research  than  was  anticii.ated  -  is  now  presented  to  the  public  ' 

1  lie  general  plan  of  it  will  hanfly  be  misunderstood  by  its  readers  :  —  It  is  a  his- 
tory  of  the  Pioneer,  or  first  set. xement,  of  that  portion  of  the  Genesee  Country  em- 
braced m  the  purchiise  of  Oliver  Phelps  and  Nathaniel  Gorham  of  the  State  of  M:^I 
sachusetto  and  the  Seneca  Indians,  and  of  that  portion  purchased  by  Robert  Morri. 
J^hth  '"""^^  "I  H' •  "^A"  V^^  ^""""^  Company.    *rho  boundaries  of  the Sn 
f!?™l  ^V-'^If  ^"'^  "!  "'"  ^'^}''  P''^'''  «'"'  '-^^^  "'""^  '^le-'irfy  '''^fin^'d  in  the  body  of 
w  y    \r  ^V-?  ^''^  ?'^^™'  ''"'^  "'"'^^y  t^»°  "lie  half  of  what  constitutes,  pro,)erly 
Western  New  York  ;  its  eastern  boundary  being  the  Massachusetts  hue  of  pre-em  Sn' 
fr«.„<f  X"     <=«™"''^»'=e8  with  the  advent  of  the  French  upon  the  St  Lawrence,  and 
traces  their  progress  to  this  region,  and  along  the  shores  o/  the  Western  Lakes  to  the 
smrFrench'do!^nfon'*^'^°"^"^"'^  *^°  prominent  events  that  foUowed  under  English 
Enough  of  colonial  history  has  been  embraced  —  that  which  tended  in  the  direction 
ot  our  local  region  — to  make  such  an  induction  to  the  main  design  of  the  work  as 
l^n  5 1'''"!'^  *T?  ""^°1^«»  '=\«"'k  «>•  chronology  of  events,  commencing  wiUi  the 
lanchng  of  the  French  upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  continued  through  the  period  of 
Wfl'i'  r"^  English  occupancy     As  all  this  wa.s  but  incidental,  it  has  been,  geuemUy. 
bnefly  disposed  of,  for  tlie  author  w.-is  admonished  tliat  his  space  would  berequirt>d 
when  he  had  entered  upon  a  less  beaten  track.    Yet  he  may  venture  to  anticipate  that 
even  Jie  s  udent  of  history,  will  find  sometliing  of  interest  in  this  precedent  portion 
of  the  work;  for  It  IS  not  wholly  an  explored  leld,  and  each  new  gleaner  may  bring 
something  from  it  to  add  to  the  common  stock  of  historical  knowledge 
ti,:  iTf  the  original  design  of  the  author  to  incorporate  in  the  work,  something  of 
the  history  of  our  immediate  predecessors,  the  Senecas.    It  was  mainly  abandoned 
however  on  learning  tiiat  a  local  author,  quite  competent  for  the  task,  (as  his  now 
Dublished  work  bears  witnes.s,)  was  preparing  for  the  press,  a  work  which  would  em- 
.nT  'Til    of  Interest  in  their  liistory.*    Much  of  them,  however,  will  be  found 
scattered  throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  work,  and  a  separate  chapter  is  appropriated 
to  them,  from  the  pen  of  a  native,  and  resident  of  the  Geneseo  Valfey  _  a  scholar  and 
a  poet,  whose  famejias  gone  out  far  beyond  our  local  region,  and  conferred  credit  upoa 
Its  literature.t    It;^  See  chapter  II,  Part  L  uvii^muupou 

The  colonial  period  passetl,  —  the  local  events  of  the  Revolution  briefly  disposed 
ol;  — Indian  treaties  commencing  under  tiie  administration  of  George  Clixton  — 
the  almost  interminable  difficulties  in  which  the  State,  and  individual  purchasers 
were  involved  in  with  the  Lessees,  —  the  slow  advance  of  settlement  in  tliis  direc- 
ri'^.l^T'"'*'  ^""["Jf  ts  next  ;,n  order.  Much  of  all  this  has  been  drawn  from  authentic 
records,  and  did  not  previously  exist  in  any  connected  printed  record. 

1  he  mam  subject  reached  -  settlement  of  the  Genesee  country  commenced -a 
general  plan  of  nan-ative,  somewhat  novel  in  its  character  was  adopted  :  — History 
ana  briet  personal  Biography,  have  been  in  a  great  measure  blended.  This  has  vastiv 
increased  the  labor  of  the  work,  but  it  is  hoped  it  wiU  be  found  to  have  added  to  ite 
uiterest  It  will  readily  oe  inferred  that  it  involved  the  necessity  of  selectin.'  the 
most  prominent  of  thr-  Pioneers  in  each  locaUty  —  those  with  whom  could  be  blended 
most  oi  the  Pioneer  events.  In  almost  every  locality  there  ^aa  been  regretted  omis- 
sions ;  a  failure  to  recognize  all  who  should  have  been  noticed.  This  has  been  pai-^ly 
the  result  of  necessity,  but  oftener  the  neglect  of  those  who  had  promised  to  furnish 
the  required  information.  While  tiie  work  contains  more  of  names  and  sketches  of 
personal  history,  tiiau  are  to  be  found  in  any  other  local  annals  that  have  been  pub- 
lished  in  our  countiy,  there  are  hundreds  of  Pioneer  names  reluctantly  omitted. 

•  "  League  of  the.Iroquois,"  by  Lewis  H.  Morgan,  Esq.,  of  Eochegter. 
1 W,  H.  C.  Hosmer,  Esq.,  of  Avon. 


vm 


PREFACE. 


In  a. 1  that  relates  to  early  difficulties  with  the  Indians  ;  to  tliroatened  renewals  of 
the  Border  Wars,  after  the  settlement  of  Uie  country  commenced,  the  author  lias  been 
fortunate  in  the  possession  of  authentic  records,  hitlierto  neglected,  which  gives  to 
the  subjects  a  new  and  enhanced  interest.  The  accounts  of  the  treaties  of  Messrs. 
PicKERiNfi  and  CiiAriN,  with  the  Indians,  arc  mostly  derived  from  official  coiTespon- 
dence ;  while  most  of  what  relates  to  the  councils  held  with  them  to  obtain  land  ces- 
Hions  west  of  tlie  Seneca  Lake,  are  derived  from  the  manuscripts  of  Oliver  Phelps 
and  Thomas  Morns,  the  principal  actors  in  the  scenes. 

The  autlior  cannot  but  coaclude,  tliat  poorly  as  the  task  may  have  been  executed, 
It  hafl  been  undertaken  at  a  fortunate  period.  More  than  one  half  of  this  volume  is 
made  up  from  the  reminiscences,  the  fading  memories,  of  the  living  actors  in  the 
scenes  descnlxid  and  tho  cvent.s  related.  No  le.ss  tlian  nino,  wlio,  iviihin  tlie  last  ten 
months,  have  rendered  in  this  way,  essential  senico,  -  ^vithout  whoso  assistance  the 
■work  must  have  been  far  more  imperfect  --  are  either  in  their  graves,  or  their  memories 
are  wholly  impaired. 

The  thanks  of  the  author  are  especially  duo  to  Henry  O'Rielly,  for  the  use  of  val- 
uable papers  collected  with  reference  to  continuuig  some  historical  researches,  ho  had 
so  weU  commenced ;  to  James  H.  Woods,  for  the  use  of  papers  of  Chas.  Williamsox  ; 
to  Oliver  Phelps  and  James  S.  Wadswohtu,  for  the  use  of  papers  in  their  possession, 
as  tlio  representativea  of  Oliver  Phelps  and  James  Wadsworth  ;  to  Johx  Grkio  and 
JosEPul'ELLOWsfor  accoss  to  papers  in  their  respective  land  offices;  and  especially 
to  tho  former,  for  the  essential  materials  in  his  possession  as  tlie  representative  of 
Israel  Chapih,  and  his  son  and  successor,  Isbael  Cuapin  ;  to  tlie  managers  of  the 
Rochester  Athameum,  for  free  access  to  their  valuable  Lii^ary  ;  to  0.  C.  Clarke,  of 
Albany,  and  S.  B.  B>jckley,  of  Yates,  for  valuable  contributions;  to  numerous  ther 
individuals,  most  of  wliom  are  indicated  in  the  body  of  the  work.  And  to  Lee  Mann 
&  Co.,  the  Printers,  and  Wm.  Alling,  the  PubUsher,  for  their  liberal  terms'  and  the 
business  accommodation  with  which  they  have  aided  the  enterprise. 

taf  The  manner  of  pubhshing  is  a  n.aterial  departure  from  the  original  intention. 
Instead  of  pubhshing  one  work,  there  wiU  be  four.  This  is  the  first  of  tlie  series. 
1  hose  that  wiU  follow  in  order—  (and  in  rapid  succession  if  no  unforeseen  difficulties 
occur)  — will  be:  — P. and  G.  Purchase  —  Livingston  and  Allegany;  — P.  and  G. 
P. -Ontario  and  Yates ;- P.  and  G.  P. -Wayne.  In  this  plan  it  is  confidently 
behevod  the  interests  of  Author,  Publisher  and  Purchaser,  will  he  made  to  harmonize, 
it  obviates  the  necessity  of  a  large  work  of  two  volumes,  and  a  high  price,  fatal  to  that 
general  sale  that  a  loeal  work  must  have,  within  its  scope,  to  remunerate  the  labor  of 
Its  preparation  and  defray  the  necessary  expenses  attending  it.  While  the  citizens  of 
Monroe,  for  instance,  will  have  all  the  general  history  of  Phelps  and  Gorham's 
Purchase,  i.nd  Morris'  Keserve  —  493  octavo  pages  —  brought  down  to  a  late  Pioneer 
period ;  they  will  not  be  under  the  necessity  of  purchasing  at  an  an  enhanced  price, 
the  mere  local  history  of  other  counties.  The  only  alteration  there  will  ^le  in  the  main 
body  of  tho  work,  m  the  subsequent  volumes  announced,  will  be<he  correction  of 
any  material  errors  that  are  discovered;  but  there  will  be  in  each  one  of  them  the 
' Supplenient,"  or  "Extension,"  of  the  Pioneer  history  of  the  counties,  as  in  this  in- 
stance —  Monroe. 

The  historical  works  which  have  been  essential  to  the  author's  purposes,  other  than 
those  duly  credited,  are :  —Conquest  of  Canada,  Travels  of  the  Duke  De  la  Roche- 
foucault  Liancourt,  Mary  Jomison  or  the  White  Woman,  History  of  Schoharie  His- 
tory of  Onondaga,  History  of  Rochester.  ' 

B^  There  are  no  illustrations  :  —  partly  because  the  are  not  essential  to  liistorv 
but  mamly  because  they  enhance  the  cost  beyond  wiiat  the  sa'.s  of  any  local  work 
will  warrant.  Ihe  leading  object  ha.s  been  in  the  mechanical  execution  of  the  work 
to  furnish  a  large  amount  of  reading  matter,  in  a  plain,  neat  and  substantial  manner  at 
^  ^iSl.T'^^'.TrJ^    ,     ^^'i^C'*''  ^*  "^^^^  probably  be  conceded,  has  been  accomplished. 

1^  It  will  be  observed,  that  little  is  said  of  the  early  history  of  Steuben  In  an 
early  stage  of  the  preparation  of  the  wor'-  the  author  was  apprised  that  a  local  histo- 
ry  oi  that  county,  was  preparing  for  the  press. 

|lt«~Errors  in  names,  in  lates,  in  facts,  wDl  undoubtedly  be  discovered  De- 
pending upon  memories  often  infirm,  one  disagreeing  with  another,  labor,  weeks  and 
months  of  careful  research,  could  not  wholly  guard  against  them.  O"  With  reference 
to  the  future  enterprises  announced,  the  author  will  be  thankful  for  any  corrections 
that  may  be  commumcated  to  him  personally,  or  through  the  mails. 


h< 


PART  FIRST. 


CHAPTER    I. 


BEIEF   NOTICES    OP    EARLY    COLONIZATION. 


It  was  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years  after  ihe  discovery  of 
America  by  Columbus,  before  the  occupancy  of  our  race  was  tend- 
ing in  this  direction,  and  Europeans  had  made  a  permanent  stand 
upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  under  the  auspices  of  France  and  Cham- 
plain.  In  all  that  time,  there  had  been  but  occasional  expeditions 
to  our  northern  Atlantic  const,  of  discovery,  exploration,  and 
occasional  brief  occupancy ;  but  no  overt  act  of  possession  and 
dominion.  The  advent  of  Chamfllain,  the  founding  of  Quebec,  from 
which  events  we  date  French  colonization  in  America,  was  in  160S. 
One  year  previous,  in  1607,  an  English  expedition  had  entered  the 
Chesapeake  Bay  and  founded  Jamestown,  the  oldest  En^'^lish  settle- 
ment in  America.  In  1009,  Henry  Hudson,  an  Englishman,  in  the 
employ  of  the  East  India  Company  of  Holland,  entered  the  bay 
of  the  river  that  bears  his  name,  and  sailed  up  the  river  as  far  as 
Albany.  In  1621,  permanent  Dutch  colonization  commenced  at 
New- York  and  Albany.  In  1620  the  first  English  colonists  com- 
menced the  permanent  occupancy  of  New  England  at  Plymouth. 

In  tracing  the  advent  of  our  race  to  our  local  region,  French 
colonization  and  occupancy,  must  necessarily,  take  precedence. 
Western  New- York,  from  an  early  period  after  the  arrival  of  Cham- 
plain  upon  the  St.  Law.ence,  —  until  1759,  —  for  almost  a  century 
and  a  haU'  formed  a  portion  of  French  Canada,  or  in  a  more  ex- 
tended geographical  designation,  of  New  France. 

France,  by  priority  of  discovery,  by  navigators  s&iling  under  her 
flag,  and  commissioned  by  her  King,  in  an  early  period  of  partition 
among  the  nations  of  Europe,  claimed  the  St.  Lawrence  and  its 
tributary  waters  and  all  contiguous  territory,  as  her  part  of  the  New 
World.    Setting  at  defiance,  as  did  England  the  papal  bull  of  Pope 


10 


PHELPS   AND    GORHAM's    PURCHASE. 


Alexander  VI.,  which  conferred  all  of  America,  "its  towns  and 
cities"  included,  upon  Spain  and  Portugal,  her  then  King,  Francis 
I.  entered  vigorously  into  the  national  competition  for  cofonial  pos- 
sessions in  America.  While  the  English  and  Dutch  were  cruizing 
upon  our  southern  and  eastern  coast,s,  entering  th^  bays,  and  mouths 
of  their  rivers,  hesitating  and  vascillating  in  measures  of  permanent 
colonization  ;  and  the  Spaniards  were  making  mixed  advents  of  gold 
huntmg  and  romance,  upon  our  south-western  coast;  the  French 
were  coasting  off  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  unappallod  by 
a  rigorous  climate,  and  rough  and  forbidding  landscapes,  resolvin(r 
upon  colonization  upon  its  banks.  "Touch  and  take,"  was  the 
order  of  the  day ;  with  but  little  knowledge  of  the  value  of  the  vast 
region  that  had  been  discovered,  of  its  capabilities  and  resources, 
but  such  as  had  been  gained  by  navigators  in  a  distant  view  of  the 
coasts,  and  an  occasional  entrance  into  bays  and  rivers  ;  the  splendid 
inheritance  was  parcelled  out,  or  cla'med  by  the  nations  of  Europe, 
as  lightly  and  inconsiderately  as  if  it  had  been  of  little  worth. 

The  subjects  of  France,  as  it  would  now  seem,  when  such  a  vast 
field  had  been  opened  for  possession ;  after  they  had  seen  and  heard 
of  more  promising  and  congenial  regions,  made  but  a  poor  choice 
of  her  share  in  the  New  World.  We  are  left  principally  to  con- 
jecture for  the  explanation  :  First,  the  broad  stream  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence invited  them  to  enter  and  explore  it ;  nc  where  were  Europe- 
ans met  by  the  natives  with  more  friendly  manifestations ;  and  a 
lucrative  trade  soon  added  to  the  inducements.  It  was  a  mighty 
flood  that  they  saw  pouring  into  the  ocean,  with  a  uniformity °that 
convinced  them  of  the  vast  magnitude  and  extent  of  the  region  it 
drained.  Though  ice-bound  for  long  and  dreary  months,  when  spring 
approached,  its  ^fetters  gave  way,  and  on  rolled  its  rushing  tide,  a 
"  swift  witness"  that  it  came  from  congenial  regions  embraced  in 
their  discovery.  Beside,  a  "  shorter  route  to  the  Indies,"  across  this 
continent,  was  one  of  the  prominent  and  early  objects  of  European 
navigators,  following  the  discovery  of  Columbus.  It  was  in  fact,  a 
mam  object,  allied  perhaps  with  visions  of  precious  metals ;— for 
actual  colonization,  was  at  first  but  incidental  to  the  leading  objects.* 


*  Upon  the  shoros  of  the  Clicp.apcnkp,  upon  tho  Hiid«iu  and  St.  Lawrenoi-,  iui-l  in 
the  bays  ot  New  KnKlinul,  tlic  firKt  inlonn;ition  Houirlit  after  by  Eiirop^-an  adventure"* 
ol  the  natives,  throiiij:h  the  niediiini  of  sij^nsjiad  reference  to  the  directions  fronnvhich 
tne  rivers  flowed,  and  tlie  existence  of  precious  nietals. 


I! 


H4 


i 


PHELPS   AND   GOEHAm's    PURCHASE.  H 

It  was  but  a  natural  deduction,  that  the  broad  and  deep  river  they 
had  entered  from  the  ocean,  and  its  tributaries,  were  stretched  out 
in  a  long  line  toward  the  Pacific  coast.* 

The  progress  of  colonization  in  all  the  northern  portion  of  the 
contment,  after  discovery,  was  slow.     What  in  our  age,  and  espe- 
cially  where  our  own  countrymen  are  engaged,  would  be  but  the 
work  of  a  year,  was  then  the  work  of  a  century.     It  was  before  the 
world  had  been  stimulated  by  the  example  of  a  free  government  and 
a  free  people,  unincumbered  by  royal  grants  and  charters,  and  their 
odious  and  paralizing  monopolies.     It  was  before  governments  had 
learned  the  simple  truths  that  some  of  them  are  yet  slow  in  appre- 
ciating  that  the  higher  destinies  of  our  own  race  are  onlv  to  be 
worked  out  in  the  absence  of  shackles  upon  the  mind  and  the  phy- 
s.cal  energies  of  the  governed.     It  was  when  the  good  of  the  few 
was  made  subservient  to  that  of  the  many ;  and  Kings  and  their 
favorites  were  central  orbs  around  which  all  there  was  of  human 
energy,  enterprize  and  adventure,  was  made  to  revolve  as  sattelites. 
Jt  was  when  foreign  wars  and  conquests,  and  civil  wars,  in  which 
the  higher  interests  of  mankind  were  but  little  involved,  wore  divert- 
>ng  the  attention  of  Europe  from  the  pursuits  of  peace,  civilization, 
and  their  extended  sphere.     There  was  no  prophet  to  awake  the 
sleeping  energies  of  the  Old  World  to  an  adequate  conception  of 
the  field  of  promise  that  was  opening  here;-no  one  to  even  fore- 
shadow  all  that  was  hidden  in  the  womb  of  time;  and  had  there 
been,  there  would  have  been  unfolded  to  Kings  and  Potentates, 
little  for  their  encouragement;  but  how  much  to  man,  in  all  his 
noblest  aspirations,  his  looking  forward  to  a  better  time  ' 

When  colonization,  such  as  contemplated  permanent  occupation 
finally  commenced,  it  was  in  a  measure,  simultaneous,  upon  our 
northern  coast..     Two  powerful  competitors  started  in   the  race 


•iH'  idoa  that  ll.rro  \^^^' \n^^t:tu'''^T  t"  buvebeeu  prepossess.,!  witl, 
..et.ml  .liscovery  a  ul  a  qu  So  "^  ''"'  l^^'"""^Satf.l  of  wlmt  in  our  day  is 


12 


PHELPS   AND   GOKHAm's    PURCHASE. 


for  possession  and  dominion  in  America ;  and  a  third  was  awakened 
and  became  a  competitor.     While  as  yet  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  were 
refugees  ni   Germany,   deliberating  as  to  where  should   be  their 
assylum,  appalled  by  all  the  dangers  of  the  ocean  and  an  inhospita- 
ble  dime,  and  at  times  half  resolving  to  go  back  and  brave  the  per- 
secution from  which  they  had  fled;  — while  as  yet  there  was  but 
one  feeble  colony,  upon  all  our  southern  coast,  and  the  rambling 
Do  Soto  and  the  romantic  Ponce  de  Leon  had  been  but  disai)pointed 
adventurers  in  the  south-west;  the  adventurous   Frenchmen  had 
entered  the  St.  Lawrence  and  planted  a  colony  upon  its  banks ; 
had  erected  rude  pallisades  at  Quebec  and  Montreal,   and  were 
making  their   way  by  slow  stages  in  this  direction.     Halting   at 
Kingston,  (Frontenac)  they  struck  off  across  Canada  by  river^and 

inland  lake  navigation  —  carrying  their  bark  canoes  over  portages 

and  reached  Lake  Huron ;  then  on,  amid  hostile  tribes,  until  thev 
had  explored  and  made  missionary  and  trading  stations  upon  Lake's 
Michigan  and  Superior,  the  upper  waters  of  the  JMississippi,  and  the 
Illinois  rivers. 

Jn  all  the  French  expeditions  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  previous  to  that 
of  Champlain,  there  is  little  interest  save  in  those  of  Jaques  Cartier. 
In  his  second  one,  in  1535,  with  three  ships,  and  a  large  number 
of  accompanying  adventurers  he  entered  the  St.   Lawrence  and 
gave  it  its  name  ;  giving  also,   as  he  proceeded  up  the  river,  names 
to  other  localities  which  they  yet  bear.     Arrived  at  the  Island  of 
Orleaas,  he  had  a  friendly  interview  with  the  natives.    In  a  previ- 
ous voyage  he  had  seized  and  carried  to  France,  two  natives,  who,, 
returning  with  him  somewhat  instructed  in  the  French  laniruHge^ 
now  acted  as  his  interpreters,  and  gave  a  favorable  account  to  their 
people  of  those  they  had  been  with,  and  the  country  they  liad  seen. 
Proceeding  on,  he  anchored  for  the  winter,  at  "  Stadacona,"  after- 
wards called  Quebec.     Here  he  v;as  met  by  an  Indian  chief,  Dona- 
cona,  with  a  train  ot  five  hundred  natives  who  welcomed  his  arri- 
val.    The  Indians  giving  Cartier  intimation  that  a  kirtrer  vilhirre 
than  theirs  lay  farther  up  the  river.     With  a  picked  crew  of  thirty- 
five  armed  men  he  a.scended  the  river,  had  friendly  interviews  with 
the  natives  upon  its  banks.     Arriving  at  the  present  site  of  Man. 
treal,  he  found  an  Indian  village  called  Ilochelnga.  which  "stood  in 
the  midst  of  a  great  field  of  Indian  corn,  was  of  a  circular  form, 
containing  about  fifty  large  huts,  each  fifty  paces  long  and  from' 


PJIELPS    AOT)    GORIIAm's    PUECIIASE.  Ig 

iburfeen  to  fifteen  wide,  all  built  in  the  shape  of  tunnels  forned  of 
wood,  and  covered  with  birch  hnrt  •  tl..^      ii  ^  ,'.  '^™^^  ^^ 

seven]  rnnm.         ^^'^^  t^ifch  baik  ,  the  dwellings  were  divided  into 

nres  bu.ned.     Three  rows  of  pallisad-^s  encircled  the  town  with 

th'oirrriTd  r^'"^\'^^ '-''-'''  ^^- '-  wiK>ie  L;:;:' 

the  outc.  nng  of  defence,  there  was  a  gallerv,  approached  by  ili.hts 

resist  attack.   *     The  strangers  were  entertained  with  fetes  and 

to  Jaqucs  Cartier.  who  m  the  simple  minds  of  the  natives  possessed 

some  supernatural  power  over  disease,  which  he  dLc  a:imed       ut 

he  p,ous  adventurer  "read  aloud  part  of  the  Gospel  of  S    John 

and  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  the  sufferers  "  ' 

parting  uuh   ns  newly  acquired  acquaintances  at  Hochela^.      In 
-  absence  the  intense  cold  had  come  upon  his  people  un-TpaJ; 

UK  or  less  allectcd.     The  kind  natives  gave  him  a  remcdv  that 

tfa    IftTT-^  ^'--P^^^^^-P-P-dtoretur^rF;^ 
AS  It  al  of  the  first  mtervievvs  of  our  race  with  the  natives  were  to 
be  signa  ly  marked  by  acts  of  wrong  and  outrage,  as    n  ea mesl  of 
the  whole  catalogue  that  was  to  follow,  under  pretence  "ha    "e|ad 

c  Pt "s  and  tl     ^    '    ^  "/'"^  ^'"  ''"■^^^'  ^«"''^-"'^'  t'^«  fo'-- 

toTk  1^;  t"  I ":  ''^"t',  "'  '""'^'"^  ^'"'"  ^"  ^--^  his  vessels, 

k  ml  t  e  u 'en        T'  ",'?  ^^'"^  '^'^''S^^-''  i^  has  been  said,  by  a 

Kind  tieatment  that  reconciled  them  to  their  flite 

lie  expedition  had  found  no  "gold  nor  silver"  and  for  that  re. 
son  disappointed  their  patron,  the  King,  and  the  peoi  of  F    .ce 

n  ir  ;::^h '  ^^^  ^^'^'^  ^^  ^"^^"-^^^  ^^  a  n-goLi  0^1^.^  t 

Idtl^  ;:;•"'  '^'.^^'-^-hle  repots  of  an  he  had  seen  and 
enou'ho    F  1?      'll  ^^''"^^^"'^.  ««  «oon  as  he  had  acquired 

of  t^  bl  tv  "    \  '    "  '"'f'^^''  "  "^"'"••"«''  «"  ^''at  had  been  said 
otl,  beauty,  richness  and  salubrity  of  his  native  country  "     The 

chief,  however,  sickened  and  died  ^' 

The  next  commission  to  visit  the  new  dominions  of  France,  was 


*  CoiKiucut  of  Canada. 

t  A  decoction  of  tlie  loaf  anu  tlie  bark  of  tJio  fir  tree. 


14 


PHELPS    AND    GORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


I 

Is  i 


granted  to  Jean  Francois  de  la  Roche,  with  Jaques  Cartier  as  his 
second  ni  command.  It  was  formidable  in  its  organization  and 
equipment;  after  a  series  of  disasters :  — the  arrival  of  Cartier, 
upon  his  old  grounds;  a  reconciling  of  the  Indian.^  lo  his  outrage, 
a  winter  of  disease  and  death  among  his  men;  a  failure  of  de°la 
Koche  to  arrive  in  season  ;  it  returned  to  France  to  add  to  a  war  in 
which  she  had  just  then  engaged,  reasons  for  suspending  colonial 
enterprises.  Almost  a  half  century  succeeded  for  French  advents 
to  become  but  a  tradition  upon  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

How  like  a  vision,  in  all  this  time,  must  those  advents  have  seemed 
vvith  the  simple  natives !     A  strange  people,  with  all  that  could  excite 
their  wonder :  —  the'.-  huge  ships,  their  loud  mouthed  cannon,  whose 
sounds  had  reverberated  upon  the  summits  of  their  mountains,  in 
their  vallies,  and  been  re-echoed  from  the  deep  recesses  of  their 
forests ;  with  their  gay  banners,  and  music,  and  all  the  imposing  at- 
tendants of  fleets  sent  out  by  the  proud  monarch  of  a  showy  and 
ostentatious  nation  of  Europe  ;  who  had  addressed  them  in  an  un- 
known tongue,  and  by  signs  and  symbols  awed  them  to  a  contempla- 
tion of  a  Great  Spirit,  other  than  the  terrible  Manitou  of  their  sim- 
pie  creed;  who  had  showed  them  a  "book"  in  which  were  revela- 
tions they  had  neither  "seen  in  the  clouds  nor  heard  in  the  winds;" 
whose  advent  had  been  a  mixed  one  of  conciliation  and  porfid":  — 
who  had  given  them  a  taste  of  "strong  water,"  that  had  steeped 
their  senses  in  forgetfulness,  or  aroused  their  fiercest  passions.     All 
this  had  come  and  gonr-,  began  and  ended,  and  left  behind  it  a  vacu- 
um, of  mingled  wonder,  amazement  and  curiosity;  and  of  darkfore- 
bodmgs  of  evil,  if  there  was  some  kind  spirit,  caring  for  their  future 
destiny,  to  foreshadow  to  them  the  sequel  of  all  they  had  witnessed. 
Would  the  pale  faced  strangers  come  again  ?  —  Would  their  lost  ones 
be   restored  to  reveal  to  them  the  mysteries  of  those  wondrous 
advents;  and  tell  them  of  all  things  they  had  seen  in  that  far  off 
land,  the  home  of  the  strangers  ?     These  were  the  anxious  enquiries, 
the  themes  around  their  council  fires,  in  their  wigwams,  when  they 
held  communion  with  their  pagan  deities,  or  asked  the  moon  and  the 
stars  to  be  the  revelators  of  hidden  things.     One  generation  passed 
away  and  anoth-r  succeeded,  before  the  mysterious  strangers  came. 


T)hUr«,nn  vn  li  ,J  f  ^^  ^'T  r  ""^  ^''^'^'V  tl'e  advents  c?  Cartier  nnd  Clmm- 
fc  mil  ;J  '''I'^l'""  ','«  "1  l"i-'''H'lj  fi^licrmon  and  traders,  Kt'iiendly  coastin-  off  New 
Foundland,  occasionally  entered  the  St.  Lawre.ice  and  traded  with  the  natives 


i 


PlIELl'S    AKD    OOKIIAil's    PUT^CIIASE.  15 

first  to  conciliate  their  favor  by  offering  themselves  as  allies;  then 
to  wrest  from  them  empire  and  dominion. 

The  first  expedition  of  Champlain  was  in  1603  and  '4      The  ac 
counts  of  them  possess  but  little  interest.     In  1G08,  equipped  by  his 
patrons  for  an  expedition,  having  principally  in  view  the  fur  trade,  he 
extended  his  own  views  to  the  addition  of  permanent  colonization 
and  missionary  enterprize.     Arriving  at  Quebec,  he  erected  the  firsi 
±.uropean  tenements  upon  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence      The  In 
dians  with  whom  Cartier  had  cultivated  an  acquaintance,  were  re- 
duced to  a  few  in  number,  by  removal,  famine  and  disease      Re- 
maining at  Quebec  through  a  severe  winter,  relieving  the  neccessi- 
ties  of  the  Indians,  his  own  people  suffering  under  an  attack  of  the 
scurvy,  Champlain  in  1609,  accompanied  by  two  Frenchmen  and 
a  war  party  of  the  natives,  went  up  tlia  St.  Lawrence,  and  struck  off 
to  the  Lake  that  still  bears  his  name.     The  war  party  that  accom- 
panied him.  were  of  the  Algonquins  and  Hurons,  of  Canada,  who  were 
then  at  war  with  the  Iroquois.     Their  object  was  invasion  of  the  Ir- 
oquois country,  and  Champlain,  from  motives  of  policv  had  become 
their  ally.     Upon  the  shores  of  a  lake  to  which  he  ga^'e  the  name  of 
St.  Sacrament-afterwards  called  Lake  George-the  party  met  a 
war  party  of  two  hundred  Iroquois  ;  a  battle  ensued,  the  tide  c^  it  was 
as  uusual,  turning  in  flivor  of  the  wariike  and  almost  every  where 
conquering  Iroquois,  when  Champlain  suddenly  made  his  appearance, 
v.t   his  two  Frenchmen  and  the  first  fire  from  their  arquebuses,  kil- 
led two  of  the  Iroquois  chiefs,  and  wounded  a  third.     The  Iroquois 
dismayed,  as  well  by  the  report  and  terrible  effect  of  new  weapons 
of  war,  as  by  the  appearance  of  those  who  bore  them,  held  out  but 
httle  longer;  fled  m  disorder;  were  pursued,  and  many  of  them  killed 
and  taken  prisoners.     This  was  the  first  battle  cf  which  history  gives 
us  any  account,  in  a  region  where  armies  have  since  often  met - 
And  It  marks  another  era  the  introduction  of  fire  arms  in  battle,"  to 
the  natives,  in  all  the  northern  portion  of  this  continent.     They  had 
now  been  made  acquainted  with  the  two  elements  that  were  destined 

TheltdT't^r^''^'^'"';;  '^^'''"  ^^^  ^^^'^^^  extermination 
They  had  tasted  French  brandy  upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  English  rum 
upon  the  s^iores  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  Du.ch  gin,  up^n  the  ba'k" 
of  he  Hudson.  They  had  seen  the  mighty  engines,  one  of  which 
was  to  conquer  them  in  battle  and  the  other  was  to  conquer  them 
m  peace  councils,  where  cessions  of  their  domains  were  involved 


IG 


PIIELP8    AND   GOKUAM's    PUECHASE. 


Champlain  returned  to  France,  leaving  a  small  colony  at  Quebec- 
was  invited  to  an  audience,  and  had  favor  with  the  Kin-r.  who  be- 
stowed upon  all  this  region,  the  natn^  of  New  Franco.*     Cham- 
plain  visited  his  infant  colony  again  in  KJIO.  and  1013,  recruiting  it, 
and  upon  each  occasion  going  himself  to  battle  with  his  neifriil'rors 
and  allies  against  the  Iroquois.     In  ICloa  company  of  merchants  in 
France,  having  procured  a  charter  from  the  King,  which  embraced 
all  of  French  interests  in  Ni^^v  Trance,  gave  to  Champlain  the  prin- 
cipal direction  of  their  aflliirs.     Having  attende.   to  the  temporal 
affairs  of  the  colony,  the  conversion   of  the  natives,  bv  Catliolic 
missionaries,  engaged  his  attention.     Four  missionaries  of  the  order 
of  Recollcts  were  enlisted.     These  were  the  first  missionaries  in 
Canada,  and  the  first  upon  all  our  Atlantic  coast,  with  the  exception 
of  some  Jesuit  missionaries  that  had  before  reached  Nova  Scotia. 
Leaving  the  large  recruit  of  colonists  he  brought  out  at  Quebec^ 
where  he  found  all  things  had  gone  well  in  his  absence,  the  intrepid  ad- 
venturer, and  soldier  as  he  had  made  himself,  pushed  on  to  Montreal, 
and  joined  again  a  war  party  of  his  Indian  allies,  against  the  Iroquois.' 
The  Iroquois  were  this  time  conquerors.     Defea^t  had  lessened  the 
importance  of  Champlain  in  the  eyes  of  his  Indian  allies,  and  they 
even  refused  him  and  his  few  followers,  a  guide  back  to  Quebec, 
although  he  had   been   wounded.     Remaining  for  the  winter  an 
unwilling  guest  of  his  Indian  allies,  he  improved  his  time,  as  soon  as 
his  wounds  would  allow  of  it,  in  visiting  more  of  the  wild  region  of 
Canada.     In  the  spring  he  returned  to  Quebec,   and  in  July,  to 
France. 

For  several  succeeding  years,  Champlain  visited  and  revisited  the 
colony,  extending  and  strengtheningit;  encountering  vicissitudes  in 
France  consequent  upon  the  breaking  up  and  change  of  proprietor- 
ships ;  his  colony  subjected  to  attacks  from  the  Iroquois  whom  he 


*  OiarlovoLv. 

Jond,  u;vu,,„noy„t  tins  r.-mr,  _  f ).  ]I.  Marshall.  Esq.  „f  HufFal.  —  t,.  asantn      w   "re 

Champ  am  and  lus  In,l,a„  allios  „,va,l..,i  11,,.  (crrilo/v  ,.f  ,ho  Ir„.j,.oi.s.     T    .y  c  "ue 

ac   )..s  tho  1  .uvr  ond  ot  Lake  ()„fari„,  an,!  passinjn  tlnm.frh  what  is  now  .M\wlm2d 

sw,.,^,.  ro,,n1„.s,  cr„ss«l  tJ.o  Onoi,lo  Lak.  luul  attacked  the  0„on,lai,a.s  at  Ih  ■     pHn- 

rxn^lf^    l,f^^  .•  ''!"  """"'•■■'   S'"'"^''  ""  "'iviinta-o  ;  and    Champlain  who 


PHELPS  AND   GORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


17 


had  injudiciously  made  his  implacable  enemies.  Still,  French  colo- 
nization  in  New  France  slowly  progressed,  and  trading  establish- 
ments were  multiplied.  In  1(523  a  stone  Fort  was  erected  at  Quebec 
to  protect  the  colonists  against  the  Iroquois,  and  a  threatened  rndof 
amicable  relations  with  the  Ilurons  and  Algonquins.  In  1G25,  'G, 
the  first  Jesuit  missionaries  came  out  from  France,  among  them  were 
names  with  which  we  become  familiar  in  tracing  the  first  advents  of 
our  race  in  Western  New  York  and  the  region  of  the  Western 
Lakes. 

In  10-27  the  colonization  of  New  France  was  placed  upon  a  new 
fooling,  by  the  organization  of  the  "Company  of  One  Hundred  Asso- 
ciates."    Their  charter  gave  them  a  monopoly  in  New  France,  and 
attempted  to  prothote  ci.ristianization  and  colonization,  both  of  which 
had  been  neglected  by  making  the  fur  trade  a  principal  object.     The 
"Company"  engaged  to  introduce  16,000  settlers  before  1643.— 
Before  the  advent  of  this  new  association,  the  colony  had  become 
but  a  feeble  one ;  the  Indians  had  become  hostile  and  kept  the  French 
confined  to  their  small  settlements,  at  times,  to  their  fortifications. 
Hostilities  having  commenced  between  France  and  England,  the 
first  vessel  sent  out  by  the  Associates  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
English.     An  English  expedition  after  destroying  the  French  trading 
establishment  at  T.idoussac,  on  the  Sagenay,  sent  a  demand  for  the 
surrender  of  Quebec.    Champlain  replied  in  a  manner  so  spirited 
and  determined  as  to  delay  the  accack,  until  the  English  force  was 
increased.     In  July  1629  an  English  fleet  appeared,  and  demanded 
a  surrender  which  Champlain  with  his  reduced  and  feeble  means 
of  resistance  was  obliged  to  obey.     The  terms  of  capitulation  se- 
cured all  private  rights  of  the  French  colonists,  and  most  of  them 
remained.     Champlain,   however,  returned  to  France.     It  was  a 
siege  and  capitulation  in  miniature,  that  after  the  lapse  of  more  than 
a  century,  was  destined  to  be  the  work  of  concentrated  armies  and 
navies,  and  weeks  of  fierce  contest. 

English  possession  was  surrendered  by  treaty  in  1632.  At  the 
period  of  this  small  conquest :— "the  Fort  of  Quebec,  surrounded  by 
a  score  of  hastily  built  dwellmgs  and  barracks,  some  poor  huts  on 
the  Is-land  of  Montreal,  the  like  at  Three  Rivers  and  Tadoussac, 
and  a  few  fishermen's  log  houses  and  huts  on  the  St.  Lawrence, 
wore  the  only  fruits  of  the  discoveries  of  Verrazano,  Jaques  Cartier, 
Roberval  and  Champlain,  and  the  great  outlay  of  La  Roche  and 


\i 


I! 

I'  i 


18 


PHELPS   AND  GORHAM's    PURCHASE. 


a'^LfC''"'  '''  '"'^  '"'  "^"^"Ss  of  their  followers,  fornearly 

of  Ser£n  ''^"'^  ^"  '"''•  ^^"'"^  '^^^^  re-appointed  Governor 

cllTts   and"'.  "'"'       '  '";  """'^  of  Missionary  and  other 
colonists,  and  gave  a  new  impulse  to  colonial  enterprise  •  settle- 

"s  flrmfrat  O  \"r^^"'^  ^^"^^^'  w.thrich'endo«s 
was  tormed  at  Quebec,  for  the  "education  of  youth  andthemnvpr 

the  /ounder  of  French  colonization  in  New  Fiance,  to  whose  perse 
veranee  courage,  and  fortitude,  France  was  indebted  for  lefoo  ' 
hold  she  had  gamed  upon  this  continent,  died,  and  was  "buri  d  in  the' 
oily  of  which  he  was  the  founder."  t 

Montmagny  succeeded   Champlain.     Deprived  of  much  of  the 
patronage  from  the  Associates  that  he  had  reason  to  expect,  the  work 
of  colonization   progressed  but  slowly  during  his  alin  straZn 
winch  continue    until  1047.     Trade,  advanced  settlement      ;„„: 

pr  L  h'ad'a  „'      "r  r''°=""' '"'  "'"'""'^^  ^""^  educa.ionalfn  er- 

w    founded  Th     n'rr""^    ^^"'"^'  "-'Q-bec,a  college 
waslounded.     The  Dutchess  de  Arguillon  founded  the  Hotel  Die^, 
and  Ma  ame  de  la  Pel.rie,  the  convent  of  the  Ursulins     The  las,' 

gio^  ai^i:  T'™?  ™  ""'"'■  "''«'  ''"'■■  ^  ^-"'-  ">  her    e  ' 

n"w  Wnu      .r        P''°P''S"°'- "'  i'-    She  came  hers, '  "to  the 

r,7.  ;r      "  ™^«l"''"^''''™,  accompanied  byUrsulines 

ofLt°rr  r"r?"'"™°"'™"'p'™°-'y-*'thewto;' 

of  Lo«r  Canada.     Such  was  the  eclat  that  attended  the  advent  o^ 
the  noble  patron  and  her  followers,   who  had  left  all  the  refinement" 
ga  ties   and  luxuries  of  France,  to  take  up  their  abode  upon .  ,e  w"  d' 

sTgnatdCa  :  l""  "'"'  "•  ^''™"'=^'  '^'"  ">->  -iv     Z" 
signalized  by  a  public  reception,  with  military  and  religious  observan- 

ma!!'  °"'°''  T^r'  '™""  ""''"  'he  administration  of  Mont- 
Foifthere™'''.  '""""'■'="  "'  Montreal,  and  the  building  of  a 
Foit  there  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Richlieu,  as  out.posls  a<.ainst  ^le 
Iroquo-.  whosmce  they  had  become  exasperated  by  Champ ai" 
made  Ircjuent  attacks  upon  the  French  settlements.    A  threat  reth 


*  Conquest  of  Canada. 


.i£:t= -r;xiKr  £  s^:a^^^^^^^ 


PHELPS    AND   GOBHAm's    PURCHASE.  10 

ed  the  ears  of  Montmagny  that  they  would  "drive  the  white  man  into 
the  sea,  and  becoming  convinced  of  the  powers  of  the  wild  warriors 
^.'hose  strength  he  had  no  meansof  estimating,  he  sought  the  means 
of  es  abiishing  a  peace  with  then.,  in  which  he  was  encouraged  by  his 
neighbors  the  Hurons,  who  were  worn  out,  and  their  number's  re- 
duced, by  long  wars  with  their  indefatiguable  adversaries  The  -ov 
ernor  and  the  Huron  chiefs  met  deputies  of  the  Iroquois  at  Three 
Itivers,  and  concluded  n  peace. 

M.  d'  Ailleboust  who  had  held  a  command  at  Three  Rivers  was 
the  successor  of  Montmagny,  and  continued  as  Governor  until  ier.o' 
The  peace  with  the  Iroquois  gave  a  spur  to  missionary  enterprise 
and  trade,  both  of  which  were  extended. 

During  the  administration  of  Montmagny,  missionaries  and  traders 
had  followed  the  water  courses  of  Canada,  and  reached  Lake  Hu- 
ron where  they  had  established  a  post.     From  that  distant  point, 
in  1640,  came  the  first  of  our  race  that  ever  trod  upon  the  soil  of 
Western  Nevy  lorlc,  and  left  behind  them  any  record  of  their  ad- 
vent. *     On  the  2d  day  of  November,  1040.  two  .Jesuit  Fathers. 
Brebeauf  and  Chaumonot,  left  their  mission  station  at  St.  Marie 
on  the  nver  Severn,  near  Lake  Huron,  and  came  upon  the  Nia^^ara 
nver.  both  sides  of  which  were  occupied  by  the  Neuter  NatiJn.  f 
Ihey  found  this  nation  to  consist  of  12,000  souls,  having  4,000 
vva^Tiors,  and  inhabiting  forty  villages,  eigliteen  of  which  the  mis- 
sionaries visited.      They  were,   say   these   Fathers :_"  Larger 
s  ronger,  and  better  formed  than  our  Hurons."     "  The  men  Tike 
all  savages,  cover  the=r  naked  flesh  with  skins,  but  are  less  par'ticu- 


Neuter  Nation.  If  tliis  is  so  he  J^lZ"ti^.!  V-^  ^  tlie  winter  ut  IG^ti  „n.,.n-r  the 
The  period  is  earlier  Ln  we  em  w^I«,f^  wnten.un  who  saw  Western  New  York, 
so  fa.-  away  fro,n  tl.e  S irenN  „no  '^71  '''"■"  '""'''  ^''^:^^*"  »"/ J''»'"chn,a„ 
tl.e  tlien  utter  hostility  o  the  Imq^  /  '^tHl  tfe'"'^  osp.e.ally  wlu.,  wo  eonsid., 
as  this  have  tolerated!  few  miS  a^s  ^  fti^""™ '''^'"^''  ■"  ^'"""  ""'^  -^-^ly 


the  west  side  of  the  N  a.^ni  river  it  wtv,^^  Lake  Eno  and  a  wide  strip  om 
«'ere  at,  war,  and  they  we  e  neutnls  iT^tl,;,!""-  «>•""',"'•  ^j''il^«'"-nm„dini, nation, 
and  Chanmorot,  the/we,.^d  s    w^,^  V'"'  ^"'^'^  "^  "'•'-■'^«'"f 

as  we  found  it-a  pit  of  ttC  ,fo  Th  i  w'^l''''^  ^  r!'  ''"  '>-'""  '^''^^'»°^^' " 
the  fury  of  the  Iroquois,  thev  fina  Iv  n  .!,  ,^  "'?•  ^■■'•^'?  Clinrlevoix  ;  _  "  To  avoid 
cothi.-,;  by  the  union  T  o  r>nn„  J  r'f  ,'.*'"  "S'^lv'-s  a-ainst  the  Hurons,  hut  mined 
^■■.tiafui,  c/ostroy  d  aU  thl  canic^  H.  ';'  ''v':  ^'"'f  ^^i^'^r'  '''"^^  Wood.'  can  ?iot  hi 
of  the  Neuter  :N^atioii."  '''^'  '  '""^  "^  ""^  '^"y  ^'^^c  remains  no  trac- 


20 


PHELPS   AND   GORUAm's    PURCHASE. 


It' 


lar  than  the  Ilurons  in  conceaHng  what  should  not  appear."     "  The 
Squau-s  are  ordmarily  clothed,  at  least  from  the  waist  to  the  knees- 

They  have  Indian  corn,  bean...  and  .j^ourds  in  equal  abundance- 
|.lso,  plenty  of  fi.h  They  are  much  employed  in  huntin.de.^  buf-' 
hdo,  wild  cats,  wolves,  wild  boars,  beaver,  and  other  animals.  It  is 
rare  to  see  snow  m  th.  country  more  than  half  a  foot  deep  But 
tins  year,  it  ,s  more  than  three  feet."  Th.  Rev.  Fathers  found  our 
remote  predecessors  here  upon  the  soil  of  Western  New  York 
with  the  exception  of  one  village,  unfavorable  to  the  mission  they' 
were  upon,  and  intent  upon  which  they  had  braved  all  the  ri^^ors 
of  the  season,  and  a  long  forest  path  which  they  soon  reiraeed^' 

tu.be   'wl-N^fT"  •"'"  "'"'■""  ''  "^^"^^'^  ^'--^  -du- 
mbed woik..,  fresh,  as  it  were,  Irom    the  Creator,  and  bearing 

he  mipress  of  His  bands-and  we  may  well  suppose  they  were' 
lor  t„ey  had  come  fro.  >  cloistered  halls  and  high  ats  of  iLlZ' 
and  relmeinent-h,..v  must  their  eyes  have  been  satlJed  in  :  eS 
ol  he  panorama  ot  lakes  and  forests,  hills  and  plains,  rushin.  tor- 
rents, water- falls,  and  the  climax  in  their  midst -1  the  mighty°clta 
-^   of  I^K,gara,  thundering  in  its  solitude!     Who  woulcT^  w^ 

t  ';:^^f  ".-^-""V'"'"  -  "'  ''''''  '^  P^^'-P^  --  ratio  "1 
tlwu  he  could  enjoy  such  a  scene  as  Western  New  York  then  was  ^ 

T  .treaty  with  the  Iroquois  had  but  suspended  their  ho   i  uLs 

In    Cia  they  were  again  out  upon  their  war-j.aths  upon  the  banks 

station  of  the  small  settlement  of  St.  Jo.seph      Whon  ihn  U 

'Id  men  l,owo,„o„  and  children,  collec.ed  for  reli-io,,,  scrvico  . 
party  o  Iroq„o,«  „„,„  up„„  ,hem  and  massacred  <&  l^^n^ 
«s  probably  ,l,o  (irs.of  a  series  of  martyrdoms  that  aw  lied  he 
■losuit  missionaries.  In  the  carlv  mn  ,.r  i,mo  ,i  ''""''so  '"e 
.cl,  upon  ,.o  vi„a,os.„f  the  Ill^'l:      e    ly'  tZ,  ■     :?"£ 

.uofupon,      n,,      X*s:  ;■;  "■  '"r  -^^^  van  at. 

;and,  .ith  their  <^^^s^::^^  :.:^;::^2:^"y:::^ '^:^;i 

the  war-club,  had  visited  the  Hurons      "Most  of  tho  r 

conqaerois,  and  were  received  into  their  nation.     The  few 


PnEu.s  ASL  oouium's  PunonAsE.  2I 

flushed  will,  their  victories  over  .heir  mvn     L  r     °''''"'"»- 

Wdor  and  n,„ro  delermine.l  t,  Tv  ,1         T  '"'i'™' K"'- 

^oprded .  intruder. :  zt:\x.r:^zi::/^  p- 

U,e  ConrederacA^ion;::,  irFirero'    ^r.t^^^^^^^^^^^^^^    "' 

a"^«j...^;:i::it;':;::;t:=:,;::r-''-' 

In  10.8,  V,.seount  d'ArRuson  succeeded  M    de  Liuson      Tl 

rFTetrr' ";;  '■'if^™-'---  -  si,™,i.'d  J;: :..: : 

a.  Tl,  ee  RKert  w^' fr'^T'r "  '"''"'  "^  »  ^™''  °''  M°l'-vk^ 

™ij^:^i;r:r^?h:Shr<:^Xu:ir;:;;:: 

a„J",l,e'''F  ■  " ','"'  '^.""'■""''  '^™''  O"'-'!''' Baron  dAv„„„„r_ 
:  ,i  T'l  '  r"7V'":  '""'""^''  •■>■  ••"'  '-P».-.».iOn°o   400 

C        if  f     7n    Q""''^'^  I'--"' "O"-  l>a..  appoimed_M.de 
Monts.     lie  found  all  spiritual  and  len,p„ral  ell  'rts  liU-Iy  to  he 

eo  omsts,  that  d  Av ajour  had  alloued.     The  Bishop    hastened  to 
r.anee,  represented  the  evil  to  the  Kin?,  and  cami  hae  '  whi, 

ahe.t      '■<!  "cu- Governor  proved  a  tyrant,  thwarted  the  mis. 
Mo^,anes^,||,„,o  ,  general  disrepute,  and  was  soon  roealled 


•  Conquest  of  Cauacla, 


£Sss»'£^a:rsr=ffl,S^'c-™i3;»?r 


00 


■ 


PHELPS  Axn  gorham's  purchase. 


1.1   l(i03,  tl.o  company  of  Associates  relinquished  all  their  rights 

transferred  to  the  West  India  Coinpa- 


in  Ae 


\v  F 


lance,  which  were 


ly.     In  this  year,  all  that : 


the  C 


Wester 


now 
\e\v  York,  was  visited  by  a  tremendous  earthquake.  * 

M.  de  Tracy  came  out  as  Governor  under  the  West  India  Com- 
pany in  1005,  bringing  with  him  a  recruit  of  soldiers,  and  soon 
nith  the  aid  ot  Indian  allies,  intimidated  the  Iroquois.  A  larrre' 
•lumber  ot  families,  artisans  and  laborers,  were  added  to  the  colony 
=md  lorts  were  built  at  the  mouth  of  the  Richlicu.  In  December' 
the  Senecas,  Cayugas,  and  Onondagas,  sent  deputations  sueinrr  for 
peace  and  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  which  was  readily  a^rreed  up- 
-Mi.  Tne  Mohawks  and  Oneidas  still  holding  out,  after  sending  out 
an  expedition  against  them  that  imncipally  failed,  M.  de  Trac'V  at 
tbe  head  of  1200  French  soldiers  and  000  Indian  allies,  encounter- 
ed  al  the  vicissitudes  of  a  long  march  through  the  wilderness ;  in 
which  his  army  suffered  for  the  want  of  food,  and  were  only 
saved  from  starvation  by  subsisting  upon  chestnuts.  Arrivin-^  /t 
the  villages  of  the  Moliawks,  he  found  them  principally  deser'ted. 
J  he  finale  of  the  formidable  expedition  wrts  the  burnincr  of  the 
-Afohawk  cabins,  and  the  killing  of  a  few  old  men  and  women  + 
Little  of  glory,  and  much  of  suffering,  loss  and  disgrace,  were  the 

Iruits  of  the  expedition.     M.  de  Tracy  returned  to  France,  and  the 

government  devolved  on  M.  de  Courcelles. 

Peace  with  the  Iroquois  ensued,  and  a  brief  season  was  allowed 

for  the  progress  of  settlement  and  the  promotion  of  agriculture. 
The  administration  of  M.  de  Courcelles  was  vigorous  and  well  con- 

ducted.     Learning  that  the  Iroquois  were  endeavoring  to  persuade 
he  Western  Indians  to  trade  with  the  English,  he  menaced  them 

with  a  formidable  attack;  to  make  amends  fbr  murders  of  Iroquois 

..y  Frenchmen,  he  had  led  out  and  executed,  the  offenders,  in  view 

of  those  whose  friends  had  been  the  victims ;  and  by  other  acts  of 


from  16C3?    Some  n,   t  ons  offl?^  ^tica.n.    sl.all  Ave  not  say  tliat  all  iliis  datcH 

to.  of  f^t,  ti.  j^ui;  iS:;t;it  t::;s^^:^^-^^^^^'  ■  ^-^  - ""  -^■ 

^^^t  The  French  found  corn  enongh  buried  in  pite  to  have  suppUcd  the  Mohawks  for 


PHELPS    AND    OonilAM's    PUECIIASE.  23 

conciliation    preserved  peaee.    A  war  broke  out  between  the 
Iror|uo,s  and  Otlawas,  and  he  interfered  and  made  peaee 
About  tl„s  period,  the  small  pox,  always  a  most  f  i,-b,ful  seource 

ul  tb"  .",;'"  "■""  '  ■"■"'"  "'"  "•""""  ••'"  "■»  allies  o    he  f3 
upon  the  St.  Lawrenee  and  the  interior  of  Canada.    In  so™  inrn 
OS  whole  tnbes  were  exterminated ;  the  vie.ims  were  enTmeS 
by^thousands;  ,„  one  ,„lage  near  Quebee,  they  atnounted  to  fifl 

Near  the  close  ofM.  de  Courcelles  administration,  in  1671   hv 

western  Lakes,  a  grand  couned  was  convened  at  the  Falls  of  St 
Z7i  :„;"  '"  ^"r^'snty  ofthe  King  of  France  wa  knowK 
edged,  and  a  cross,  bearing  his  arms,  was  set  up 

cnu"al  irall  ?Jl!-  ''''°""°'":'  "  "■"■"'^  """""">'  of  Champlain,  his 
equal  m  all,  and  h,s  superior  m  many  respects ;  advanced  in  a.e  bat 
v^orous,  arburarjvn  ail  his  designs  and  ...ovements ;  too    t  e  r^ 
of  government  m  New  France,  and  in  many  respects  created  an  w 
era.    Following  out  the  plans  of  his  subordinate,  M.  Talon,  an  exne 
d.t,on  was  set  on  foot  to  explore  the  "great  river,"  the  "Me  hasepe  " 
.n    he  dialect  of  the  western  tribes,  of  which  but  va^ue  and  Li 
finite  Ideas  had  been  gained  of  the  natives.    Mar„„«.ra  Jest 
Missionary,  with  Joliet,  and  other  attendants,  set  outlom  S.  Mar" 
and  veachmg  the  Miami,  obtained  from  ,hem  two  natives  a  guWs 
Thy  struck  upon  the  waters  of  Fox  River,  and  descendin/rem 
crossed  the  short  portage,  and  descended  upon  the  waters"  of  X' 
Wisconsin  River  to  :ts  confluence  with  the  Mississippi     Their 

llL      u       u      ""'  """^  ™"l  'l-ey  came  to  a  villa.re  of  the 
fflnois  where  they  were  "  kindly  and  hospitably  received."  °  Tl  e   x 
pedition,  fa  hng  m  with  none  but  friendly  natives,  went  as  fa  down 
as  below  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  where,  hearin.la    he  rivc^ 

mpt.ed  Itself  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  instead  of  the  PacMc  as  th.v 
fe^  .ondly  hoped ;  and  fearing  that  they  might  fall  inioZC^Jf 
"^e  Sjxm^ds^hey^^t^^  c-onimencing  missbnty 

<Wsa,  h„o  faital  tl„.,„  i, ^    1™],]™  li.  „' ,''■'''    ™'"'"',' i"™M»I  in  other 

Ijlex,,,,,,  or  rather  ,h„  ,«,„„  „f,te  ,V  ,  dmt-S  f,  ,;,''Z;  V  """1"'"4  '»  ««  com- 
lL.-.t  prevoiila  the  illsciso  l.reakhit  o«   .™  J  i™. ,,,,»'     ','! ""'  '"?■ '°  "  lo"Sl>»<»» 


¥' 


•24: 


PlIELPS   AND    GOEIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


labors  among  the  Miamis,  and  Jolict  carrying?-  the  news  of  their  dis- 
coveries to  Quebec.  These  were  the  lirst  of  our  race  that  saw  the 
upper  Mississippi  and  its  vast  tributaries.  The  pajrcs  of  general  his- 
tory that  tell  of  the  hazardous  journey  ;  that  recounts  the  impressions 
made  upon  the  mind  of  Marquette,  who  had  a  mind  to  appreciate  all 
he  saw  in  that  then  vast  and  hitherto  unexplored  wilderness  of  prairie 
and  forest,  inland  seas,  and  wide  rivers ;  is  one  of  peculiar  attractions. 
Few  historical  readers  will  fail  to  peruse  it.  The  name  of  a  county 
in  Illinois,  and  a  village,  perpetuates  the  names,  and  the  memories  of 
Marquette  and  Joliet. 


IT 


ADVENTURES  OF  LA  SALLE-TUE  FIRST  SAIL  VESSEL  Ui'UN  THE 

UrPER  LAKES. 


'.  i 


Previous  to  the  western  advent  of  Marquette  and  Joliet,  La  Salle, 
a  young  Frenchman  of  ample  fortune,  after  completing  his  educa- 
tion,  with,  all  the  religious  enthusiasm  peculiar  to  the  disciples  of 
Loyola,  mixed  with  a  spirit  of  adventure  then  so  rife  in  Fiance,  had 
crossed  the  ocean,  pushed  on  beyond  the  farthest  French  settle- 
ments upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  an.,  become  the  founder  of  Frontenac, 
now  Kingston,  the  ownership  of  which  was  conferred  upon  him  by 
his  King  with  the  rank  of  nobility.  The  grant  was  in  fact,  that  of  a 
wide  domain,  with  some  exclusive  privileges  of  Indian  trade. 

When  Marquette  and  Joliet  returned,  they  took  Frontenac  in  their 
route,  and  found  the  young  adventurer  in  tlic  midst  of  his  enterprises, 
drawing  around  him  missionaries,  traders,  agriculturalists  — the  pa- 
froon  ot  one  of  the  most  flourishing  settlements  of  New  France.— 
Listening  to  their  accounts  of  the  vast  beautiful  region  they  had 
seen,  its  broad  Lakes,  wide  prairies  — and  with  especial  interest  to 
their    story   of  the  "Great  River,"-he   resolve<l  upon  following 
up  their  discoveries,  by  a  new  route,  and  extending  French  (hmin" 
,ion  across  the  entire  continent.     Ilcturning  to  France,  with  ll). 
^  information  he  had  obtained  from  various  sources,  his  earnest  impor- 
.  tunities  inspired  the  king  and  his  minister,  Colbert,  with  confidence 
and  a  commission  of  discovery  was  granted  him.     The  object  as 
expressed  in  the  commission,  was,  "  to  discover  the  western  portion  of 
our  country  of  New  France,"  and  the  suggestion  was  made,  that 
through  It  a  passage  might  be  found  to  Mexico.     The  rxpndiiion 


'f  their  dis- 
at  saw  the 
eneral  his- 
npressions 
^rcciatc  all 
s  of  prairie 
ttractions. 
t'  a  county 
imories  of 


L'UN  TUE 


La  iSalle, 
lis  ediica- 
'ciplcs  of 
mce,  had 
2h  settle- 
rontenac, 
n  fiim  by 

that  of  a 
e. 

c  in  their 
terprises, 
—  the  pa- 
*ance. — 
hey  had 
itercst  to 
bllowitirr 
lidoniin- 
with  Ihe 
it  impor- 
ifidcnce, 
bjcct,  as 
Drtion  of 
:ie,  that 
["edition 


PHELPS    AND  GORIIAm's    PURCHASE.  25 

was  to  be  at  his  own  expense,  and  that  of  his  associates ;  their  pros- 
pective remuneration,  a  restricted  monopoly  of  trade  with  the  natives. 
With  an  Italian  named  Tonti,  Father  Hennepin,  a  number  or 
mechanics  and  mariners,  naval  stores,  and  goods  for  the  Indian 
trade,  he  arrived  at  Frontenac  in  the  fall  of  1678,  and  soon  after  a 
wooden  canoe  often  tuns,  the  first  craft  of  European  architecture 
that  ever  entered  the  Niagara  River,  bore  a  part  of  his  company  to 
the  site  of  Fort  Niagara.    La  Salle,  followed  soon  after  with  a  sail 
vessel,  in  which  he  had  a  stock  of  provisions,  and  materials  for  ship 
building;  crossed  the  Lake,  coasted  along  its  .southern  shore,  entered 
the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  River  or  the  Irondequoit  Bay,  and  visited 
some  of  the  villages  of  the  Senecas  to  reconcile  them  to  his  enterprise ; 
and  on  his  way  from  the  Genesee  to  the  Niagara  River,  encountered 
a  gale  and  lost  his  vessel,  saving  but  a  part  of  his  cargo.     Arrived  at 
Niagara,  he  erected  some  rude  defences,  established  a  post,  and  at 
Lewiston  erected  a  trading  station  with  pallisades.     Late  in  Janu- 
ary  the  business  of  ship  building  was  commenced  at  the  mouth  of 
Cayuga  creek,  six  miles  above  the  Falls  of  Niagara.     In  mid  winter 
the  neccessity  occurring,  the  intrepid   adventurer,  on  foot,  made  the 
jom-ney  to  Frontenac,  around  the  head  of  the  Lake,  returnincr  on  the 
ice  along  the  northern  shore,  with  a  dog  and  sledge  for  the  transpor- 
tation  of  his  baggage. 

_  It  was  fortunate,  perhaps,  that  during  the  ship's  building,  the  war- 
riors of  the  Senecas  were  principally  drawn  ofTin  anexpcdition  against 
some  ot  the  western  enemies.  Tho.se  that  remained  behind,  hun^r 
around  and  watched  the  operations  at  Niagara  as  well  as  at  the 
place  of  ship  building.  In  consequence  of  their  remonstrances,  what 
was  intended  as  the  commencement  of  a  Fort  at  Niagara,  had  to  be 
abandoned  and  a  "habitation  surrounded  with  pallisades"  substitu- 
te!; and  they  were  almost  constantly  annoying  the  shipbuilders. 
The  missionary,  Hennepin,  by  mild  persuasion,  and  the  display  of  the 
emblems  ot  the  foith  he  was  propagating,  would  seem  to  have  aided 
much  in  reconciling  the  natives  to  these  strange  movement.^  they 


*4 


espjiuiuhun. 


26 


PHELPS    AND    GORIIAM's    PUKCIIASE. 


li 


II 


;l  J 


were  w.  nessmg.  Becom.ng  discouraged,  surrounded  with  dangers, 
the  ship  builders  were  once  upon  the  point  of  desertion  to  the  EnHish 
settlements  upon  the  Hudson,  but  were  encournged  bv  the  pious 
missionary  m  "exhortations  on  holidays  and  Sundays  "after  divine 
service.  He  told  them  that  tlie  enterprise  had  sole  "reference  to 
the  promotion  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  welfare  of  the  christian 
colonies.  On  one  occasion,  while  the  vessel  was  upon  the  stock. 
a  scheme,  the  Senecas  had  devised  for  burning  it,  was  frustrated  by' 
the  timely  warning  of  a  friendly  squaw. 

All  these  difficulties  were  surmounted,  and  when  the  River  and 
Lake  had  become  clear  of  ice,  a  vessel  of  sixty  tons  burthen,  was 
ready  for  the  water.     It  was  "  blessed  according  to  our  Church  of 
Home,    ana  launched  under  the  discharge  of  artillerv,  accompanied 
by  the  chaunting  of  the  Te  Deum ;  the  Senecas  fooking  on  with 
amazement,  declaring  the  ship  builders  to  be  "  Ot-kons,»   men  with 
penetrating  minds."    Some  weeks  followed  of  preparation  for  the 
voyage;    tnps  by  water  were  made  to  Frontenac ;   trading  parties 
went  to  the  principal  villages  of  the  Senecas  ;  and  the  Niagla  Riv 
er  was  explored  to  see  how  the  vessel  was  to  be  got  into  Lake  Erie 
In  the  mean  time  the  warriors  of  the  Senecas  returned  from  the 
vvestward,  and  their  reseniments  were  absorbed  in  wonder  at  all 
they  saw ;  awe,  or  fear  perhaps,  overcame  their  jealousies.     Invited 
on  board  the  vessel  and  hospitably  entertained,  they  exclaimed 
"ga-nor-ron,"  how  wonderful!  ^laimea, 

The  vessel  was  named  the  "Griffin,"  in  honor  of  Count  Fronte- 
nac, whose  armorial  bearing  was  the  representation  of  two-niffins 
It  was  equipped  with  sails,  masts,  and  every  thing  ready  for  Lvi^a-' 

reV;;;  w        "^,   ""■'  ?^-^  ^^^^  ^^^"^^^  -^  two^arquebulls  * 
Aftei  all  was  ready  several  attempts  were  made  to  ascend  the  Nia- 

gam,  befor  a  wind  sufficiently  favorable  occurred  to  insure  succ    s 

At  as  t,  with  much  severe  labor,  men  being  often  placed  on  sloi" 

With  tovv  lines  to  assist  the  sails-the  veLl  entered  Lake  eZ 

and  on  the  7th  of  August,  IG70,  accompanied  by  the  discha,-:    of  cln-' 

non,  and  the  chaunting  of  the  Te  Deum,  the  first  sail  ve  se    w" 


ton.     llo  says  ■• .(  t„ok  fo  r    ,  oTL  c- m  v'  "''/''"  i  ""';"  '""""f'-'i"'^"  »t  L.^yil 

to  cltca-  then,,  the  work  v^JZn^^^I^,!!^^^'''  ""''"'''  ^"'  ^''""^'^  ^'"^^  S'^ea 


PIIELre    AND    GORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


h  dangers, 
le  English 
the  pious 
fler  divine 
ference  to 
christian 
he  stock?, 
3trated  by 

'iver  and 
then,  was 
'hurch  of 
Dinpanied 

on  with 
men  with 
>n  for  tlie 
g  parties 
;ara  Riv- 
vke  Erie, 
from  the 
er  at  all 

Invited 
claimed, 

Fronte- 

I  griffins. 
naviga- 

ebuses.* 
:he  Nia- 
success 

II  shore 
e  Erie, 
ofcan- 
-cl  was 

charts 


(liffionlty 
it  Lowis- 


27 


After  a  protracted  voyage,  the  Griffin  cast  anchor  in  Green  Bay, 
where  a  trade  was  opened  with  the  natives  and  a  rich  cargo  of  furs 
obtained.  Late  in  the  season  of  navigation,  it  started  on  Its  return 
voyage  to  the  Niagara  River,  encountered  severe  gales,  and  the 
vessel  and  all  on  board  were  never  more  heard  of—  their  fate  remain- 
ing a  mystery.* 

^  Hennepin  describing  what  they  saw  of  the  shores  of  Lakes  Erie, 
St.  Clair  and  Huron,  and  the  banks  of  the  Detroit  and  St.  Clair  Riv- 
ers, observes  ;— Those  who  will  have  the  good  fortur;e  some  day  to 
possess  the  beautiful  and  fertile  lands,  will  be  under  many  obliga- 
gations  to  us,  who  have  cleared  the  way. 

Anticipating  the  return  of  the  ill-fkted  vessel.  La  Salle  established  a 
tradmg  house  at  Mackinaw,  and  proceeding  to  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Josephs,  added  to  a  small  Missionary  station,  under  the  care  of  Al- 
louez,  a  trading  house  with  pallisades,  which  he  called  the  "  Fort  of  the 
Miami."  Despairing  of  the  return  of  the  Griffin,  leaving  ten  men  to 
guard  the  fort,  with  Hennepin,  and  two  other  Missionaries,  Tonti,  and 
about  thirty  other  followers,  the  impatient  adventurer  ascended  the 
St.  Joseph  and  descended  the  Kankakee  to  its  mouth.  From  there 
he  descended  the  Illinois  to  Lake  Peori  where  he  erected  a  fort  amid 
the  murmuring  and  discontent  of  his  followers,  who  deemed  their 
leader  and  his  expedition  ruined  by  the  loss  of  the  Griiiin.  Yielding 
temporarily  to  despondency,  the  stout  hearted  leader,  named  it  For^t 
Creve  Crjcur,  the  "  Fort  of  the  Broken  hearted." 

Recovering  his  wonted  energy,  however,  he  set  his  men  to  sawing 
ship  plank,  dispatched  Hcimepin  with  two  followers  to  explore  the 
Upper  Mississipi)i,  and  started  himself  with  three  companions,  for 
Frontenac,  to  procure  recruits,  and  sails  and  cordage  for  his  vessel.- 
The  journey  was  made  in  the  month  of  iMarch,  and  was  one  of  peril  and 
suflering ;  the  route  ovcrln.ad  to  the  Niagara  River,  and  from  thence 
around  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario  to  Frontenac.     New  adventurers 


Unlws  tlio  autlior  was  ri-ht  in  tlic  cniidnHion  he  forniu.l  m  to  its  fate  in  a  nvovimis 
walk.  1  hu  Jesuit  Missionancs  coiicliidcd  that  it  was  straiulod  in  a  tralc,  phindoml 
by  the  natives  and  its  ci-w  niurdcivd.  Sii.'h  was  ])rol,ablv  the  t-ir(  :_ln  1,!<0.-)  s.,in.. 
ot  tlK>  early  settlers  in  Hanlhul•i,^  Faw  e.ninty,  after  a  seveVe  blew  thai  bad  renieved  a 
lara;(!  bmlv  »i  sand  and  y-ravel  iijien  the  lake  sbere,  tbuiid  where  it  ha.l  hevn  deeply 
jMiibedded,  an  anelmr.  In  later  years,  near  the  saniespot,  there  ha-^  been  found  several 
luindred  jviunds  ot  iron,  sueh  as  would  seem  to  have  b<'en  taken  from  a.  vessel  •  and 


near  the  snot,  I  wo  rannon,  the  whole  buried  in  iheVarth,  and  (rood  sized  forest  trees  otow 
ini,'  over  them.  There  is  no  record,  or  tradition,  of  the  lo-s  of  any  vessel  other  tha 
the  (JrifHn  at  the  early  j.eriod  in  whieb  thfsu  relic    must  have  been  left 'where  the 


th 

■were  foiii'd: 


28 


PHELPS    AND    GOEHAM'S    PUECHASE. 


es^ped,  and    ound  refuge  among  the  Potawatomies  on  Lake  Mi- 
Returning  to  Green  Bay,  he  commenced  tradincr  and  estibh-shin^r 

ovt:  llntT"''"  t'  '''''''''-''-'  -"-telhisscat™' 
part  of'ir^t  ^  '^'"n  ^r^^  ^"  ^^«  ^"'"^'^  ii-e'-.  -d  in  the  early 
~o!t^'rl^'''''r^^^'^^^^^-  He  planted  a 
called  it  Tou^^^^^^^^  ^^--^  ^he  country  for  France,  and 

in  o?r'  l''"^" '/  °^  '1^'''  ^"''^"S  enterprises,  that  have  no  parallel  even 
m  our  day  of  wondrous  achievements -that  paved  the  wav  for  the 
occup,  ,^^^  ,^  ^„  ^^^  ^^^^  ^P^.^^^  the     ay  f or  th 

sippi  -IS  a  long  chapter  of  disaster,  of  successes  and  reverses  mosX 
remote  from  our  local  region,  and  belonging  to  the  pages  of  C^ 
history.  In  all  that  relates  to  French  occunanov  of' th  It""^ 
count.y,  the  borders  of  the  western  Lak^:  ^ft  ^;a  L;  o,tt  mT 
.,ss>pp,_  especially,  to  the  adventures  of  Marrmette    Jolt    T 

tallu  T"'^' Vh"'  ^^"•''  '''^''^''^  h.torionr  h  d  but      et 
tarn  guules,  andbut  unsatisfactory,  authentic  details.     Recent  di 
ovenes  m  Quebec,  and  among  the  archives  of  the  Jesuits  in  Rom  " 
afford   encouragement  that  with  some  future   historian  the  el 

tures,  that  led  hmi  oA-er  the  plams  ot  Texas,  to  New  Mexico  •  that 

me  i  unity  River  m  Texas,  on  a  return,  overland,  to  Frontenac 
conphshed   national  historian,  Bancroft :-"  For  force  of  will  ntj 


■eturned  to 
is  absence, 
J,  Father 
Jwers,  had 
Lake  Mi- 

stabh'shinjT 
ttered  fol- 
i  the  early 
planted  a 
ance,  and 

illel  even 
ay  for  the 
e  Missis- 
es, mostly 
'f  f^eneral 
Genesee 
the  Mis- 
ilief.  La 
tt  uncer- 
cent  dis- 
n  Rome, 
liese  de- 
)r  leaves 
r  adven- 
30 ;  that 
eries  of 
Hovvers, 
>ntenac. 
our  ac- 
r'ill  and 
1  of  his 
ty  that 
r  afllic- 
uperior 

lewhat 
3mark- 


PHELPS   AND    GOEHAM's    PUECHASE.  29 

ed  :  One  hundred  and  thirty  nine  years  ago,  the  Griffin  set  out  upon 
Its  voyage,  passed  up  the  rapids  of  the  Niagara,  and  unfurled  the  first 
sail  upon  the  waters  of  the  Upper  Lakes. 

Intrepid  navigator  and  explorer!  High  as  were  hopes  and  ambi- 
tion that  could  alone  impel  him  to  such  an  enterprise ;  far  seeing  as 
he  was ;  could  the  curtain  that  concealed  the  ^uture  from  his  vfew, 
have  been  raised,  his  would  have  been  the  exclamation  : 

"  Visions  of  glory,  spare  my  aching  sight  ;— 
Ye  unborn  ages,  rush  not  on  my  soul !" 

He  deemed  himself  but  adding  to  the  nominal  dominions  of  his 
King;  but  opening  new  avenues  to  the  commerce  of  his  country; 
founding  a  prior  claim  to  increased  colonial  possessions.  He  was 
pioneering  the  way  for  an  empire  of  freemen,  who  in  process  of  time 
were  to  fill  the  valleys  he  traversed  ;  the  sails  of  whose  commerce 
were  to  whiten  the  vast  expanse  of  waters  upon  which  he  was  em- 
barking! 

_  How  often,  when  reflecting  upon  the  triumphs  of  steam  naviga- 
tion do  we  almost  wish  that  it  were  admitted  by  the  dispensations 
of  Providence  that  Fulton  could  be  again  invested  with  mortality, 
and  witness  the  mighty  achievements  of  his  genius.  Akin  to  this, 
wouk'  be  the  wish,  that  La  Salle  could  rise  from  his  wilderness  grave 
in  the  far-off  South,  and  look  out  upon  the  triumphs  of  civilization 
and  improvement  over  the  vast  region  he  was  the  first  to  explore. 

Ours  is  a  country  whose  whole  history  is  replete  with  daring  en- 
terprises and  bold  adventures.  Were  we  prone,  as  we  should  be 
duly  to  commemorate  the  great  events  that  have  marked  our  pro- 
gress, here  and  there,  in  fitting  localities,  more  monuments  would 
be  raised  as  tributes  due  to  our  history,  and  to  the  memory  of  those 
who  have  acted  a  conspicuous  part  in  it.  Upon  the  banks  of  our 
noble  river,  within  sight  of  the  Falls,  a  shaft  from  our  quarries  would 
soon  designate  the  spot  where  the  Griffin  was  built  and  launched  • 
upon  Its  base,  the  name  of  La  Salle,  and  a  brief  inscription  that 
would  commemorate  the  pioneer  advent  of  our  vast  and  in'.reasincr 
Lake  commerce.  "^ 


Frontenac  returned  to  France  in  consequence  of  disagreement 
with  other  officers  of  the  colony,  but  to  return  again  in  after  years 
Le  was  succeeded  by  M.  de  la  Burrc,  who  found  the  Iroquois  dis- 


30 


PHELPS    AND    GORIIAm's   PURCHASE. 


posed  to  lean  toward  the  English  interests  upon  the  Hudson,  and 
assuming  again  a  hostile  attitude  toward  the  French.     The  Otta- 
•as,   who  were  the  allies  of  the  French,  had  killed  a  chief  of  the 
.roquois ;  and  fronn  this  and  other  causes,  they  were  again  exaspera- 
ted, and  preparing  for  descents  upon  the  French  settlements.     Hith- 
er.->  the  Senecas,  far  removed  from  what  had  been  the  seat  of  war 
and  almost  continually  waging  war  with  those  of  their  own  race,' 
had  participated  but  little  in  the  wars  with  the  French.     Provoca- 
tions now  began  on  their  part,  in  the  way  of  endeavoring  to  divert 
trade  to  the  English,  and  in  warring  upon  the  French  Indian  allies; 
and  upon  one  occasion,  they  had  robbed  a  French  trading  party  on 
their  way  to  Illinois. 

A  long  series  of  provocations  were  given  by  the  Iroquois,  which 
determined  M.  dela  Barre  to  go  against  them  with  all  the  forces  he 
could  command.     He  had  information  that  a  descent  was  to  be 
made  upon  the  French  settlements  upon  the  St.  Lawrence      He 
assembled  an  army  of  700  Canadian  militia,   130  regular  soldiers, 
and  200  Indian  allies,  in  July,   1683.     While  coming  up  the  St 
Lawrence,  he  learned  that  the  more  friendly  of  the  Iroquois  nations 
had  prevailed  upon  the  Senecas  to  listen  to  overtures  of  peace.    The 
English  had  offered  their  mediation,  with  intimations  that  they 
would  make  common  cause  with  the  hostile  nations  of  Iroquois  if 
the   French  Governor  persevered  in  his  warlike  demonstrations. 
M.  de  la  Barre  crossed  Lake  Ontario,  and  quartered  his  army  at  a 
Bay  m  what  is  now  Jefferson  countv,  and  awaited  the  arrival  of 
peace  deputies  of  the  Iroquois.     While  there,  the  French  army  suf- 
lered  much  for  want  of  wholesome  provisions,  and  they  named  the 
place  «  La  Famine,"  or  Hungry  Bay.     The  Indians  met  them,  with 
an  Unondaga  chief,  Garangula,  at  their  head.    A  speech  was  made 
by  the  French  Governor,  and  replied  to  by  Garangula,  in  a  tone 
ot  contempt  and  derision,  rather  than  of  fear  or  submission.  *     He 
well  knew  that  famine  and  disease  had  weakened  the  French  force, 
and  even  tantali:.ed  them  by  allusion  to  their  misfortunes.     De  la 


*For  n  rorn'ot  translation  of  this  noted  !  speed.,  copied  from  La  Hontan  seo 
offn'i  n  '/'"■'■■'■■■'^^  M---  Clinton  s,ud  :  _  "  I  believe  it  i'n.poH.sil.lo  to  tind  i  ,  a  i  the 
ITn  the'veir'.'™'"'  "/'/''-''•"/'■■'l""-.^.  ^  ^P-'^"''  "'ore  .  mropriate  or  convinoi,,,' 
Liii.rtlevedot  roHpcotfid  profession,  it  conveys  tlie  most  ()iti'iir  irony:  and  wliiU- 
i  .s  !pf'',l  „Tm  '"i V'lr  *^P'""^i''  i'n^ory,  it  cont^.ins  the  most  adid  reasonintr,"  The 
of  tbeiiquit      '   ^^^«t°'-:^«f  Onondaga,"  regards  Lim  as  having  been  the  NesU,r 


PHELPS    AND   GORIIAm's    PUKCIIASE. 


31 


Ban-e,  says  the  Baron  la  Hontan,  who  was  present,  "  returned  to  his 
lent  much  enraged  at  .hat  he  had  heard."  The  interview  ended 
by  a  stipulation  on  the  part  of  the  Senecas  that  they  would  make 
reparation  for  some  alleged  wrongs ;  *  and  on  the  part  of  tlie  French 
Governor,  that  he  would  immediately  withdraw  his  army.  The  dis- 
comfitted  and  chagrined  la  Barre  withdrew  an  army  made  feeble 
by  disease  and  hunger ;  and  upon  reaching  Montreal,  learned  that 
a  French  force  had  arrived,  which  would  have  enabled  him  to 
humble  the  proud  warriors,  and  provoking  orator  he  had  met  on 
the  wild  shores  of  Lake  Ontario. 

[Of  local  events,  the  expedition  of  De  Nonville  follows  next  in  order  of  time.  A 
brief  nUimnii  to  it  wiU  be  found  in  Mr.  Hosmer's  chapter  upon  the  Senecas,  and  more 
of  it  will  be  found  in  tliu  Appendix,  No.  2.] 

The  Iroquois  were  prompt  tocairy  the  war  home  upon  their  in- 
vaders. In  November  following  De  Nonville 's  expedition,  they  at- 
tacked the  French  fort  on  the  Sorrel,  and  were  repulsed,  but  they 
ravaged  the  neighboring  French  settlements,  and  made  captives. 
Darkness  lowered  upon  the  French  cause. 

"In  this  same  year,  there  fell  upon  Canada  an  evil  more  severe 
than  Indian  aggression  .or  English  hostility.  Toward  the  end  of 
the  summer,  a  deadly  malady  visited  the  colony,  and  carried  mourn- 
ing  into  almost  every  household.  So  great  was  the  mortality,  that 
M.  De  Nonville  was  constrained  to  abandon,  or  rather  defer,  his 
project  of  humbling  the  pride  and  power  of  the  Tsonnonthouans 
He  had  also  reason  to  doubt  the  faith  of  his  Indian  allies ;  even  the 
Ilurons  of  the  far  West,  who  had  fought  so  stoutly  by  his  side  on 
the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  were  discovered  to  have  been  at  the 
time  in  treacherous  correspondence  with  the  Iroquois." 

"  While  doubt  and  disease  paralized  the  power  of  the  French, 
their  dangerous  enemies  were  not  idle.  Twelve  hundred  Iroquois 
warriors  assembled  at  Lake  St.  Francis,  within  two  days'  march 
of  Montreal,  and  haughtily  demanded  audience  of  the  Governor, 
which  was  immediately  granted.  Their  orator  proclaimed  the 
power  of  his  race,  and  the  weakness  of  the  white  men,  with  all  the 
emphasis  and  striking  illustration  of  Indian  eloquence.     He  offered 


*  The  wronnp  complained   of.  wore  the    destruction,  by  the  Senecas    of  a  l.-ir™ 
nnnibor  of  the  cmuoos  „f  the  Freucli  trnders,  on  (heir  way  to  the  K    the   akiiS 


32 


PnELPS   AKD   GOEUUI'S    PTOOHiSE. 


peace  on  terms  proposed  by  the  Governor  of  New  York  but  o.I„ 
allowe,!  t  e  French  four  days  for  deliberation,"  '        °"'^ 

strations.  The  whole  country  west  of  the  river  Sorrel,  or  Uichlien 
was  occ„p,ed  by  a  savage  host,  a,.d  the  distant  fort  o  c4ta  touv' 
on  the  Ontario  shore,  was  with  dilBeultv  held  loail  Ron  T  ^' 

wo  had  burned  the  fann  stores  with  l^  Z ,  and  ZZ 
oatte  of  the  settlers.  The  French  bowed  befor  he  ,„rt  "he„ 
could  not  resist,  and  peace  was  concluded  on  Condi  ions  th"  war 
»  ould  cease  in  the  land,  and  all  the  allies  should  Tar  „  X 
bloss.ngs  of  repose.  M.  De  Nonviile  furUier  agreed  to  rel  e  he 
n  .au  c  ,ers  who  had  been  so  treacherously  to™  rom  i  ei "  a.  va 
w.Ms,  and  sent  to  labor  in  the  galleys  of  France  "• 

Before  the  treaty  was  concluded,  however,  the  implacable  ene 
m,es  of  the  Iroquois,  the  Ahenaquis.  attacked  then,  o     he  SorreT 
destroyed  many,  and  pushed  Iheir  conquest  even  to  the  F     l   ,- 
.ernents.   And  nearly  at  the  sa,„e  ti.nl,  a^ZunSitut 

:iah:n-i.:~f-i-^^t5 

to  h,s  own  country,  he  went  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  lyi„,r-„  a" 

.t::  ■tSSsrkiit^r™  irL^  ''-'■■  '-^  ^^'""- 

...en  preluded  that  he  was  a!ti„^ 

wtly  backwoods  Mefernich  had  concluded  it  would  :  -  A  retKwtl 

*  Conquest  of  Canada.  ~  '      ~  ' • — 

vi.o  honof-ablc  and  u.sdul  ca 'eor  can      U'^  .^^ '^'  *?  Franco  :-<•  His  othu-l 

act  of  troacliory.    Fron.  tl.e  day  we,    h,  cv  1  d     fl '"/"  '^''""^  '/^"^  "*'  ""«  ^'"'k 
"K.US  Indians,  sctiriied  ..       broLii "ml  t    ■  t ,   I  '  '';"'/'  U"'  ""'^'  '"'f  •""^'".'ifii. 

Kiiould  not  Itave  nintio  Do  CSc  w  ,    k      -  •   '^^^^^^^^  Tho  awtl.or 

..ndcr  instructions.    The  instnlcVilt  o     iVi  Tn'^o^V  ■•  "'       J""^^''^""^^^-  '''^  --t-' 

^^l^e  t.e,^  ^^edl^  e^S^o^^^uSlt;^]],!—  ^  S -'LSi^ 


PHELPS  AliD    GORIIAM's    PTJBCHASE.  88 

of  hostilities  was  soon  made  by  the  Iroquois,  to  revenge  themselves 
tor  the  supposed  baseness  of  the  French  Governor.     Twelve  hun- 
dred Iroquois  warriors  made  a  descent  upon  the  Island  of  Montreal 
burnt  the  French  houses,  sacked  their  plantations,  and  put  to  the 
sword  all  the  men,  women  and  children  within  the  outskirts  of  the 
town.    ••  A  thousand  French  were  slain  in  the  invasion,  and  twentv- 
six  carried  into  captivity."*    The  marauders  retreated,  but  not  with- 
out further  destruction  of  life;-a  force  of  one  hundred  French  and 
htty  Indians,  sent  m  pursuit,  were  entirely  cut  off.     "  The  disastrous 
incursions  filled  the  French  with  panic  and  astonishment.     Thev  at 
once  blew  up  the  forts  of  Cataracouy.  (Kingston,)  and  Niagara, 
burned  two  vessels,  bulk  under  their  protection,  and  altogether 
abandoned  the  shores  of  the  western  Lakes.''  y     Frontenac  m-rived 
at  Quebec  in  October,  1689,  at  a  period  of  great  depression  with  the 
colony.      H.s   hands   were   strengthened   by  the   government  of 
France,  but  a  vast  field  of  labor  was  before  him.     Ke  repaired  to 
Montreal,  and  summoned  a  council  of  the  western  Indians  ;  the 
hrst  rnd  most  miportant  consummation  to  be  effected,  bein-  their 
perfect  conciliation  and  alliance:-" As  a  representative  of  the 
Ualhc  Monarch,  claiming  to  be  the  bulwark  of  Christendom  -  Count 
Frontenac,  himself  a  peer  of  France,  now  in  his  seventieth  year, 
placed  the  murderous  hatchet  in  the  hands  of  his  allies;   and  ivith 
tomahawk  m  his  own  grasp,  chaunted  the  war-song,  danced  the 
war-dance,  and  listened,  apparently  with  delight,  to  the  threat  of 
savage  vengeance."  J 

In  the  February  preceding  the  event  just  alluded  to,  the  revolu- 
tion m  England  had  been  consummated.  William  and  Mary  had 
succeeded  to  the  throne,  and  soon  after  which  France  had  declared 
a  war  against  England,  in  which  the  American  colonies  became  at 
once  involved,  and  a  contest  ensued,  in  which  the  question  of  undi- 
vided empire  m  all  this  portion  of  North  America  was  the  stake  to 
be  won; -France  and  England  had  both  determined  upon  entire 
conquest  Frontenac  succeeded  in  conforming  the  alliance  of 
nearly  all  the  western  tribes  of  Indians,  and  through  the  mission- 


*  Smitli'8  History  of  New  York. 


t  Bancroft. 


M 


34 


PHELrS   AND    r.OIinAM's    PUECnASE. 


aries  was  enabled  to  make  a  partial  divisioMof  the  Iroquois  from  the 
English  interests.     He  soon  received  from  his  government  instruc- 
tions to  war  for  conquest,  not  only  upon  New  England  and  New 
Vork,  but  upon  all  the  Indian  allies  of  the  English.     His  instruc 
tions  contemplated  an  attack  upon  "Manathe."  ("Manhattan"  or 
l\ew    York,)    by  sea,   and    an   attack  upon  Fort  Orange  by  land 
and  a  descent  upon   the  Hudson,  to  co-operate   with   the  naval 
expedition.     The  French  force  in  Canada,  of  regulars  and  militia 
was   about   two   thousand.     In   February,    1G89,    an   expedition 
started  from   Montreal   and  after  a  long  march  through  the  wild- 
erness.  in   which  they  were  obliged   to  walk   up  to   their   knees 
m  water,  and  break  the  ice  with  their  feet,  in  order  to  find  a  solid 
tootmg.   they  arrived   in  the  vicinity  of  Schenectady,   the   then 
farthest  advanced  of  the  English  settlements.     Arriving  at  a  soli- 
tary wigwam,  the  benumbed  and  disabled  from  the  effects  of  the 
severe  cold  weather,  warmed  themselves  by  its  fire,  and  information 
was  gamed  from  the  squaws  who  inhabited  it,  how  they  could  best 
fall  upon  the  village  and  execute  their  terrible  mission  of  war  and 
retribution  upon  those  who  had  as.cisted  the  Mohawk  branch  of  the 
Iroquois  ,n  their  onslaughts  upon  the  French  settlements.     In  all 
their  march  and  contemplated  attack,  they  had  been  assisted  by  a 
formerch.ef  of  the  Mohawks,  who  had  deserted  his  country  and 
Identified  himself  with  the  French  allies  at  the  west.     Approaching 
the  point  of  attack,  he  had  eloquently  harangued  the  French  and  their 
Indian  aJIies  to  "lose  all  recollections  of  their  fatigue  in  hopes  of 
aking  ample  revenge  for  the  injuries  they  had  received  from  th 
Iroquois  at  the  solicitation  of  the  English,  and  of  washino  them  out 
m  the  blood  of  thetrai^ors."*     At  eleven  o'clock  at  nighuhey  came 
ne.r  the  settlement,  and  deliberating  whether  they  should  no^no 
pone  the  attack  to  a  moredead  hour  of  the  night,  were  compel  I'd  by 
th^excessive  cold^ton^sh^   their  victims  and  destroy  them,  tJ 

that  oLped.  bc4nVrdotX'.Vpit    f  tll^s  "tH^^  ^'"^•^'  "''  ""  *'"'  P"P"l'»tion 

inandantof  the  pkco,  "C.       Sa  Jc?-  wl ,  1^  '    ^     ^  '"/'^"'^■"'''^'  of  the  British  com- 
to  some  Frencl,  PrLs,  „„9  '  The  Fr 'nrl  !'.'  'n*'^."  ''T"  ^''^'"■'  P'■<'^'i<>"aly 

"  tl,e  lives  of  fift'y  or  "i^n-  nc,  on.   o      J"  "  '    '  '"  *'"/ 'V-^  Do<-u,„ent..,'  .ay.  that 
havii^S  escaped  tlL  fir.t  l?.ry  ol  uttacS'        '         ""  ""'^   '^''^'^''''  ''"''  'l"^"^-  ^W 

'  ■         i. 


I 


mm 


PHELPS    AND    GORHAMS    PURCHASE, 


35 


enjoy  the  warmth  of  their  burning  hamlets.  A  small  garrison,  where 
there  were  soldiers  under  arms,  was  first  attacked,  carried,  set  fire 
to  aiid  burned,  and  all  its  defenders  slaughtered.  Then  succeeded 
hours  of  burning  and  massacre,  until  almost  the  entire  population 
and  their  dwellings  had  been  destroyed.  The  details  of  the  terrible 
onslaught  are  familiar  to  the  general  reader.  It  was  a  stealthy  mid- 
night  assault,  a  work  of  the  sword  and  the  torch,  that  has  few  par- 
allels in  all  the  wars  upon  this  continent.  The  whole  forms  an  early 
legend  of  the  Mohawk,  and  was  the  precursor  of  the  terrible  scenes, 
that  in  after  years  were  enacted  in  that  once  harrassed  and  ravaged, 
but  now  smiling  and  peaceful  valley. 

As  if  satiated  with  this  work  of  death  ;  paralized  by  the  severity 
of  the  weather,  or  intimidated  by  the  English  strength  at  Albany  ; 
the  French  retraced  their  steps,  with  their  prisoners  and  plunder,  not, 
however,  without  suffering  from  hunger  and  cold,  enough  to  make 
the  victory,  if  such  it  could  be  called,  a  dear  one.  The  flesh  of 
the  horses  they  had  taken  at  Schenectady,  was  for  a  part  of  the 
march  their  only  food.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  Indians  and 
fifty  young  men  of  Albany,  pursued  them  to  Lake  Charaplam,  and 
even  over  it,  killing  some  and  taking  others  prisoners. 

Another  expedition  left  Three  Rivers  and  penetrated  the  wilder- 
ness to  the  Piscataqua  River  in  Maine,  surprised  a  small  English 
settlement,  killed  thirty  of  its  inhabitants,  and  made  the  rest  prisoners. 
After  which  they  fell  in  with  another  French  force,  and  destroyed 
the  English  Fort  at  Casco. 

A  third  expedition  went  among  the  Western  Indians  to  confirm 
their  alliance  by  intimidation  and  a  lavish  bestowal  of  presents ; 
and  was  by  far  the  most  successful  of  the  three.  It  helped  vastly  to 
turn  trade  in  the  direction  of  Montreal,  and  strengthened  the  French 
with  many  of  the  powerful  nations  of  the  west.  On  their  way,  they 
fe'l  in  with  and  defeated  a  large  war  party  of  the  Iroquois. 

While  all  this  was  in  progress,  war  i)arties  of  the  hostile  Iroquois 
had  been  making  repeated  incursions  down  the  St.  Lawrence, 
harrassing  the  French  settlements. 

The  incursions  of  the  French  at  the  eastward  had  aroused  the 
people  of  New  England  to  make  common  cause  with  the  people  of 
New  York  and  their  Iroquois  allies.  In  May,  1G90,  deputies  from 
New  York  and  all  the  New  England  colonies  met  in  Alliany,  and 
made  the  quarrel  fheir  own  insfear!  of  that  of  England,  who  had  been 


PIIEirs    AND    G0imA3IS    PURCHASE. 


remiss  in  aiding  their  colonies  to  carry  it  on.     A  general  invasion 
ol  the  Lrench  colony  was  resolved  upon.     Two  expeditions  were 
arranged,  one  to  sail  Iro.n  Boston  to  Quebec,  and  the  other  to  cross 
the  country  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  descending  the  River  join  the 
naval  expedition  at  Quebec.     Both  were  failures.     The  land  force 
under  General  Wintlirop  of  Connecticut.  800  strong,  marched  from 
Albany  to  Lake  Champlain.  where  they  were  disappointed  in  not 
meeting  500  Iroquois  warriors  a^  had  been  aggreed  upon,  and  the  In- 
dians had  also  failed  to  provide  the  necessary  canoes  for  crossi;.g 
the  Lake.     A  council  of  war  was  held  and  a  retreat  agreed  upon 
Major  Schuyler  of  the  New  York  levies,  had  however,  preceded  the 
main  army,  and  crossed  the  Lake  without  knowing  that  Winthrop 
had  retreated.  He  attacked  a  small  garrison  at  La  Prairie,  and  oblicred 
them  to  fall  back  toward  Chambly.     The  French  in  retreatin-  fell 
m  with  a  reinforcement,  and  turned  upon  their  pursuers;  a  severe 
engagement  ensued ;  overpowered  by  numbers,  Schuyler  was  obliged 
to  retreac.     Sir   William   Phipps  had  command  of  the  naval  ex- 
pedition,  which  con.sisted  of  35  vessels  and  200  troops.  After  captur 
ing  some  French  posts  at  New  Foundland,  and  upon  the  Lower  St 
Lawrence,  the  British  squadron  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sa-e- 
nay,  Frontenac  having  learned  that  the  English  land  force  had 
turned  back,  had  hastened  to  Quebec,  and  ordered  a  concentration 
of  .is  forces  there.     The  slow  approach  of  the  New  England  inva- 
ders gave  him  a  plenty  of  time  to  prepare  for  defence.     On  the  5th 
of  October  the  squadron  appeared  before  Quebec  and  the  next  day 
demanded  a  surrender.     To  the  enquiry  of  the  bearer  of  the  mes- 
sage what  answer  he  had  to  return,  the  brave  old  Count  said  •- 
iell  your  master  I  will  answer  by  the  mouth  of  my  cannon,  that 
he  may  learn  that  a  man  of  my  rank  is  not  to  be  summoned  in  this 

TT'-  Jr^u  '"''^  ^"""^^^^  •■  - ^  ^^^'^^  «^  1700  was  landed  un- 
der Major  Walley,  and  had  much  hard  fighting,  with  but  indifferent 
success,   with  French  out-posts.     In  the  mean  time.   Phipps  had 

ibrtr  TrT  '  ^'"'^"^  '^'  {^eaviestguns  against  the  town  and 
loitress.  The  fire  was  mostly  ineffectual;  directed  principally 
against  the  high  eminence  of  the  Upper  Town,  it  fell  short  of  the 
mark,  while  a  destructive  fire  was  pouring  down  upon  the  assail- 

fl^!  'f  L  '""u  '''''  '''"''""'^  but  twenty  hours,  when  the  Briti..h 
fleet  fell  down  the  stream  out  of  the  reach  of  the  galling  fire  from 
the  h.gh  ramparts  of  the  besieged  fortress.     The  force  under  Major 


I- 

n 


PHELPS    A^TD    OORHAm's    PLRCIIASE.  37 

Wrliey,  upon  land,   continued  the  firrht    frennmllu  c,.„«     1 
.heir  approacho.    After  a  -nes  of  "slwpTnJatm "r,  fe'Tand 
orco  were  oMipd  ,o  resort  ,o  a  hurried  embarira.r  '^    Id  o^ 
Ile.r  vessels.     It  was  a  night  scene  of  panic  and  ,lis„,^ 
l'.sing  tl,ei,-  lives  l,y  ,he  ups°  ..ing  of  boatT  The  ar*  v  1".""' 
taken  on  shore,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French     LeS         .7 
abled  ship.  Phipps  retnrned  to  Boslon  to'lf.o  tltT,  f  ot'lt 

Quebec  ■"''•    "  "'  """""'  "^  '"^  ™-"  °f  '-  ^'egeTf 

Then  followed  a  winter  of  re|>ose  with  the  French  colonv  b„.  of 
d^ay  and  apprehension  in  New  England  and  New  York' who! 
fl  et  and  „„y  ^^j  ,„  .^^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^  Iroquois  who  h"d 
&  led  to  co-operate  with  Winthrop  in  th«  fall,  werl  early  in  .he 
held  by  themselves  in  the  sprint  In  Miv  n  .).  "^"7  '"  '"« 
warriors  approached  Montrea";,  lading  ^al^^FXltlle^^^^ 
and  re-cnact,ng  all  the  horrid  scenes  of  former  year7-ulT"„; 

repeated,  and  with  similar  results  ^'  "'""'"'"  "' 

.he'^Frenlh'rdtTh""  '""  "'  '',""''*  ^"''  '''^'•"''  -^  '"d-"  -a^, 
merrench  under  the  energetic  administration  of  Frontenac  all  ,U 

wh,le  extending  their  settlements,  and  stren^theniniTheirwho 1 1 
omal  pos,t,on.  though  with  arms  in  their  hai^d       l^we  I  ,n  s  J 
content  to  act  upon  the  defensive,  while  on  the  part  of  tie  fT. 

.akiT-t  Oiitarit)  and  ClianiDlaii,  i„  inptm     .  *-""']"^'st«  overthoir  own  raco.     Crossina- 

heir  .tealtliy  a.s,,ault,s  and  savago  wartim^  £  on  1'  °  '  "'--^  '"'•  '.^^°'"  ^'^^  "«'  ""^v 
tlu^r  race  added  to  ordinary  >)ravorv-.thev  ^r  d  f  ■'  °'^'""«''?"«  ^itli  the  stoicism  of 
so  dions  of  Franco,  a.tonislfinj.  the  "men  Xl Sinii-^  '""^'^  *™"''^  *'"''  ^*^'*^'-'»" 
achievements.  The  best  soldrers  of  Franco  ^ndfe  "^ 'he  aits  of  war  with  their 
occasion,  for  aB  e.ual  un.berof  unt^^ saJdlii^^f S^^S S^  '"^  ^^ 


£ 


8 


PnEPLS    AND     GOIIHAm's    PURCHASE. 


tering  the  Onondaga  Lake,  the  army  was  divided,  a  portion  of  it  being 
sent  against  the  Ojieidas,  while  Frontenac  landed  with  the  main  force 
destined  for  the  attack  upon   the  Onondagas.     The  old  Count  had 
now  become  so  decrepid  from  age  and  hard  service,  that  he   was 
borne  to  the  point  of  attack  upon  a  litter  ;  presenting  a  scene  spiced 
somewhat  with  romantic  heroism,  if  the  object  of  attack  had  in  any 
considerable  degree  corresponded  with  the  military  array  and  pre- 
paration.    The  French  army  landed  upon  the  banks  of  the  Lake,  and 
threw  up  some  defences.     The  Onondagas  were  aware  of  the  ap- 
proach, fortified  themselves  as  woll  as  they  could  in  their  castle, 
.sent  away  all  but  their  warriors,  and  resolved  upon  a  desperate  de- 
fence.    They  were,  however,  intimidated  by  a  Seneca  prisoner,  who 
had  escaped  from  the  French,  who  told  them  that  Frontenac's  army 
"  was  as  numerous  as  the  leaves  on  the  trees,  and  that  they  had  ma- 
chines which  threw  up  large  balls  in  the  air,  which  falling  on  their 
cabins  would  burst  in  pieces  scattering  fire  and  death  every  where 
around,  against  which  their  stockades  would  be  no  defence,"     This 
was  a  kind  of  warfare  new  to  them,  and  which  they  resolved  not  to 
encounter,  setting  fire  to  their  castle  and  cabins,  t-hey  fled  and  left 
their  invaders  the  poor  triumph  of  putting  to  death  one  old  Indian 
Sachem,  who  remained  to  become  a  sacrifice  and  defy  and  scorn 
the  invaders,  even  while  they  were  applying  their  instruments  of 
torture.     The  Oneidas  fled  at  the  approach  of  the  other  division  of  the 
French  army,  but  thirty  of  them  remaining  to  welcome  the  invaders 
and  save  their  castle,  village,  and  crops.     They  were  made  prisoners 
and  the  village,  castle,  and  crops  destroyed.     No  rumor  came  from 
the  English,  but  the  fear  of  one  hastened  the  French  retreat  across  the 
Lake  to  Fort  Frontenac,  and  from  thence  to  Montreal. 

The  treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  Ryswick,  and  the  death  of  Fron- 
tenac soon  followed,  leaving  partial  repose  to  the  harrassed  French 
and  English  colonies.  The  amiable  Callieres,  the  governor  of  Mon- 
treal, succeeded  Frontenac,  but  hardly  lived  to  witness  the  consum- 
mation of  his  wise  measures  for  conciliating  the  Iroquois,  renewing 
Indian  alliances,  and  generally  to  better  the  condition  of  the  aflliirs 
of  New  France.  lie  was  succeeded  by  Vaudreiul  who  was  soon 
waited  upon  by  a  deputation  of  Iroquois,  that  acknowledged  the 
French  dominion. 

It  was  but  a  short  breathing  spell  for  the  colonies :  —  In  May, 
1702,  what  was  called  "Queen  Ann's  war,"  was  declared,  and  the 


rnELPS  AND  goeiiam's  purchase. 


39 


scenes  of  what  had  been  called  "  King  William's  war,"  were  re-enact- 
ed upon  this  continent. 

The  Province  of  New  York  took  but  little  part  in  the  contest,  and 
itschief  I  irden  fell  upon  New  England.  The  Indians,  within  their 
own  limits,  reinforced  by  the  Indians  of  Canada,  and  not  unfrequent- 
ly  accompanied  by  the  French,  made  incursions  into  all  parts  of  the 
eastern  English  Provinces,  falling  upon  the  frontier  settlements  with 
the  torch,  the  tomahawk  and  knife,  and  furnishing  a  long  catalogue 
of  captivity  and  death,  that  mark  that  as  one  of  the  most  trying  pe- 
riods in  a  colonial  history,  upon  almost  every  page  of  which  we  are 
forcibly  reminded  how  much  of  blood  and  suffering  it  cost  our  pio- 
neer ancestors  to  maintain  a  foothold  upon  this  continent.*  The 
war  on  the  part  of  the  English  colonies,  was  principally  directed 
against  Port  Royal,  Quebec  and  Montreal.  Most  of  the  expeditions 
they  fitted  out  were  failures  ;  there  was  a  succession  of  shipwreck, 
badly  framed  schemes  of  conquest ;  organization  of  forces  but  to  be 
disbanded  before  they  had  consummated  any  definite  purposes; 
"marching  up  hills  and  marching  down  again." 

Such  being  the  geographical  features  of  the  war ;  the  Province 
of  New  York  having  assented  to  the  treaty  of  neutrality  between 
the  French  and  Five  Nations,  and  contenting  itself  with  an  enjoy- 
ment of  Indian  trade,  while  their  nei'Thborinc;  Provinces  were  strung- 
gling  against  the  French  and  Indians  ;  there  is  little  to  notice  having 
any  immediate  connexion  w-ith  our  local  relations. 

Generally,  during  the  war,  the  Five  Nations  preserved  their 
neutrality.  They  managed  with  consummate  skill  to  be  the  inti- 
mate friends  of  both  the  English  and  French.  Situated  between 
two  powerful  nations  at  war  Avith  each  other,  they  concluded  the 
safest  way  was  to  keep  themselves  in  a  position  to  fall  in  with  the 
one  that  finally  triumphed.  At  one  period,  when  an  attack  upon 
Montreal  was  contemplated,  they  were  induced  by  the  English  to 
furnish  a  large  auxiliary  force,  that  assembled  with  a  detachment  of 
English  troops  at  Wood  Creek.  The  whole  scheme  amounting  to 
a  failure,  no  opportunity  was  offered  of  testing  their  sincerity;  but 
from  some  circumstances  that  transpired,  it  was  suspected  that  they 
were  as  much  inclined  to  the  French  as  to  the  English.     At  one 


'•t 


if 


From  the  yonr  1675,  to  llio  ch  •■  of  Queen  Ann's  War  in  1713,  about  six  thousand 
of  (lie  Enirlisli  colonists,  liad  perished  by  tlio  stroke  of  tJio  eneniv.  or  by  distsmnei-a 
contracted  la  military  service.  .  .  i 


40 


mi 

Mi'.' 


I 


PHELPS   AND    GOEHAM's    PUECHASE. 


period  during  the  war,  five  Iroquois  Sachems  were  prevailed  upon 
to  visit  England  for  the  purpose  of  urging  renewed  attempts  to 
conquer  Canada.      They  were  introduced  to  the  Queen,  decked 
out  in  splendid  wardrobe,  exhibited  through  the  streets  of  London 
at  the  theatres,  and  other  places  of  public  resort ;  feasted  and  toast- 
ed, they  professed  that  their  people  were  ready  to  assist  in  extermi- 
nating the  French,  but  threatened  to  go  home  and  join  the  French 
unless  more  effectual  war-measures  were  adopted.   "  This  was  a  les 
son  undoubtedly  taught  them  by  the  English  colonies,  who  had  sent 
them  over  to  aid  in  exciting  more  interest  at  home  in  the  contest 
that  was  waging  in  the  colonies.     The  visit  of  the  Sachems  had  tern- 
porarily  the  desired  effect.     It  aided  in  inducing  the  English  gov- 
ernment to  furnish  the  colonies  with  an  increased  force  of  men  and 
vessels  of  war,  in  assisting  in  a  renewed  expedition  against  Mon- 
treal  and  Quebec,  which  ended,  as  others  had,  in  a  failure.     They 
got  nothing  from  the  Five  Nations  but  professions;  no  overt  act  of 
co-operation  and  assistance.     The  Governor  of  the  province  of 
New  York,  all  along  refused  to  urge  ihem  to  violate  their  engage- 
ments  of  neutrality ;  for  as  neutrals,  they  were  p.  barrier  to  the 
frontier  settlements  of  Nev.  York,  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
iTench  and  their  Indian  allies. 

"The  treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  April,  1713,  put  an  end  to  the  war 
France  ceded  to  England  'all  Nova  Scotia  or  Arcadia,  with  its 
ancient  boundaries  ;  also,  the  city  of  Port  Royal,  now  called  An- 
napohs  Royal,  and  all  other  things  in  those  parts,  which  depend  up- 
on the  said  lands.'  France  stipulated  in  the  treaty  that  she  would 
'never  molest  the  Five  Nations,  subject  to  the  dominion  of  Great 
Jiritam,'  leaving  still  undefined  their  boundaries,  to  fbrm  with  other 
questions  of  boundary  and  dominion,  future  disagreements. ' 

In  all  these  years  of  war,  French  interests  at  the  West  had  not 
been  neglected.  In  1701,  a  French  officer,  with  a  small  colony 
and  a  Jesuit  missionary,  founded  the  city  of  Detroit.  *  The  peace 
of  their  respective  sovereigns  over  the  ocean,  failed  to  reconcile 
difficulties  between  the  colonies.  Tiie  trade  and  the  right  to  navi- 
gate  the  Lakes,  was  a  monopoly  enforced  by  the  French,  which  the 
English  colonies  of  New  York  were  bent  upon  disturbing,  though 


yond  Iho  UeneseeSn '^°''  ^'  ''*"°"''"'^  "^  ^''^'''  ^"^^  ^''^  ^'''^  ^'^'^'"'''^  ^«' 


PHELPS    AND    GORHAm's    PURCHASE. 


41 


liled  upon 
tempts  to 
II,  decked 
'  London, 
and  toast- 
i  extermi- 
e  French 
ivas  a  les- 
had  sent 
e  contest 
had  tem- 
lish  gov- 
men  and 
1st  Mon- 
.     They 
rt  act  of 
i'ince  of 
engage- 
r  to  the 
ts  of  the 

he  war. 
with  its 
led  An- 
•end  up- 
e  would 
»f  Great 
th  other 

had  not 
colony 
e  peace 
concile 
0  navi- 
ich  the 
though 

iced  be- 


the  terms  of  peace  had  in  effect,  confirmed  it.     The  English  as- 
sumed  that  all  of  what  is  now  Western  New  York,  was  within 
thair  dominions,  by  virtue  of  but  a  partial  alliance  of  its  native 
owners  and  occupants ;  and  the  French  claimed  by  a  similar  tenure ; 
for,  in  fact,  it  was  a  divided  alliance,  fluctuating  with  the  policy  of 
the  Senecas,  who  seemed  well  to  understand  the  importance  of 
their  position,  and  were  resolved  to  make  the  most  of  it.     Soon  af- 
ter  1700,  we  find  a  marked  and  progressive  change  in  the  disposi- 
tion  of  the  Senecas  towards  the  French.     This  we  may  well  at- 
tribute to  the  influence  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  who  had  sue- 
ceeded  in  getting  permanent  missionary  stations  among  them,  in  a 
greater  degree,  perhaps,  to  the  advent  of  an  extraordinary  person- 
age,  who,  for  a  long  period,  exercised  an  almost  unbounded  influ- 
ence throughout  this  region.     This  was  Joncaire,  a  Frenchman, 
who,  from  a  captive  among  the  Senecas,  merged  himself  with  them, 
was  adopted,  and  became  the  faithful  and  indefatigable  promoter 
of  the  French  interests.    We  first  hear  of  him  from  Charlevoix,  who, 
m  1721,  found  him  the  occupant  of  a  cabin  at  Lewiston,  where  he 
had  gathered  around  him  a  small  Indian  settlement,  and  where  a 
fortress  was  contemplated  -  the  right  to  build  which,  he  had  nego- 
tiated  with  the  Senecas.    He  then  bore  a  commission  in  the  French 
army.     He  was  familiar  with  all  the  localities  of  this  region,  and 
gave  to  Charlevoix  a  description  of  the  "river  of  the  Tsoutonouans," 
(Genesee  river,)  the  Sul^-hur  Springs  at  Avon,  and  the  Oil  Spring 
at  Cuba.     In  17r.O,  Kalm,  the  German  traveller,  found  a  half-blood 
Seneca,  a  son  of  hb,  at  Lewiston  ;  and  in  1753,  Washington  made 
the  acquamtance  of  another  son  of  his,  while  on  a  mission  to  the 
French  at  the  West,  and  mentions  that  he  was  then  preferring  the 
French  claim  to  the  Ohio,  by  virtue  of  the  discoveries  of  L.i  Salle. 
In  1759.  these  two  half-biood  sons  bore  commissions  in  the  French 
army,  and  were  among  the  French  forces  of  the  West,  that  were 
defeated  on  the  Niagara  River,  on  their  way  to  re-inforce  the  be- 
sieged  garrison.     In  1730,  M.  de  Joncaire,  the  elder,  ',M  made  a 
report  to  the  French  Superintendent  at  Montreal,  of  all  the  Indians 
whom  he  regarded  as  '-connected  with  the  government  of  Canada." 
rie  embraces  the  whole  of  the  Iroquois  nations,  and  locates  them 
principally  through  this  State,  from  Schenectady  to  the   Niagara 
River ;  and  in  Canada,  along  near  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Ontario, 
all  of  the  nations  of  Canada,  and  nil  inhabiting  the.  valleys  of  the 


42 


PHELPS   AND    GOEHAM'S    PFRCHASE. 


lii  i 


western  lakes,  the  Ohio  inrl  th^  i\r 

ment,  he  ment  ons  that  hoT.  "      ^^''f'^PV^-     I"  this  official  docu- 
"He  snok.  »    """'  ^^7«  '«  "engaged  at  the  history  of  the  Sioux" 

mZ  t^eJZ  'enit  fi  "  ''V  '''  '-'  ^^"^  ''  ^  '^'- 
elo^enceofou^^^t  '"^'^  ''■'''''  ^^  ^^^^  all  the  .ublime 

ernor  of  Ne  v  Yc^^       ^   .  ^'"'''^' '"  '^''  '^''''''''■'  b»t  the  Gov- 

a  fort  at  Osvve.0  and  XJwn        ^"^I'sh  Governor,  Burnett,  built 
ouoit  "     ThI  ■  P       ""  store-house"  at  the  Bay  of  "Ironde- 

quo.t.       The  year  previous,  the  French,  upon  the  ruins  of  ZT 
porary  works  of  De  Nonville   h-id  h,nU  /      v  ^^'^■ 

protests  and  remonstrance:  ontE^L         ^'^'''^  '^^^'"^^  '^^ 

J':  Tz:^i:^::':;~z:^  --  ^^  ^^^^^^  out- 
sanatory  expeditions,  of  F  enTandTnIn       '?"''"'"^^'  '^  ^" 

but  little  reference  to  this  o..T  '''^'''  ''"''''  '"  ^^'  "^^i" 

one  prominentTaVse  c!^^^  J^SltTofV  ^f h  ^'"^^".  '^^'^  ^^'- 
countries  had  but  little  influen  e  witlfXnl  "''"  '^^  ""^^"^' 
make  war  upon  their  own  accost  Toft   ^a^^^^^^^^^^  ''^'^'' 

t  Wk  n,otwith  tl.o  Hire,;;:,  p  ^    ^;/  n^F^::,?'   '"•i'f'"T^t'»H.,n  nt  Lowisi  a''^  ^^ 
Son..ca,s   ponsislh,^  i/,  allcnvinff   /l/ei        '  j  '   '  "  7^?'.'/ "  5""tn,]Ii„f,  tJ.c  ,„H(fcr.   T),e 

country  , sin  poaec,  the  4,k.I,  a, /^v  '  ';,.i,l  I  ""■'";'''  ' 'f  '^"'"''"'''■■'^  rq.li,.,l  :_.o''; 
raisi,,;.  .listMrbanccH.  ilore.  v  •  '/  '  .^  "™'"  ^"  "'' °  *"  "v^'  t,«othcM-  with,  t 
>.;ro  ;  he  IS  a  d.ihl  „f  the  nation  h^  'ni  m  n;:;;r?  /■' i'  •^'""^""•^^'«'"l<i  r^'nZ 
t  '!ve  Ironi  hi„i.''     Soon  after  thi.  the  h     .  vL  ^  .:  ''''"'''  "''■  ""'  ""^  nt  Jibevt v  to 

•own  the  river,  and  paved  the  v^.yC'^'ll:'^''^"^^  I'is  view.  i;,4e 

1  i>H  was  acco.nnlishl,,!  by  a  ursB  on  the  t-f  f  r  "*•'''  "'"""  *■•""•'•««  "t  Nia.^.  ra 
Ihe  Senecusha.'l  no  iUea^of,lLti,iTi;1.^."^'''f •"'%••"''  "tl'-r  Fren<h  ofiic'rs" 
then- terntory.  A  body  of  Im  ,  c  1.  '  '  "' '  '"'  ^'"•-"■•^''  lorlifications  ,m, 
Niasara  nver,  to  conu/ence  ti.e  Srk  w  .bl?'"'  ""'■'""^'^'^'  '''^  ^''^  ">"""'  "*  >  " 
take  It  ni  the  presence  of  the  Hc^Zt  ul^^  '^  "o  nieans  stron.j.  eno„-ii  to  nndcr- 
tirst  f,'ot  jierniission  (o  bui!  |  •,  ^I'T'         •J"'''  watclun-  their  rnov,.n,e,rm     TJ  Z  It 

c.slron.'bein.wi,nes.S;IVL^,n^Sbi:;  '^kn'''""^^ 

UMble  the  French  to  protect  nvcinsolv^seSi  attack  '''""»''  '"^™"^«1  ^o 


PHELPS    AND    GOEIIAm's    PURC.TIASE. 


43 


French  continued  to  extend  their  posts  to  the  West  and  South  West 
and  the  English  to  strengthen  the  frontiers  of  New  Encrland,  and 
their  advance  post  at  Oswego.  ° 

n^^T'^t  ^'^^^  ^''^''''''  ''^''^^'^^  "^^^  ^g'"^'"''*  F^^'i'^ce  and  Spain. 
1  he  first  blow  struck  upon  this  continent,  was  the  capture  of  Louis- 
burg,  which  success  emboldened  Governor  Shirley,  of  Massachu- 
setts, to  ask  the  co-operation  of  the  other  colonies  in  an  attempt  to 
drive  the  French  from  all  their  American  possessions  ;  some  de- 
monstrations with  that  view  were  made;  but  the  principal  events 
of  the  campaign  were  at  sea,  and  upon  the  frontiers  of  New  Enrr. 
land.     The  short  war  was  closed  by  the  peace  of  Aix  la  Chapelfe, 
of  1748.     Its  chief  result  had  been  the  loss  to  the  French  of  all  the 
Northern  frontier  coast,  to  repair  which,  they  immediately  projected 
schemes  for  extending  their  dominion  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  and 
upon  the  Mississippi,  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.     In  1750,  commission- 
ers  met  in  Pans  to  adjust  American  boundaries,  but  after  a  long 
session,  accomplished  nothing.     Difficulties  arose  in  a  new  quarter. 
The  crown  of  England  granted  to  an  association  of  its  subjects  at 
home,  and  in  Virginia,  called  the  Ohio  Company,  000,000  acres  of 
land  upon  the  Ohio  river,  all  of  which  was  upon  lerriiorv  claimed 
by  France.     The  attempts  of  this  Company  to  survey  and  settle 
these  lands,  and  the  building  of  French  posts  upon  them,  simulta- 
neously, brought  the  English  and  French  colonists  into  direct  con- 
flict.    The  campaign  was  opened  by  the  Governor  of  Vkmnla,  who 
sent  an  armed  force  to  the  disputed  ground.     Other  colonies  soon 
co-operated ;  and  after  the  contest  had  been  attended  with  alternate 
successes  and  reverses,  in  1755,  General  Braddock  came  with  a 
force  from  England,  to  aid  the  colonies.     All  the  events  of  the  war 
upon  the  Allegany  and  the  Ohio,  form  prominent  pnges  of  American 
history;   ultimately  connected  with    the   history  of  our  western 
States ;  but  deriving  its  chief  general  interest  from  the  circumstance 
that  it  was  the  school  of  experience  and  discipline,  where  the  sword 
of  the  youthful  Washington  was  first  unsheathed. 

Braddock's  defeat  followed  ;  then  General  Shirley's  abortive  ex- 
pedition in  the  direction  of  Niagara  ;  Sir  William  Johnson's  par- 
tially successful  expedition  to  Lake  George ;  the  advent  of  Lord 
Loudon,  as  Commander-in-chief  of  the  British  army  in  America ; 
which  principal  events  closed  the  campaign  of  1755 ;  and  in  the  a<r'. 
gregate,  had  darkened  British  prospects  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic 


44 


PHELPS    AND    GORIIAM'S   PURCHASE. 


':•' ! 


i:ii 


ii!'-' 


county  of  OneUa    !Lr   r,  ""      "'^''^  '■'"■  '"  >'''»' '»  "<"^  'he 
a  French  f„,co  „,  Ihr  W  ""  ''"S''«='™"'  "f  2n.J».roc.  wi,h 

Ihe  British  fort"   Z?ZT  r;V"'"  '■""°"^''  ''>'  "'^  "P""-"  of 

These  princ  pa  1°:  r ^^^^'^Tm-  ''°"'°'"™- 
Indian  depredations  ?,!        ,  "'^  "P  °''  f''™'^''  ""d 

mination  of  the  border  s«  I  "'^  '..-"""""^  "''"os.  to  the  exter- 
terests,  at  tl,e  close  of  th,  l'™"7l'»nia ;  gave  to  British  in- 

e»cct,r,i„,  .::rot\:7Zht  r.rs  --  - 

Lord  L  n  on  CO  ee^   ,  1  rT     '^r"f  ™-    ^"""»' ""'  -'— • 
posablc  forces  of  till  "  T"'  "'"'"  "'""^'"  """y-  ""  "'=  d''" 

added,  u     e,  o  Cm  !"  n    "l''  "  P"""*'  ""''='  -™™™' 

.on.butaba„redS::itra  r"'^ 

ble ;  for  reasons  vvhieh7„l  ■•°  '"'''°''>' '"™'"''  "»="'.»  ="»'na- 

fare     T,l  i;?  ™'"" ''  '"}-^"=0-in  the  history  of  En  dish  war 

cah„  in  perso",  ct  SI,  '^t;:::;^!!  :.i'^,';?^  •■--  '^'-- 

wasayearofdisa^terswi,MI,„  17    V>    /  Wilham  Henry.     It 

were  embarke      „d  Jil    |    1     ='"'' '  '°'™"'''"'' """«'' »""  ■"'vie. 

t;crc:H^~="-=- 
'.-«:::r^:cp--t^^^^^^^^ 

Mr  P  ,!'  ,d       '  ""'"'"'  ^"S'"""*  ''"'""'^'.ood  .—  It  wa,  that  of 
of  itf  ff  itv 'r"T'°"  °' "^  ""'""■^-    «'•  •""•">-'l  -a  To  aspcc 

wi/b^St^tttS^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

or  whoever  is  out  "  s-ii,-l  J  nrA  r\     .   7   ,'  °"''-        Whoever  is  in. 

^nehare::rrdots::i^:i  ;:t:!-:r^r '"- 
tbe'ix  o'r[::i:bt:rrc''"''°^f  =  ""^"^^"'^  •'•'"«-™ 

military  offiecr7XS  n         .       ''    '°  '■™°'''''  "f"'"  ""™l  and 

recalled  I-or:  A*r  tiThe  ^./.^tG"' '"  '"""T'  "'■  "" 

irom  tne  auny  in  Germany,  and  made  him 


ack  of  tJie 
^  now  the 
•trcct  with 
capture  of 

renc'i  and 
tlie  exter- 
British  in- 
even  less 

ring,  by  a 
under  the 
rengthen- 
!  summer, 
II  the  dis- 
irmament 
^ape  Bre- 
y  attaina- 
clish  war- 
is,  Mont- 
Jnry.     It 
id  navies 
!re  abor- 
s  of  the 
t'okition, 

that  of 
5  aspect 
t  it  was 
er  is  in. 
,  "lam 
increas- 
.     Ttie 

are  no 

gs,  was 
.'al  and 
Ir.  Pitt 
de  him 


mELP3   AND    GOEHAm's    PURCHASE. 


45 


commander  in  chief  of  the  expedition,  and  made  the  Hon.  Edward 
Boscawen  the  Admiral  of  the  fleet.  An  expedition  consisting  of  23 
ships  of  the  line,  15  frigates,  120  smaller  vessels,  on  board  of°which 
were  nearly  12,000  British  regulars,  sailed  from  Portsmouth  and  arri- 
ving at  Ilalifiix  on  the  2Sth  of  May,  soon  commenced  the  siege  of 
Louisburg,  which  ended  in  a  capitulation  of  the  strong  for»ress,"after 
a  gallant  and  protracted  resistance,  on  the  25th  of  July.  The' fruits 
of  the  conquest  were  5,000  French  prisoners ;  11  ships  of  war  taken 
or  destroyed ;  250  pieces  of  ordnance ;  15,000  stand  of  arms,  and  a 
great  amount  of  provisions  and  military  stores.  A  scene  of  plunder 
and  devastation  followed  in  all  that  region,  which  dimmed  the  lustre 
of  British  arms. 

Far  less  of  success  attended  British  arms  in  this  campaign  in  other 
quarters :— Mr.  Pitt  had  infused  among  the  despairing  colonies,  a  new 
impulse;  they  had  sent  into  the  field  an  efficient  force  of  9,000  men, 
which  were  added  to 6,000  regulars— all  under  the  command  of  Aber-' 
crombie.  In  July,  he  had  his  strong  force  afloat  on  Lake  George, 
proceeding  to  the  attack  upon  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  'a 
protracted  siege  of  Ticonderoga  followed,  badly  conducted  in  almost 
every  particular;  the  sequel,  a  retreat,  with  the  loss  of  nearly  2,000 
men.  The  intrepid  Bradstreet  soon  made  partial  amends  for  this  un- 
fortunate enterprise,  by  the  capture  of  Fort  Frontenac,  then  the  strong 
hold  of  French  Indian  alliance.  General  Stanwix  advanced  up  the 
Mohawk  and  built  the  Fort  that  took  his  name.  In  the  mean  time 
General  Forbes  had  left  Pliiladelphia  with  an  efficient  army  of  over 
0,000  regulars  and  provincials,  and  after  a  defeat  of  his  advance  force, 
had  captured  Fort  du  Quesne,  changing  the  name  to  Fort  Pitt  in 
honor  of  the  great  master  spirit  who  was  controlling  England's  des- 


Note. -How  ofton  iiro  tnuinphg  of  arms,  the  result  of  chance!  It  is  btit  a  few 
vcarsBmco  an  Arnoncau  General  confe.sse.l  that  a  sple.ulid  victory  wns  owing  r^.tl^ 
ftict  that  .  on.e  unJj^cn.Lne,!  troops  ,11.1  not  know  when  they  we.4  fmrly  conqnered 
pcrsevere.1  ,n  (ho  hj^ht  and  turne,!  ll,o  ti.le  ,.f  battle.  An  ini,Wi.sh  hist.frian  la  ml  i 
upon  ev.  ,y  subjec  he  touohoH,  a.j.nivs  that  ll-e  capture  ..f  Louisburir  was  accid.'ntu  - 
the  hrst  successful  landm-  was  made  by  W„]f,  then  a  Bn-a.fi.r  General.  Gen 
Amherst  doubte.l  >t«  j,rm-t,cal,ility.  "The  chivalrous  Wolf  himself,  as  he  „e  ed  tbe 
awlul  sml,  sniggered  m  las  resolution,  and  nrop„siugto  .h.ferthe  enterprise,  waved  his 
hat  lor  the  boats  o  retire  'I  hr,.,-  y„uMg  subaltern  oHlcers.-howevor,  connnandin.Mhe 
1  ad  ng  eft,  puH  HMl  on  shore,  having  miHtaken  the  signal  for  what  their  stout  hca  ts 

H  ,    r  ,  :    ,f     L         -T  r    '  '•^';'^'''"'.'?«V.'.'^'  ■■""!  ci.'ov.'ned,  but  tlie  renmint^er  climbed  up 

r,  f    IT    V       • '"."'  (""""'^  "I'""  ^'^^  ™"""^f-    '•'''«  Bng'^'lier  then  cheered  on  tlie 
rest  lit  tliM  i|ivi«i,iri  (.1  ti>,.  tiMiir-iii't  of  f'ii>   •.iH  ,  t  (•  i  ••        ■       i     ^""-"""  i'". 

landing  was  accomplishod.'''^  '  '  ""^^'"^  ^'''''  "'"^  '"''  "'°  '^^'""'^"'  '^'^'i"'"^ 


46 


PHELPS   AHD    OOimAM'3    PUECIIASE. 


be  n  ;.ectl  e    Ltr  "''  ""f  r^P^'S""'  «>e  year,  Abercrombie  ha,l 


CHAPTER  II. 


m 


'i 


SIEGE    AND    SURRENDER    OF    FORTNrAPAn* 

I'UKl   NIAGARA. CONaUEST  OF   WESTERN 

NEW  YORK. 


Toward  he  close  of  1758,  the  policy  of  the  British  Minister  Mr 
Pitt  began  to  be  clearly  developed.  It  looked  to  no  farthe  b effi 
cenM^easures  but  to  a  vigorous  and  decisive  canWn    vhth 

t:^z::::r  t?  i^i-''  ^?^^^^^'  ^^^-^  -^  ^^'^' 

ttiis  continent.     1  he  British  people,  stimulated  by  a  spirit  of  con 
quest,  and  a  hatred  of  the  French,  both  of  which  haSbe  n  assidu" 
ously  promoted  by  the  public  press,  and  public  men  of  En"   nd' 
seconded  the  ambitious  views  of  the  Minister     p7r       ^"f ''"?' 
dre^sinrr  thp  Thrr>,  i      ,     ^»  uie  ivimistei.     rarliament.  in  ad- 

dre  .ing  the  Throne,  applauded  him,  and  upon  the  recommendation 
of  the  King,  wei-e  prompt  and  liberal  in  the  voting  of  suppl   s 

corl  a  ::?  '■''  '""  '^'^^"  "P°"  ^'-  '-'-  «f  theltlant'  to  secure 

ord lal  and  vigorous  co-operation ;  the  colonists,  wearied  with  w 
^md  Its  harrassing  effects,  were  cheered  bv  the  exDressionlnf  I 
commiseration  of  the  Kincr  nnr?  I,;.  expiessions  of  the 

fl„  I  ■  J        -^  "'  ^""  '"^  assurances  of  protection   nnrJ 

fina  .„dem„,fioa„on;  and  more  than  all,  perhap,  h/lnovT.cT^ 

that  Mr.  Pi.,  had  projec.ed.     ,„  H.  ^o^Z^^^    ^^^ 
pme.  a  .nonopoly  of  the  Indian  .rade,  ,ho  c„„™orce  of    e  Lake 


PHELPS    AND    GORIIAM'a    PUECHASE.  47 

control  to  bear  upon  the  King  am  Parliament,  and  of  course,  had  not 
failed  to  magnify  the  hindrances  to  British  interest  which  continued 
French  dominion  imposed;  nor  to  present  in  glowing  language,  the 
truits  of  conquG  t  and  the  extension  of  British  power  in  America. 
Sir  William  Johnson,   always  faithful  to  his  liberal  patron  the  Kintr 
was  more  than  usually  active  in  wielding  the  immense  influence  h'e 
had  acquired  with  the  Indians  to  secure  their  aid  ;   he  drew  them 
together  in  different  localities,  urged  upon  them  his  professions  of  re- 
gard for  their  interests,  inflamed  their  resentments  by  recounting 
the  wrongs  they  had  endured  at  the  hands  of  the  French  ;  listened 
to  their  complaints  of  English  encroachments  upon  their  lands,  and 
was  lavish  m  promises  of  ample  reparation;  not  omitting  the  more 
than  usually  liberal  distribution  of  presents,  of  which  he  was  the 
accustomed  almoner.     By  much  the  larger  portion  of  the  Five  Na- 
tions of  the  Iroquois  were  won  over  to  the  British  interests,  a  portion 
of  the  Senecas  being  almost  alone  in  standing  aloof  from  the  contest 
or  continuing  in  French  alliance.  ' 

General  Amherst  having  succeeded  to  the  office  of  Commander 
in  Chief  of  the  British  forces  in  North  America,  had  his  head  quar- 
ters m  New  York,  in  the  winter  of  1758,  '9,  actively  calling  to  his 
aid  the  provincial  troops,  appointing  Albany  as  the  place  of  rendez- 
vous at  which  place  he  established  his  head  quarters  as  early  as  the 
month  of  April. 

The  force  at  the  disposal  of  General  Amherst,  was  larger  by  far 
than  any  that  had  been  before  mustered  upon  this  continent.  In 
addition  to  a  large  force  of  British  regulars,  the  colony  of  Massachu- 
setts  had  furnished  seven  thousand  men,  Connecticut  five  thousand, 
and  New  Hampshire  one  thousand.  The  provincial  regiments,  as 
ast  as  they  arrived  at  Albany  went  into  camp,  and  were  subjected 
to  rigid  discipline ;  the  regulars,  who  were  destined  for  operations  at 
the  north,  were  pushed  on  and  encamped  at  a  point  some  fifty  miles 
on  the  road  to  Fort  Edward. 

The  general  plan  of  the  campaign  contemplated  the  conquest  of 
ti.e  tJiree  important  strong  holds,  and  seats  of  power,  of  the  French  • 
Quebec,  Montreal,  and  Niagara.  The  main  army,  under  General 
Amherst,  were  to  move  from  the  shores  of  Lake  George,  reduce  the 
French  posts  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  descend  by  the  river 
Kichheu  and  occupy  Montreal ;  then,  on  down  the  St.  Lawrence  to 
join  the  besiegers  of  Quebec. 


48 


PHELPS   AND   OORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


Leaving  the  northern  expedititlon  to  the  province  of  general  his- 
tory.with  the  exception  perhaps  of  a  brief  allusion  to  it  in  another 
place,  we  will  take  up  that  portion  of  the  general  campaign,  which 
IS  more  .mmediately  blended  with  the  history  of  our  local  region  :  _ 
Ihe   force  destined  for  Ningara  rendezvoused  at  Schenectady 
early  in  May.     It  consisted  of  two  British  regiments  ;  a  detachment 
ot  Koyal  Artillery ;  a  battalion  of  Royal  Americans  ;  two  battalions 
ot  i>lew  York  Provincials;  and  a  large  force  of  Indian  Allies  under 
the  command  of  Sir  William  Johnson;  the  most  of  whom  were 
Mohawks,  Oneidas  and  Onondagas,  the  remainder,   Cayugas  and 
tsenecas,  with  a  few  from  such  western  nations  as  had  been  partly 
won  over  to  the  British  interests.     Brigadier  General  Prideaux  was 
the  Commander  in  Chief;  next  in  rank,  was  Sir  William  Johnson 
who  previous  to  this  had  been  regularly  commissioned  in  the  British 
army.     The  force  moved  from  Schenectady  on  the  20th  of  May 
came  up  the  Mohawk,   and  via  the  usual  water  route  to  Oswego' 
where  it  remamed,  completing  the  preparation  of  batteaux  for  ascend- 
ing Lake  Ontario,  for  over  five  weeks.     On  the  first  of  July,  the 
whole  force  were  embarked,  and  coasting  along  the  shore  of  the  Lake 
toward  their  destination ;  a  strong  fortress,  the  seat  of  French  domin. 
ion,  over  a  widely  extended  region ;  the  key  or  gate-way  to  the  pri- 
mitive  commerce  of  the  western  lakes;  its  battlements  in  solitary 
grandeur  frowning  defiance  to  any  force  that  would  be  likely  to  reach 
It  through  difficult  avenues,  in  its  far  ofllocation  in  the  wilderness. 
JXever  m  all  more  modern  periods,  have  the  waters  of  Ontario  borne 
upon  their  bosom  a  more  formidable  armament.     In  addition  to  a 
large  force,  to  their  stores  and  camp  equipage,  was  the  heavy  artillery, 
and  all  the  requisites  that  British  militarv  skill  and  foresight  had 
deemed  necessary  for  the  reduction  of  a  strong  fortress  by  regular 
approaches;  such  as  the  plan  of  attack  contemplated.     And  how 
mixed  and  made  up  of  difibrent  races,  and  men  of  different  habits 
and  characters,  was  this  expedition !  -  There  was  the  proud  com- 
missioned  and  titled  Briton,  who  had  seen  more  of  the  refinements 
and  luxuries  of  courts,  than  of  the  hardships  of  camps  in  the  wilder- 
ness ;  veteran  officers  and  soldiers,  who  had  fought  in  European 
wars,  inured  to  the  camp  and  the  field  ;  the  sons  of  the  wealthy  and 
mfluential  colonial,  in  New  York,  along  the  Hudson  river  counties. 
who  had  sought  commissions  in  the  army,  and  were  going  out  in 
their  first  campaign.     Provincials,  men  and  boys,  transferred  horn 


i 


m 


PHELPS   AND    GORHAlfs     PURCHASE. 


49 


the  stores  counting-houses,  and  nnechanic  shops  of  New  York,  and 
the  rural  districts  of  Yestchester,  Richmond,  Kings,  Queens,  Suffolk, 
Dutchess,  Ulster,  Orange,  Albany,  and  the  lower  valley  of  the  Mo- 
hawk, to  the  camp,  the  drill,  and  the  march  that  seemed  then  as  far 
extended,  and  beset  with  more  difficulies  than  would  one  over 
the  mountains  to  Oregon  now  ;  and  lastly  there  was  the  warriors  of 
the  Iroquois,  fully  imbued  with  their  ancient  war  spirit,  decked  out 
with  feathers,  claws,  and  hoops,  the  spoils  of  the  forest  chase  —  and 
with  new  paint,  broad-cloths,  blankets  and  silver  ornaments,  the  gifts 
of  the  King. 

The  armament  coasted  along  up  the  south  sliore  of  the  Lake,  en- 
camping on  shore ;  the  first  night  at  Sodus,  invited  there  by  the 
beautiful  bay,  in  which  their  water  craft  could  be  made  secure  from 
winds  and  waves,  as  their  frail  structure  demanded.  Their  other 
halting  places  for  the  night,  were  at  Irondequoit,  Braddock's  Bay, 
and  Johnson's  Creek  ;  (which  latter  place  was  named  in  honor  of  Sir 
William  Johnson ;)  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eighteen  Mile  Creek, 
(what  is  now  the  village  of  Olcott,)  within  eighteen  miles  of  Fort 
Niagara,  a  halt  was  made  to  enable  recounoitering  parties  to  go  out 
and  determine  whether  the  French  had  made  a  sortie  from  the  Fort 
in  anticipation  of  their  arrival. 

As  they  coasted  along  up  the  lake,  they  had  occasionally  dis- 
charged their  heavy  artillery,  well  knowing  that  a  noiseless  approach 
would  give  them  no  advantage,  as  the  Indian  scouts  from  the  garri- 
son, glimpses  of  whom  had  been  caught  upon  several  occasions,  had 
kept  the  French  well  informed  of  their  movements ;  and  there  were 
Iroquois  enough  in  the  French  interest,  belonging  to  the  lower  na- 
tions, to  give  the  French  missionaries  and  traders,  in  all  their  localr 
ities  in  Western  New  York,  timely  notice  of  all  that  was  going  on. 
But  they  wished  to  inspire  the  Senecas  in  their  interests  with  cour- 
age and  the  neutrals  with  terror ;  and  well,  perhaps,  did  their  device 
subserve  those  purposes. 

Leaving  the  British  army  almost  within  sight  of  the  field  of  con- 
flict, let  us  pass  over  the  lake,  and  down  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  to 
see  what  preparation  had  been  made  for  their  reception :  — 

Well  informed  at  home  of  the  policy  of  Mr.  Pitt;  of  the  prepara- 
tory acts  of  Parliame.it ;  of  the  shipping  of  reinforcements  to  the 
British  army  in  America;  of  all  the  minutiae,  in  fact,  of  the  cam- 
paign ;  the  French  had  not  been  idle.    Despatches  were  sent  to  M. 


.';o 


Iff 


PHELPS    AND    OOnnAM's    PCBCHASE. 


If 


etcTbvtif  ■  ""'  """'T'  °'  "'"""''■ ""''  ^i»  I--*  «erc  strength, 
eneci  by  reinforcements  from  Frnnpp      u^  i    *        .•       ■        ^ 

and  country  over  the  forest  and  best  portions  of  the  New  World 

men.,  and  colencod  if  J  J  J  "'^  *"'  ''«»""  ""  -'-"'h" 

the  advance  workmen  ■,.  Ihl  ,  "''"'""■  ""'"«  "Pon 

into  the  opeVZund  ;  IlT  T'  "''"""  '"  """"-S^  f'™  'h"  foU 
tired  into  t     for,     /fit         ' '"'"'.  ""''""S"'''  ""''  *e  party  re- 

fort,  whic ;:;  kept  iiTr  "r  "^  '"'^--^^^  f"-  "-^ 

On  the  8ih   m.  p      ■  u"^         ^     "  8™""=''  portion  of  the  night 

men! Mhe  Fr  th  ottuCtr-'l''"  ™"'"  "P™  ">''^  ---'>■ 
the  f„  ,,  and  Hon' ieur  La  F?  T  "  "''°"  "'"'"  ="  '"""-'"'^  f™" 
in  the  anned  rhooner  l\  "^"'""^  "''  ""''  ''™"  '>">  Lake 
^hot.  Genera  Pndel''  """"^'""""y  "^''d'ms  them  with  a 
".anding  a  :™jt  X  ""  "'' "'"'  "  """  '"'»  ">e  fort,  de- 
Freneh'commrdt  ot  ™1  ^■^■""'■■'^-'y --efced  by  the 
exchange  orXlo^Jil  Tu^l '""'  '""P'"^  '^^^'""^  *« 
the  loth,  the  EnHlradvanee  r""'"''''"'"''^'^*'^'-^-  «» 
themselves  hy  entrenchment,  V  "  "'"  "P""  8™"''.  P™tecting 
^^^elment^^        occasional  fire  fro.n  the  fort! 

r««..n,  ,1.0  l„,fc,  ,„„if„,   J  V°  »'  2   J;  ,';  : '"  'i""',"",'"' "'  «  »»'"'  i-  1>         C 
and  b,a,c,  m  die  F™,ch  .mice  „  ,  Lli  °o^?»"'"''"''  »' »  >"n.J  .3™ «"  acU™ 


PHELPS  AND  gokiiam's  puuciiase.  51 

%Nliich  became  almost  incessant  during  the  nigbt,  obliging  tiiem  at 
tunes  to  suspend  their  works.  The  small  French  force  at  Schlosser 
succeeded  in  reaching  the  fort.  On  the  11th,  a  small  ,krty  of 
French  approached  within  a  short  distance  of  the  English  trenches 
irom  which  they  sallied  out  in  strong  force,  but  were  driven  again 
into  their  defences,  by  the  guns  of  the  fort.  At  5  P.  M.,  the  En.'. 
lish  opened  their  fire  with  eight  mortars.  '  '  '^ 

The  siege  continued  from  day  to  day,  and  night  to  night,  with  oc- 
casional, but  not  long-continued  intermissions  ;  the  French,  too  few 
in  number  to  risk  a  sortie,  holding  out  valiantly  amid  the  tunblin<r 
walls  of  their  devoted  fortress,  seriously  annoying  the  besiegers 
by  an  active  fire,  that  often  arrested  the  progress  of  their  works"  as 
may  well  be  inferred  from  their  slow  approaches ;    wearied  with  toil 
and  want  of  rest;  at  tJmo?,  almost  upon  the  point  of  abandoning 
the  unequal  contest.     On  ilio  14th,  the  besiegers  had  so  e-tended 
their  works,  as  to  be  enabled  to  bring  a  heavy  force  to  bear  upon 
the  fort.     On  the  evening  of  the  19th,  their  General,  (Prideux,)  who 
had  so  well  planned  the  attack,  and,  so  far,  so  well  executed  it 
was  accidentally  killed,  while  giving  his  orders  in  the  trenches    by 
the  premature  bursting  of  a  shell,  discharged  from  a  cohorn  mortar 
The  vigor  with  which  the  siege  was  prosecuted,  may  be  jud-ed 
Irom  the  tact,  that  m  one  night,  they  threw  three  hundred  bom'bs 
Ihus  things  continued  until  the  morning  of  the  23d,  when  the  be- 
sieged had  a  gleam  of  hope  that  was  destined  not  to  be  realized  •  — 
Anticipating   this   attack.  Captain  Pouchot   had   sent  runners   to 
Presque  Isle,  Le  Boeuf,  Venango,  and  Detroit,  ordering  thcn^  with 
their  commands,  and   all  the  Indian  allies  tliev  could  muster    to 
repai"  to  Niagara.    At  a  moment  when  it  seemed  that  the  dilapidated 
fortress,  and  its  diminished  and  wearied  defenders  could  hold  out  no 
longer,  two  western  Indians  made  their  way  into  the  fort,  brincrino- 
word  from  Monsieur  Aubrey  that  he  had  arrived  with  a  forc°e  ol' 
nearly  twenty-five  hundred  French  and  Indians,  at  Navy  Island 
opposite  the  "  Little  Fort,"  (Schlosser.)     Four  Indians  were  imme- 
diately despatched,  to  inform  Monsieur  Aubrey  of  the  critical  con- 
dition of  the  fort,  and  urge  him  to  press  forward  to  its  relief 

The  command  of  the  British  force  having  now  devolved  upon 
Sir  William  Johnson,  he  had  anticipated  the  approach  of  the 
1-rench  and  Indians  from  the  West,  and  kept  himself  carefully  ad- 
vised of  their  movements,  by  means  of  his  Indian  runners     On 


PHELP3    AND   GOKUAm's    PUEOHASE. 


I 


the  evening  of  the  23d,  he  sent  out  strong  detachments  of  troops, 
and  posted  them  along  on  either  side  of  the  road  leading  from  the 
tort  to  the  Falls,  about  tvv.,  miles  from  the  fort,  where  they  rested 
upon  then-  arms  during  the  night.  Earlv  in  the  morninrr  of  the 
24th,  other  detachments  of  his  most  efTective  troops  were  "(ordered 
from  the  trenches  before  the  fort,  to  re-inforce  those  already  posted 
upon  the  Niagara  River.  The  success  of  his  protracted  siege, 
now  depended  on  arresting  the  march  of  D'Aubrey. 

The  British  force  had  but  just  been  posted  for  the  encounter 
when  the  French  and  Indians,  under   D'Aubrey,  came  down  the 
river.     The  British  out-posts  fell  back,  and  joined  the  main  body. 
The  opposing  forces  were  now  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle,  and 
D'Aubrey  gave  the  order  for  attaciv.     His  western  Indian  allies, 
hitherto  principally  concealed,  swarmed  from  the   woods,  and  gave 
the  terrif;-!  war-whoop,  at  the  same  time,  rushing  upon  the  English 
hues,  followed  by  the  French  troops.     The  British  regulars,  and 
such  provincials  as  had  seen  little  of  Indian  warfare,  quailed  for  a 
moment  in  view  of  the  fierce  onslaught;  the  Iroquois  and  the  prac- 
ticed Indian  fighters,  nmong  both  regulars  and  provincials,  stood  firm. 
In  a  moment,  the  shock  was  met  as  firmly  as  it  had  been  impetu- 
ously made.     Volley  after  volley  was  discharged  upon  the  fierce 
assailants  from  the  whole  British  line,  and  from  the  Indian  fianking 
parties,  until    the  Indian  assailants  gave  way  and  left   the  field^ 
Deserted  by  his  Indian  allies,  D'Aubrey  bravely  led  on  his  French 
troops  against  the  English  colunm,  and  was  pres:  ing  it  vigorously, 
when  a  reinforcement  of  Johnson's  Indians  arrived  tVom  the  trench- 
es, and  assailed  his  fianks,  and  aided  powerfully  in  turning  the  tide 
of  battle  against  him.     Standing  firm  for  a  short  time,  and  return- 
mg  the  English  and  the  Indian  fire,  he  gave  way  and  ordered  a  re- 
treat,  which   soon  assumed  the  character  of  a  total  rout.     The 
Enghsh  pressed  upon  the  vanquished  and  retreating  French,  and 
made  prisoners,  or  shot  'down  by  for  the  larger  potion  of  them. 
But  a  remnant  of  them  escaped  into  an  inhospitable  and  trackless 
wilderness.     D'Aubrey  and   most   of  his   principal    ollicers  were 
among  die  captives.     This  was  the  main  and  decisive  feature  of 
the  protracted  siege.     The  contest  was  but  of  short  duration;  but 
long  enough,  with  the  vigor  and  desperation  with  which  it  was 
waged,  to  strew  the  ground  for  miles  wilh  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
combatants. 


PUBLICS    AND   GOKIIAm's    PURCHASE.  53 

How  vivid  is  the  picture  presented  to  the  imagination,  of  this 
early  scene !     It  was  then  far,  far  away,  in  any  direction,  frohi  the 
abode  of  ci  vihzation.     There  were  no  spectators  of  that  sudden  clasJ. 
ofarms,  of  that  protracted  siege ;  all  were  participants.  Hundreds 
of  miles  beyond  the  heaviest  sounds  that  like  earthquake  shocks 
must  have  gone  out  from  the  conflict,  were  the  nearest  of  our  race 
save  those  who  were  at  Frontenac  and  Oswego,  and  the  few  mis- 
sionaries and  traders  upon  our  interior  rivers.     The  outlet  of  vast 
inland  lakes,  the  shores  of  which  had  been  scarcely  tread  by  Euro 
peans,  hushed  to  comparative  stillness,  after  having  tumbled  over 
the  mighty  precipice,  and  madly  rushed  through  the  long  narrow 
gorge  that  succeeds,  was   rolling  past,  its  eddies  dashing  heavily 
againstthc  shore,  moaning  a  requiem  over  the  dead  that  were  thickl'y 
strewn  upon  it.     Death  and  carnage,  the  smoke  of  battle,  the  gleam- 
ing of  steel,  had  chosen  for  their  theatre  a  marked  spot,  romantic 
and  beautiful  as  any  that  arrests  the  eye  of  the  tourist,  in  that  region 
of  sublime  and  gorgeous  landscapes.    There  was  the  roar  of  musket- 
ry, the  terrible  war-hoop ;  the  groans  of  the  dying;  the  fierce  assault 
and  firm  repulsion  ;  precipitate  retreat,  and  hot  and  deadly  pursuit  • 
the  red  warrior  loading  himself,  with  trophies  of  the  tomahawk  and 
scalping  knife,  that  would  signalize  his  valor  in  the  war  dance  or 
tale  out  his  deeds  of  blood  at  a  place  of  reward : 

"The  sliout  of  battle,  llic  bail)ariim  yell,  the  bray 
Of  (lisouant  iiistnimonts,  the  clang  of  ann.«, 
The  shi'ieks  of  agony,  the  grouti  of  ilealh, 
In  one  wild  uproar  and  continued  din 
Shook  the  still  air !"— Soutiiey. 

In  yonder  ancient  structure,  standing  out  in  bold  relief,  solitary 
and  isolated  even  now;  was  a  handful  of  brave  men,  their  numbers 
thinned,  holding  out  after  a  long  siege;  encouraged  by  hones  that 
were  crushed,  when  their  brave  countrymen,  deserted  "by  tVeacher- 
ous  allies,  gave  way  before  a  superior  fbrce.  Stretched  out  upon 
yonder  plain,  in  long  lines  of  batteries  and  entrenchments,  were  the 
besiegers,  who,  advancing  from  day  to  day,  had  approached  so  near 
that  every  shot  from  their  heavy  artillery  told  upon  the  massive 
walls  they  were  assailing. 

It  was  a  new  scene  in  the  wilderness; —nature  in  her  solitudes 
and  fastnesses,  was  affrighted;  the  wild  beasts  hurried  flrrther  and 
farther,  into  the   recesses  of  the  forest,  or  Imddled  in  their  lairs 


54 


PHELPS    AND     GORHAm's    PURCHASE. 


Rifl'i 


tit  ■  *  < 
ml 


uli 


I 


t.e.nblngas  each  successive  crash  came  upon  tlieir  unaccustomed 

ears.     It  was  a  calm  July  morning.     The  surface  of  that  wide  ex- 

pause  of  water,  smooth  and  unruifled,  mirrored  the  scene  of  fire  and 

smoke,  of  waving  banners  and  advancing  cohunns.     Stunning  and 

doafenmg  came  the  sounds  of  battle  ;- then  a  Imshed  silence?  as  if 

war  and  conquest  stood  appalled  in  view  of  the  work  of  death  they 

had  wrought ;  ni  which    brief  pause  would  come  the  roar  of  the 

.u.ghty  cataract,  rushing  in  as  if  impatient  to  riot  in  its  accustomed 

monopoly  of  sound!     The  "great  thunderer"  was  contending  with 

it.  first  rival!     Il.gh  over  all  arose  the  smoke  of  the  two  battle 

grounds  to  the  clear  bice  heavens,  and  mingling  there  with  the  spray 

ot  the  cataract  was  carried  ofi-by  a  gentle  breeze  ;  and  at  the  suns 

dechne,  when  the  strife  was  ended,  it  canopied  and  spanned  the  deep 

1 '"?!''''  r ""  ^°'^  ""^^  1''''"^''^  ""'"-^  ■''  harbinger  of  peace. 
The  French  in  the  Fort  had  been  close  observers  of  every  si-ni 
without,  and  had  seen  enough  to  make  them  apprehensive  of  the  in- 
sult upon  the  river  bank;  but  hours  passed  by  before  they  could 
know  With  certainty  the  fate  of  the  gallant   men  wh.  had  been 
arrested  m  then-  march  of  intended  relief     An  Indian  scout  gained 
access  to  the  I-  ort  infonning  them  of  Aubrey's  total  defeat  and  rout 
and  ma  few  minutes,  a  British  officer  entered   ond  demanded  a 
surrender  accompanying  the  demand  with  an  exhortation  from  Sir 
VV  ilham  Jolmson  ag    nst  the  necessity  of  further  bloodshed,  and  the 
intimation  that  his  exasperated  Indian  allies  could  not  be  prevented 
trom  wreakiiig  vengence  upon  the  captives  if  the  fight  was  furtlier 
P  olonged.     Captain  Pouchot,  with  the  advice  and  concurrence  of 
of  his  officers,  yielded  to  fate  and  necessity:  and  more  than  all,  per- 
haps, to  the  fearful  apprehension  that  farther  doubtful  resistance 
would  make  victims  to  savage  warfare,  of  his  unfortunate  country- 
men and  their  allies.     Terms  of  capitulation  were  agreed  upon,  hon- 
orable toboth  parties  ;  and  thus  ended  a  well  planned  and  Ivell  con- 
ducted siege;  stood  out  against  with   almost  unexampled   heroic 
fortitude,  and  thus  commenced  the  English  possession  of  Fort  xXiag- 
ara,  and  dominion  over  all  the  region  oi  Western  N^w  York 


lagi?of-^;;il;;/:;i;!'^^;:riiii:r'  £r.w 'h'  ^^"  Nin,nm  Riverl-ct^roe..  tho  vU- 

"Bloody  Run."    s  ■      i  (     u-  h^^"  '"   ''^^^'Y'^'  ■''''"'"■'••^  ^y  l'"'  "i.m,..  of 

l-arroK^,„,  locks!  l^J'^ls  v  n      l^™,^:^    ^'^  i^  J  'i-^  -'^i'-  ^T'T'^  ^"" 

..i  the  cam,  and  up  to  this  i.n.i,  tho  p,:::.st.;;:"ai;rdi^h;^i'i':.tsSr 


rnELP3  AifD  goriiam's  purchase. 


00 


The  terms  of  capitulation  assented  to  by  Sir  William  Johnson, 
should  be  added  to  the  evidences  that  while  he  excelled  in  bravery 
and  military  foresight,  a  life  in  the  wilderness,  far  away  from  the 
mcentives  and  examples  of  civilized  life,  had  not  made  him  insensi- 
ble to  the  obligations  ofhumanity  and  courtesy.     Anticipatin-r   the 
bloody  scenes  we  must  yet  pass  through,  to  conduct  the  reader  to  the 
mam  objects  of  our  narrative,  the  wish  obtrudes  itself  that  he  could 
have  been  spared  to  have  exercised  his  vast  influence  in  after  years 
m  arrestmg  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping  knife.     The  vanquished 
were  al-lowedto  pass  out  of  the  Fort  with  the  honors  of  war,  and  lay 
down  then-  arms.     It  was   stipulated  that  the  French  officers  and 
soldiers  should  be  conducted  to  New  York,  where  comfortable  quar- 
ters should  be  furnished  them ;  that  the  females  and  children  should 
have  safe  convoy  to  the  nearest  port  of  France  ;  and  that  the  woun- 
ded  should  be  taken  care  of,  and  conveyed  to  New  York  as   soon 
as  they  were  able  to  undertake  the  journey.     Upon  the  other  hand 
Oaptam  Pouchot  stipulaicd  tiie  surrender  of  all  the  stores,  provisions 
and  arms,  with  which  the  garrison  had  been  well  supplied. 

The  French  that  capitulated  in  the  fort,  numbered  over  600  •  be- 
side them,  were  the  prisoners  taken  in  the  battle  upon  the  river 
Not  less  than  ten  commissioned  officers  were  among  the  prisoners," 
of  whom  were  the  gallant  D'Aubrey,  Captain  Pouchot,  and  two 
half-breed  sons  of  Joncaire.  In  marching  out  and  3mbarking  in 
batteux.  It  was  with  difficulty  they  were  saved  from  massacre  by 
the  Iroquois ;  and  only  saved  by  the  conciliatory  course  of  Sir 
Wilham  Johnson,  and  the  promise  to  his  turbulent  allies  of  a  liberal 
participation  m  the  spoils  of  victory ;  a  promise  that  he  fulfilled.* 
In  a  fow  days,  after  holding  an  Indian  council  to  further  promote 


lie 

s 


A  Icttor,  writtou  from  the  spot  Roon  nffur  fho  «,„-r  ,„  ) 
ne*v-s],;,iH.r  filos,  states  that  tlu'    i,di.,„  •  i;  .J  '  «""r''M.Ioi.  proscn-cd  in  some  old 

.av..  iho  arms  a.ul  a,,  ■     u    o„      4  „;      ?  h?"    ,'"•'''''  ''Vk  I''"'"''-'''  "'  f''^"  ^'-'t. 

fiatola.ts,stor.Hl  therefor  [„,    rl'nuo       I'!    ''';.'''■''''  '"•?"  'l"""ti'i<"*  "f  V^'^'nlll 

sio,.aiiy  uncovered  by  the  pio:^h:t  d;;;?^::,;?^:;;;!;^-^;;;;^:;-;;  -- — -ca. 

Oreat  Meadows,  and  wo,.  Idstir  a^  !,'  ^'^  ^  ^  "'VT  '^"'i'^  "'  ''""  ^''^"I'V'f^u, 
'Ic'n.ff.;  (iatesand  Mor^.-m  we,-e  at  a  d  ek'  J..':,  l'^',  ^  """'••"  >va.s  .ntTieo,,- 
ac(.rpsof  J'rovincial  |.".a7„a,r,s ;  (le  r,r  01  '  ,  If  ",'  ^^"'^  w,^  a  vo„n^M,(ru-er  i,, 
SKMi  ain(,M-  tlio  I'roviiu'ials    ^n  the  .iel  ,, '  \'  ,'''?'  "^^"'"^■'1.  1""^'  '>■  coniinis- 

ward,  rendered  ilhr.lrio  n.'e;  in  i.vf  "'■''''  ''""'  "'^■•■^■^'■^' "thcr  imn.e.s,  after- 
Crown  Point,  Tico.uler...a:Si;I;^',;;:i'i;;;:;;;;['''^«'"'''«  ^(  the  cauipaignH  .igai„«t 


56 


PHELPS   AND    GOKHAM's    PURCHASE. 


and  strengthen  the  alliance  of  the  Iroquois,  ami  detaching  a  suffi- 
cient  force  to  repair  and  occupy  the  captured  fort.  Sir  William 
Johnson,   with  his   main   force  and   his  prisoners,   departed    for 


i 


'  in   I  • 

■  I'l 


CHAPTER  III. 


^mu 


8XEGE    AND    CAPTUUK  OF    TICONDEROGA,    CROWN    VOim ,    aUEBEC,    AND 
MONTREAL -PEACE  OF  1763  -  END  OP   FRENCH    DOMINION. 


While  all  this  was  transpiring,  war  was  waging  with  equal  vigor 
It  not  with  as  signal  success,  upon  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence' 
and  upon  the  Northern  Lakes.     On  the  22d  of  July,  the  main  arm; 
under  General  Amherst,  arrived  at  Ticonderoga;  and,  opening  I 
heavy  fire  upon  the   French  out-posts,  compelled  them  to  retire 
vvithm  the  walls  of  the  fort,  leaving  their  heavy  breast-works  to 
shelter  the  besiegers  from  a  brisk  fire  they  poured  out  from  the 
strong-hold  to  which  they  had  retreated.     The  siege  and  stout  re- 
sistance continued  until  late  in  the  night  of  the  23d,  when  the 
l-rench,  warned  by  the  formidable  preparations  the  besiegers  were 
making,  withdrew  their  main  force  to  Crown  Point,  leaving  but 
400  to  mark^their  retreat.     Seldom,  perhaps,  in  war's  annals,  has 
an  unequal  lorce-a  handful  against  a  powerful  array -so  much 
annoyed  besiegers,  as  did  these  400  gallant  Frenchman,  left,  as  it 
would  almost  seem,  for  a  sacrifice.     In  the  daikness  of  the  night,  a 
d  taclunen    of  them  went  from  the  fort,  and  stealthily  appro.^hed 
the  Enghsh  in  their  entrenchments;  breaking  them  up.  and  for  a 

entln  .K       T^  '"^^^^^'"S  ^^y«'  ^^""«yi"g  the  besiegers  in  their 

Toltt^Z     'Vr"'""'  ^^-^i^ecied  fire.     On  the  night  of 

he  26  h,  the  small  force,  perceiving  that  the  English  had  planted 

themselves  strongly  within  six  hundred  yards,  of  the  fort -that 


l'( 


ig  a  suffi- 

William 

irted    for 


PHELPS    AND  GORU Ail's    PURCHASE.  5T 

longer  resistance  would  be  unavailing- blew  up  their  magazines, 
fired  their  wooden  breast-works,  barracks  and  store-houses ;  made  a 
wreck  of  their  fortress  for  the  besiegers  to  occupy,  and  secured  a 
.^afe. retreat,  uninterrupted  but  by  a  pursuit  across  the  Lake,  and 
the  capture  of  16  of  their  number.  At  daylight,  on  the  morning 
of  the  27th,  the  French  flag  was  struck  down,  and  the  En<Tlish  flafr 
raised,  amid  smoke  and  flames,  devastation  and  ruin,  that  Sie  torch 
and  lusee  of  the  gallant,  but  despairing  Frenchmen,  had  left  for  the 
destruction  of  works  their  valor  could  not  save. 

The  first  work  of  Gen.  Amherst  was  the  repairing  of  the  dilapi- 
dated fortress ;  and  in  the  mean  time  some  naval  armament  was  per- 
fected necessary  to  carrying  his  conquest  further  on,  to  Crown 
loint.     He  was  soon  however,  informed  that  that  post  was  aban- 
doned, and  that  the  enemy  had  retreated  to  Aux  Nois,  at  the  lower 
end  of  Lake  Champlain.     On  the  4th  of  August,  he  advanced  with 
his  mam  army,  to  the  last  deserted  French  post.    M.  de  Bourlema^ne, 
who  commanded  the  French  forces  in  that  quarter,  seemed  govern- 
ed by  the  policy  of  retarding  as  far  as  possible,  the  advance  of  the 
l;|ngiish  force,  whose  ultimate  destination  he  was  well  aware,  was 
Ciuebec;  and  their  erran.i  there,  to  aid  the  besiegers  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  that  strong  hold,  an-l  last  hope,  of  his  king  and  country  upon 
this  continent.     At  Aux  Nois,  where  he  had  made  his  stand,  he  had 
yet  an  effective  force  of  3,500  men ;  100  pieces  of  cannon  ;  and  a 
force   of  armed  vessels,  which  gave  him  command  of  the  Lake, 
llie  Lnghsh  rested  at  Crown  Point,  engaging  actively  however,  in 
strengthening  their  feeble  naval  armament;  occasionally  sendincr 
out  small  scouting  parties;  and  preparing  i.i  all  things,  for  breaking 
up  the  Irench  in  their  plan  of  retreat.     On  the  10th  of  Octol,ei° 
the  army  under  Gen.  Amherst  were  embarked,  and  aftor  an  inefl'ec' 
tua  attempt  to  reach  their  destination,  in  consequence  of  Wmb  winds 
and  storms,  were  obliged  to  seek  shelter  in  a  bay,  upon  the  western 
shore  of  the  lake,  and  remain  there  for  seven  days.     On  the  18th 
the  troops  were  again  embarke.l,  and  after  encountering  another 
gale  tell  back  to  Crown  Point.     The  season  was  now  far^dvanced 
-lie  rigors  of  winter,  in  a  bleak  northern  region,  had  began  seri- 
ously to  impair  the  ability  and  energy  of  the  troops.     These  con- 
siderations, allied  to  the  probability  that  he  could  not  reach  Quebec 
until  tae  contest  there  was  decided,  induced  Cen.  Amherst  to  post- 
pone further  olTensive  operations  to  a  more  propitious  season. 


58 


i* 


i 


%\ 


ito 


el 


:f      !l 


ill 


rUELrs    AND    GORIIAJi's    PUECnASE. 


The  English  squadron,  destined  for  Quebec,  had  set  sail  about 
the  middle  of  February.      The  command  of  this  expedition  was 
conferred  by  Mr.  Pitt,  upon  James  Wolf;  the  youngest  man  that 
had  ever  borne  the  commission  of  Major  General  in  the  British 
army ;  yet,  he  was  selected  for  by  far  the  most  difficult  service  that 
the  war  involved.    The  naval  command  was  conferred  upon  Admiral 
feaunders      The  expedition  arrived  at  Halifax,  towards  the  close  of 
the  month  of  April.     The  force  destined  to  act  upon  land  under 
Wolf,  was  over  8,000.     From  the  first  landing  upon  the  American 
coast,  the  British  Admiral  had  anticipated  the  arrival  of  a  convoy 
Irom  France,  destined  for  supplies  and  men,  and  had  watched  to  in- 
tercept It,  but  It  had  eluded  his  vigilance  and  reached  Quebec 

It  was  not  until  the  27th  of  June  that  the  imposing  force  had 
reached  the  Island  of  Orleans,  a  few  leagues  below  Quebec,  and 
disembarke<l.     A  recent  historian*  has  thus  eloquently  described 
the  Enghsh  commander's  first  view  of  Quebec,  and  the  task  that  lay 
before  h,m :  -  "  Accompanied  by  the  chief  engineer.  Major  M  Kel- 
ler, and  an  escort  of  light  infantry,  he  pushed  on  to  the  extremity 
of  the  Island  nearest  to  Quebec.    A  magnificent  but  disheartening 
scene  lay  before  him.     On  the  sumniit  of  the  highest  eminence ;  on 
Iho  s  raits  of  the  great  river  from  whence  the  basin  before  him  open- 
ed, the  French  flag  waved.     The  crest  of  the  rocky  hei<dit  was 
crowned  with  formidable  works  redoubted  and  planked.     On  every 
fixvorable  spot,  above,  below,  on  the  rugged  assent,  were  batteries 
biistellmg  with  guns.     This  strong-hold  formed  the  right  flank  of  a 
position  eight  miles  in  extent ;  the  falls  and  the  deep  and  rapid  stream 
of  the  Montmorency,  was  the  left.     The  shoals  and  rocks  of  the 
b  .  Lawrence  protected  the  broad  front,  and  the  rich  vallies  of  the 
fet.  Charles,  with  the  prosperous  and  beautiful  villages  of  Charles- 
burg,  an>l  Beauport,  gave  shelter  and  hospitality  in  the  rear     A 
crested  bmik  of  some  height  over  the  great  river,  nuarkcd  the  main 
hne  of  defences  from  east  to  west,  parapets  planked  at  everv  favor- 
able spot,  aided  their  natural  strength.     Crowding  on  this  embattled 
bank,  swarimngin  the  irregular  village  streets,  and  formed  in  mass- 
es on  the  hil  s  bej-ond.  were  12.000  French  and  Canadian  troops, 
led  by  the  gallant  Montcalm." 

The  scenes  that  followed-all  the  details  of  that  protracted  and 


IfJ. 


*  Aiitlior  of  Conquest  of  Cuiiaila. 


PHELPS   AND    GORIIAM's    PURCHASE.  59 

eventful  siege  — form  prominent  pages  in  our  general  history.  It 
would  be  but  repeating  that  with  which  most  readers  are  familiar, 
to  give  them  a  place  in  these  local  annals. 

The  siege  commenced  on  the  29th  of  June,  and  lasted  with  but 
brief  intermissions,  until  the  18th  day  of  September.  Upon  that 
memorable  day  the  French,  after  a  gallant  resistance  —  a  holding  out 
almost  unparalelled,  considered  in  reference  to  time  ind  the  fierce 
and  frequent  approaches  they  had  to  resist  — surrendered  the  great 
citadel  of  their  strength  in  America ;  the  Gibraltar  upon  vvhich 
they  had  fallen  back  in  other  days  of  untoward  events  ;  the  spot 
they  had  occupied  since  Champlain  chose  it  in  1608,  as  the  seat 
and  centre  of  French  colonization. 

The  American  reader  has  been  surfeited,  through  English  sources 
principally,  with  accounts  of  the  bravery,  the  skill  and  the  fortitude, 
of  the  besiegers  and  conquerors  of  Quebec.     The  story  of  the  gal- 
lant Wolf,  the  mild,  unassuming  and  amiable  commander ;  in  whose 
character  there  is  mixed  up  the  finest  sensibilities  of  our  nature ; 
child  like  simplicity,  with  as  stern  heroism  as  Britain  can  boast  in' 
her  long  catalogue  of  military  conquerors ;  his  almost  shout  of  tri- 
umph, when  the  news  reached  him  that  the  enemy  was  vie!din<T, 
even  when  the  film  of  death  was  upon  his  eyes,  just  as  his  nobfe 
spirit  was  about  to  take  its  flight  far  away  from  worldly  conflict ;  — 
has  become  as  familiar  as  house-hold  ^vords.     But  little  has  been 
said,  or  known,  in  our  language,  of  the  brave  defenders  of  the  be- 
sieged  citadel;  and  of  him  especially,  the  gallant  but  unfortunate 
Montcalm ;  whose  end  was  as  glorious  as  that  of  his  conqueror ; 
though  no  shouts  of  victory  cheered  him  upon  his  entrance  into  the' 
dark  valley  of  death. 

A  recent  English  historian,*  has  in  this  respect,  set  an  example 
of  magnanimity ;  and  to  his  pages  are  we  indebted  for  much  that  is 
new  m  all  that  concerned  the  defence  of  Quebec.  From  the  mo- 
ment the  English  had  obtained  a  footing  upon  the  Island  of  Orleans, 
the  French  commander  was  like  a  noble  stag  at  bay.  (;onfrunted 
by  a  powerful  force,  chafed  and  harrassed  in'his preparation  for  de- 
fence ;  distrustful  as  the  result  proved  he  had  reason  to  be,  of  the 
courage  and  counsels  of  the  Governor,  Yaudreuil,  who  had  an 
immediate  command  of  the  Canadian  militia;  his  courage  was  that 


'  Author  of  "Conquest  of  Cauiida," 


GO 


liJ 


Ilil 


J;|fi 
llti 


m 

If: 


i 


PHELPS    AND     GORHAm's    PUKCHASE. 


of  desperation  :  -  restive,  impulsive,  chivalric,  to  a  fault.     For<ret- 

lul  of  superiority  of  rank,  he  said  to  Vaudreuil,  in  reference  to  some 

policy  he   had  pursued  :     "  Vou  have  sold  your  country,  but  while 

1  live  J  will  not  surrender  it  up."     Of  the  provincial  troops,  he  wrote 

on  the  eve  of  battle :     "My  Canadians  without  discipline,  deaf  to 

the  sound  of  the  drum,  and  badly  armed,  nothing  remains  for  them 

but  to  fly  ;  and  behold  me  beaten  without  resources.     But  one  thin.r 

I  can  assure  you,  I  .shall  not  survive  the  probable  loss  of  the  colony 

There  are  times  when  a  general's  only  resource  is  to  die  with  honor  ■ 

this  IS  such  a  time.     No  stain  shall  rest  upon  my  memory.     But  in 

defeat  and  death  there  is  consolation  left.     The  loss  of  the  colony 

will  one  day  be  of  more  value  to  my  country,  than  a  victory.     The 

conqueror  shall  here  find  a  tomb;  his  aggrandizement  shall  prove 

his  ultimate  ruin."* 

Never  did  the  general  of  an  army,  or  the  defender  of  a  citadel 
have  more  upon  his  hands.     There  was  disaffection  amon^r  the 
mihtia  to  conciliate  ;  desertion  to  prevent ;  a  scantv  and  bad  supply 
of  provisions  to  obviate,  with  but  feeble  prospects  of  obtaining  nevv 
supplies ;  an  unreaped  harvest  wasting  in  the  fields,  for  the  preser- 
vation of  which  he  was  obliged  to  spare  2,000  of  his  men  at  a  crit- 
ical moment;  the  supply  of  ammunition  was  scanty;  the  vigorous 
and  almost  incessant  prosecution  of  the  seige,  left  him  with  little 
ot  that  confidence  which  is  essential  to  eflicient  action.     His  co- 
operator,  and  superior,  (Vaudreuil,)  was  but  a  clog  upon  his  move- 
ments.    Yet  he  manfully  and  heroically  contended  against  impend- 
ing and  fearfully  foreshadowed  fate.     lie  compelled  obedience  to 
his  orders  by  iron  rules  and  summary  infiictions  of  severe  penalties  • 
•nspireil  l)y  his  determined  impetuous  bearing,  terror,  where  duty 
and  courage  failed  or  flagged;  moved  from  point  to  point  i.suin^r 
his  orders ;  here  to  repair  a  breach,  there  to  prevent  desertion  ;  and 
there,  to  push  forward  attacking  columns. 

"  I  am  safe,"  said  he  on  the  12th  of  September,  "unless  Wolf  lands 
above  the  town."  Even  then,  there  was  a  movement  with  the  Brit- 
ish force  to  gain  the  position,  fn.n  the  possession  of  which  he  had 
impliedly  foretold  his  ruin. 


PHELPS    AND    GORnAMS    PURCnASE. 


61 


Forge  t- 
3e  to  some 
but  while 
,  he  wrote, 
e,  deaf  to 
!  for  them 
one  thiniT 
le  colony, 
ith  honor ; 
.  But  in 
le  colony 
ry.  The 
lall  prove 

a  citadel 
nong  the 
ad  supply 
ning  new 
e  preser- 
at  a  crit- 

vigorous 
\ith  little 

His  co- 
is  niovc- 

impend- 
lience  to 
•enalties ; 
ere  duty 
t  issuing 
ion ;  antl 

olf  lands 
the  Erit- 
\  he  had 


.'nni :  -  Tf 
>  imt  het'ii 
^■ay  to  tlio 
)hetii\ 


While  he  was  listening  to  the  sound  of  cannon  from  an  unexpec- 
ted quarter,  a  horseman  came  to  him  in  full  speed,  and  announced 
that  the  English  were  occupying  the  plains  of  Abraham.  He 
aroused  a  sleeping  and  wearied  soldiery,  and  by  promi)t  action  hod 
them  soon  hurrying  in  long  lines  over  the  valley  of  the  St.  Charles 
to  the  battle  ground.  Incredulous  at  first,  that  the  besiegers  had 
ventured  and  succeeded  in  gaining  the  rugged  ascent  —  almost  be- 
lieving it  a  feint;  —  when  convinced  of  its  reality  he  nei'ved  him- 
self for  the  decisive  contest  which  he  knew  had  come.  The  hour 
of  conflict  found  him  at  the  head  of  his  army ;  as  Wolf  was  of  his. 
Where  danger  was  most  imminent,  he  was  to  be  found ;  flying  from 
column  to  column,  inspiring  confidence  by  his  presence  and  infusing 
into  his  ranks,  a  desperate  courage  that  England's  veteran  troops  had 
no  where  before  contended  with.  At  one  moment,  simultaneously  al- 
most, as  if  each  charge  was  exploded  by  an  electric  circuit,  came  a 
volley  from  the  drawn  up  columns  of  the  British  lines.  The  French 
were  swept  down  like  forest  trees  before  a  whirlwind.  Upon  this 
hand,  fell  his  second  in  command,  upon  the  other,  one  of  his  bravest 
generals ;  the  day  and  the  battle,  the  citadel  and  an  Empire  was  al- 
ready lost ;  and  yet  Montcalm  was  undismayed.  Recoiling  from 
the  shock,  like  hardened  steel  that  has  been  bent  almost  to  l)reakinrr, 
again  he  collected  his  scattered  forces  and  presented  a  bold  front 
to  the  enemy.  Then  came  another  terrible  fire  from  the  British 
lines,  and  with  it  a  charge,  such  as  has  but  few  parallels  in  the  his- 
tories of  battles.  Overcome,  trampled  down,  yielding  and  flyino-  in 
every  direction,  was  the  whole  French  force.  Amid  this  scene  of 
death  and  carnage,  Montcalm  died  as  he  had  hoped  he  should ; 
w}ien-h&  could  no  longer  resist  the  march  of  the  invader.  He  fell 
mortally  wounded  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  that  he  was  in  vain  at- 
tempting to  rally  and  make  stand  firm,  in  the  face  of  a  fire  and  a 
charge,  incessant  and  desperate.  When  the  surgeon  had  examined 
his  wound,  he  told  him  it  was  mortal.  "  I  am  glad  of  it,"  said  he, 
"  how  long  can  I  survive  ?  "  "  Perhaps  a  day,  perhaps  less,"  was 
the  reply  of  the  surgeon.  "  So  much  the  better,"  replied  Montcalm, 
"  I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  surrender  of  Quebec."  It  is  given  on 
the  atuhority  of  a  British  officer,  who  was  present  at  the  siege  of 
Quebec,  that  Montcalm,  in  his  last  moments,  paid  a  high  compliment 
to  his  Conquerors;  and  at  the  same  time  bitterly  reflected  upon  his 
own  troops.     That  he  said :  "  If  I  could  survive  tiiis  wound,  I  would 


62 


m 

ill 


m 


W 


it 

litr 


PinSLPS    AND    GOBIIAm's    PCIiCIIASE. 


engage  to  beat  tliree  times  the  number  of  sueh  forees  as  I  commnn- 
ded  th,s  mornmg  with  a  third  of  their  number  of  British  troop, 

on  'h    B  °iJ  tie     '""";"""■  ••">■'  "«  g""'  -=.'0  mounted  up. 
besil'ed  c  tv  .    ,     rf-  ''""'^' '°  "■'""  "  "'■•••  """^  <^™''  from  the 

befo^  the  fex.  l:  •:"  '°  r''°"""' '^  "°  -■"'■--ment,  ca.ne 
'^^  moining.     This  was  in  anticipation  of  the  arrival 
me^Ti^^^  ^-Tf-o- Montreal  that  had  been  ordered  d  vv^       Tl 

arC  J^d?D;n  ''',?  T""''  '"-^"^  ^'^'^'-  «^'  ^he  French 

The';  "ttd^   PoT""'''^'  ^  f  ^''^'^  ^-'^  P-t«d  at  another  point. 
1  ney  letned  t^  Port  aux  Trembles.     When  the  Governor  of  Mon 
treal  came  down  and  joined  them,  it  was  agreed  to  send  encour"" 
g.ng  words  to  M.  de  Ramsay,  the  Governor  of  Quebec  urZl" 
o  hold  out  against  the  siege.    The  courier  reacheVte£:i     ty 

The  English  army  took  possession  of  Quebec,  and  the  French 
anny  retn-ed  to  Three  Rivers  and   Montreal.      Thus  ended    h 
campaign  m  that  quarter,  for  the  season  of  1759.     It   re7u  ti  had 
been   the   conquest  of  Quebec.  Crown  Point,   Ticondero!     a,td 
Niagara.      Occupying  these  vantage   grounds,  the  Englisl  - ." 
well  be  supposed  to  I,ave  surmounted  the  most  formidabk.  b  n-     rs 
against  the  complete  success  of  the  campaign;  yet.  on   he  parof 
he  French  colonists,  the  stake  they  were  co1.t;r^iin;fo    w'as  Jo 
large  -  the  issue  was  too  momentous  _  to  admit  of  entire  un  ender 
as  long  as  there  was  the  least  chance  of  winning  '"'^"' 

M.  de  Levi,  the  Governor  of  Montreal,  had  succeeded  Montcalm 
as  commander- n-chief     TIip  F,-o,.^i  .    •    ^"''"  ^'^""^^^"^ 

1750  'fin   h.A  u  .  ^"^''  ^™>''  ^"'^"g  the  winter  of 

!!::!l!!:J:1!!!!^!^^  '^^^''  -^^  -  i^rge 

o„8  cn,.„,y  m  tl.o  open  fidtl.  T,,  aav  fo  h  '"?  'l^'';;'""ncHl  lo  meet  ]iis  danger- 
Wc.     Jlatl  tlio  French  Cener'il  tl  n  t,  ■  '  '^■'^f''""-''"'<'i'7  msulutwn,  is  inipossi- 

dofietlhis  assailants  fnmi  be  LZ  ..,'''"'';'*  "•',^;'  '^."'■^«<^'  '^«  ""ffl't  J'a™  ^Ju^ly 
short  tinte  belbre,  he  l,a,l  i w  ,M  ;  "  "/'i'"';  *''^  '""^?"'  ^'■"™  ^1^^'"'  ^^^^'ay.  l^ut  a 
lintish  army  in  a  ,r,„eral  en^^^j  ^  "^'it^':  rT'''"''-'!f  '"V""'''  ""^f='-  ^''^ 
in(lofal,.rable  enemy  had  been^h  Su.u  eve^^.  I  7'-'"  ^'"'^  ""  »''^' ««'"-•<«  "f  l"s 
terms:  antl  yet,  at  leni,nh,  ,.„  an  me  l- in  V'\ '''''^'  ""  ""  "^■^'""  >'I""'  ■''"}- 
unaided  by  any  advan(a«o  of  i.os  fi  L '  ,  "'  ".  "  '',",""  '^■'"^■"'-  *"■•  '"'^  ''"-'iH'^rv, 
veterans  of  Kntrlantl.  Once  a  do  I  ^'•' /'".''^^'  f'"'  '■"^''^  Cana.lian  militia  ai^ainst  flie 
«iis  gallant  Frt:?,eh,„an  fb.Sl  hi  w  stLn?  •^''  n  •  '''-^'''^"^  ^""^  '"'"^f""^'^  '^•'^■"r  S 
dous  en'or  led  him  to  defeat  and  d,tu'        *  '"''""'"^  ''''"'    ^"^  '^''^^  one  tremeu 


i 


W  '  I 


city 


bod 


PHELPS    AjSD    GORIIAAl's    PURCHASE. 

y  o{  Indians.     In  April,  as  soon  as  the  ur 


63 


enoui 


cr  portion  of  the  St. 
he  transportation  of 
nis  artillery,  Heavy  baggage,  and  nnilitary  stores,  M.  de  Levi  re- 
solved  upon  a  descent  and  an  attempt  to  re-conquer  Quebec.     It 
was  a  rash  attempt,  but  he  relied  much  upon  the  eflects  a  cold  win- 
ter  had  had  in  reducing  and  enfeebling  the  British  force,  that  had 
been  lelt  at  Quebec  ;  and  in  fact,  shut  up  as  they  had  been,  but 
scantily  supplied  with  salt  provisions,  death  and  disability  had  fear- 
^ully  thinned  their  ranks.     The  defence  had  devolved  upon  Gen. 
Murray.     On  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  .April,  M.  de  Levi  had 
posted  his  strong  force  within  three  miles  of  Quebec.     The  British 
General,  fully  aware  that  investment,  for  any  considerable  period,  in 
the  condition  of  his  army,  would  be  equally  as  fatal  as  defeat  're- 
solved to  follow  the  example  of  Montcalm.     His  unequal  force  was 
marched  out,  and  an  attack  commenced.     After  a  desperate  fight, 
and  the  loss,  in  killed  and  wounded,  of  nearly  one-third  of  his  army 
he  retired  within  the  walls.     U.  de  Levi  followed  up  his  success,' 
approaching  and  strongly  entrenching ;  the  lost  citadel  was  apparent- 
ly w'thin  his  grasp,  when  a  small,  but  efficient  English  fleet  came 
up  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  made  quick  work  in  destroying  and  cap- 
turuig  the  whole  French  armament ;  a  new  spirit  was  infused  in  the 
English  camp;  and  M.  de  Levi,  with  hopes  so  suddenly  crushed, 
made  a  hasty  retreat  at  the  sacrifice  of  his  guns,  amunition,  stores, 
and  entrenching  tools.    Thus  ended  an  expedition  that  the  chagrined 
Canadians  stigmatized  as  "de  Levi's  folly." 

On  his  way  to  Niagara,  Prideux  had  left  Col.  Haldimand  in  com- 
mand  at  Oswego.  On  the  4th  of  July,  the  fort  was  besieged  by  a 
large  force  of  Canadian  militia  and  Indians,  under  the  command  of 
M.  de  la  Corne.  A  surprise  was  attempted  and  failed,  the  garrison, 
being  forewarned,  was  ready  for  their  reception,  and  opened  a  fire 
upon  the  besiegers,  which  compelled  a  dispersion.  An  attempt  to 
burn  the  English  boats  in  the  harbor  failed,  and  the  besiegers  re- 
crossed  the  Lake. 

The  English  opened  the  campaign  in  1760,  to  complete  their  con- 
quest. Early  in  May,  Gen.  Amherst  had  collected  a  large  force  rt 
Oswego.  Two  armed  vessels  succeeded  in  forcing  all  the  French 
armament  upon  the  Lake  to  take  refuge  among  the  "  Thousand 
Isles.''  The  army  at  Oswego  consisted  of  over  10.000;  allied  to 
which,  were  700  Indians  that  Sir  William  Johnson  had  brou.dit  into 


64 


PHELPS   AND    <:}ORHA.m's    PURCHASE. 


(jr 


Iheficld      The  mam  army  under  Gen.  Amherst,  went  down   the 
Lake,  and  the  St.  Lawrence;  a  detachment  under  Co!.  Ilaviland 
gomg  via  Lake  Champlain  to  Crown  Point,  to  be  joined  by  the  force 
stationed  there      The  first  point  of  attack  was  the  small  garrison 
upon  Isle  Royal,  commanded  by  captain  Pouchot.     That  surrender- 
ed after  a  spirited  resistance.     Here  the  Indian  allies  mostly  deser- 
ted, or  marched  offin  a  body,  chagrined  at  Amherst  and  Johnson's 
refusal  to  allow  them  to  massacre  the  whole  French  garrison  as 
they  had  intended.     After  a  perilous  passage  down  the  St.  Lawrence 
in  which  80  men  and  (50  boats  were  lost,  Amherst's  army  landed 
nine  nnles  from  Montreal  on  the  0th  of  Septemb.^r.     Murray,  with 
all  his  disposable  force,  had  left  Quebec  and  sailed  up  the  St.  Law- 
rence on  the  14th  of  June.     As  an  evidence  how  strong  was  vet 
the  attachment  of  the  Canadians  to  the  French  interests -even  in 
this  hour  where  there  was  little  hope,  it  is  mentioned  that  Murrav's 
orce  was  constantly  annoyed  by  guerrilla  attacks  from  the  banks 'of 
the  nver  as  they  ascended.    After  a  slow  passage,  delayed  in  expect- 
ation of  being  joined  by  fresh  troops   from  England,  the   squadron 
reached  the  Island  of  Montreal  on  the  7th  of  September,  and  were 
disembarked.     Col.  Ilaviland  having  come  dovn.  Lake  Cham^  aTn 
cap tui.d  the  post  at  Isle   Aux  Nois,  to  which   the  French  had  re-' 

iTo^      T'i;f"'V^'  ^''^'''''  ^^^^^^"'  ^^«  "«^r  ^'  hand,  and 
reached  the  Island  on  the  8th. 

Under  Amherst,   Murray   and   Ilaviland,   there   was   now    an 

English  force  o   10,000  elTective  troops.     With  but  little  delay,  in 

ZZ^ir     r]      f  ""  army  of  besiegers,  M  de  Vaudreuil  surivn- 

ered  Montreal  and  signed  articles  of  capitulation,  which  included. 

cair^    r;;     '  """''"''"  ^'''  ^'°''^'  '""^  ^^  ^'^«  extent  of  the  French 
ciaima  at  tlae  west. 

If  any  thing  excused  the  French  Governor.  Vaudreuil.  for  so  sud- 
den a  surrender,  it  was  the  favorable  terms  he  exacted  from  the  be-      ' 
H-egers,  which  were  conceded  to,  as  a  better  alternative,  than  the 
hedding  of  more  blood,  of  which  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  the  shoi-es  of  the  Lakes,  had  alrea.lv seen  enough  to  satiate  the 
most  morbid  desire  for  human  sacrifice,  in  the  respective  countries 
to  wh.ch  the  thousands  of  victims  owed  allegiance.     The  foreign 
French  troops;  the  civil  officers,  their  families  and  bar^.a^e  -were 
to  be  sent  home  in  English  vessels;  the  troops  under  p^^oL^to'  serve 
no  more  durmg  the  war.     The  militia  were  allowed  to  return  to 


PKELPS    AXD   GORIIAMS   l'URCIL\i?E.  G5 

their  homes.     The  French  colonists  were  to  enjoy  the  same  privi- 
eges  ami  unmunities  as  British  subjects.     The  Indians  that  had  ad- 
hered  to  the  Lrench  interests,  were  to  be  unmolested,  and  disturbed 
m  no  rii,rht  they  had  enjoyed  under  French  dominion 

Thus  terminated  French  dominion  uj.on  this   continent,  which 
had  existed  lor  a  century  and  a  half.     IIovv  badly  was  all  that  time 
improved  !    Tbe  sympathies  which  are  naturally  excited  by  a  peru- 
sal  of  all  the  details  of  the  fmal  contest ;  the  mislortunes  and  casual- 
ties^we  may  well  call  then,,  that  one  after  another  baflled  the  arms 
of  France,  and  paralize.l  the  arms  of  as  brave  men  as  were  ever 
tramed  in  her  armies;  shutting  them  up  in  fortresses;  closincr  the 
avenues  by  which  succor  could  reach  them,  with  ice  and  snow,  or 
adverse  wmds;  cutting  ofT  reinforcements  in  their  march  of  relief- 
disease  prostrating  them,  and  famine  staring  them  in  the  face,  while 
hos  s  of  armed  men  were  thundering  at  their  gates,  and  their  stron.^ 
walls  were  swaying  and  trembling  over  their  heads;  are  in  a  mea! 
sure  abated  by  the  reflection,  that  they  so  long  held  dominion  over 
as  hne  a  region  as  arms  ever  conquered,  or  enterprise  ever  reach- 
ed, and  were  so  unmindful  of  the  value  of  their  possession.     An 
occupancy  of  five  generations,  and  how  little  did  it  leave  behind  of 
nsjpress !     How  little  was  done  for  France  !  how  little  for  man- 

There  was  in  Canada,  (East,)  the  two  considerable   cities  of 
Quebec  and  Montreal,  and  a  few  small  villages  upon  the  St.  Law- 
rence.    In  their  vicinities,  upon  the  most  favorable  soils,  there  was 
an  agricultural  population,  but  little  more  than  supplying  their  own 
food      In  Canada,  (West,)  but  a  small  garrison  at  Frontenac,  (Kin^s- 
ton)  with  a  little  agricultural  improvement  in  its  immediate  neigh- 
borhood; a  small  trading  station  at  Toronto ;  and  a  few  missionary 
and  trading  stations  in  the  interior,  and  upon  Lake  Huron.     In 
western  New  York,  the  valley  of  the  Lakes,  and  the  upper  vallies 
of  the  Mississippi,  over  all  of  which  the  French  claimed  dominion 
here  was  but  Ibr  trading  and  missionary  stations  ;  with  few  except 
t.ons  of  agricultural  enterprise ;  by  far  the  most  considerable  of 
which,  was  upon  a  narr  nv  strip  upon  the  Detroit  river 

There  is  much  that  is  ad.nm-able  in  the  French  Missionary  enter- 
pnze  m  all  the  region  they  occupied.  The  world  has  no  where 
seen  as  much  of  devotion,  of  self-sacrifice,  of  courage,  perseverance 
and  endurance.     A  host  ot  gifted  men  who  had  left  the  highest 


G6 


PHELPS   Amy    G0RHA3l's   PURCHASE. 


iUicj.  1. 


81? 


walks  of  civilization  and  refinement,  which  they  had  helped  to 
adorn,  took  up  their  abode  in  the  wilderness,  in  rude  huts ;  here  and 
there,  upon  the  banks  of  lakes  and  rivers,  where  there  were  none 
of  even  the  foot  prints  of  civilization,  save  their  own.     Solitarv  and 
alone,  they  wrestled  with  the  rude  savage ;  displayed  the   ^-oss. 
the  emblem  of  salvation,  to  his  wondering  gaze,  and  disarmed  his 
fierce  resentments  by  mild  persuasion  ;  adapting  themselves  to  his 
condition,  and  inducting  him  into  the  sublime  mysteries  of  a  re- 
ligion  of  peace  and  universal  brotherhood.     Each  missionary  was 
a  wanderer: -ice,  snow,  swollen  streams,  winds  and  tempests, 
summer  s  heats  and  winter's  chills,  were  to  him  no  hindrances,  when 
duty  and  devotion  urged  him  onward.      Inured  to  toil  and  priva- 
tion  a  small  parcel  of  parched  corn  and  a  bit  of  jerked  beef,  would 
be  hKs  on  y  sustenance  in  long  journeys  through  the  forests,  seeking 
new  fields  of  missionary  labor.     Olten  were  they  martyrs  -  there 
are  few  localities  in  all  the  vast  region  they  traversed,  where  one  or 
more  of  them  dd  not  yield  up  his  life  as  an  earnest  of  his  faith  _ 
As  often  as  they  perished  by  the  tomahawk,  the  rigors  of  the  cli- 
mate, exposure,  fatigue  or  disease,  their  ranks  were  supplied.     Like 
disciplined  soldiers,  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  one  after  another,  would 
Wl  ranks,  the  vacancy  of  which  would  admonish  them  of  danger 
_  And  where  are  now  the  evidences  of  all  these  lang  years  of  mis- 
sionary enterprize,  zeal  and  martyrdom  ?     In  the  small  villages  of 
Western   New  York,   which  now  contain  remnants  of  the  once 
powerful  Iroquois,  there  is  the  form  of  the  cross  in  tlieir  silver  or- 
naments, and  around  the  western  Lakes  and  Rivers,  the  traveller 

TZr  T,  h"  T  ''"''  ^'^^^^^^^"^^"y'  ^  ™de  cross,  over  an  Indian 

grave.  This  is  all  that  is  left,  save  written  records,  to  remind  us  of 
that  extraordinary,  long  continued,  missionary  advent.  All  else 
faded  away  with  the  decline  of  French  power.     The  good  mission- 

mould  of  the  forests  he  had  penetrated,  or  relire,.  when  the  fla.  of 
his  country  no  longer  gave  him  confidence  and  protection.  The 
treaty  0  17G3  forbid  any  recruits  of  his  order.'  In  his  absence, 
his  simple  neophytes  soon  forgot  his  teachings.  The  symbols  of 
his  f^aith  no  longer  reminded  them  of  the  "glad  tidings"  he  had 
proclaimed.  Tradition  even  of  his  presence,  has  become  obscure 
_  iNever  perhaps,  was  rejoicing  in  England,  as  universal  and  enthu- 
siastic, as  when  the  news  of  the  conquest  of  Quebec  _fh.  onn- 


i*i 


PHELPS   AOT)    GOEnAll's   PUECIIASE.  6T 

quest  of   Canada   as  it  was   rightly    construed  _  reached    there 

sessions  had  been  rmsed ;  and  hatred  of  the  French  had  become  a 

umversal   pubhc  senthnent.     A  scries  of  defeats  and  ,ZoZ^ 

hat  had  prevtously  attended  the  British  anns  in  this  quart..,.   „  "he 

war  then  was„ng,  had  disposed  the  people  of  England  to  ,  ak"  the 

was  p,oeIa,med,  pageants  upon  land  and  water  succeeded    with 
bonfires  and  tllutrnnaticrs.     The  victory  was  the  thenre  o    the  Zt 

was  m:^*^°' ^  r'  "'"'  "'^'"»^^^-  M'"8led  with  alHlS 
was  mouimng  for  the  brave  men  that  had  perished  in  the  lon^r  -uc 
oess,o„  of  conflicts,  or  rather  the  reverse  of  the  pictl  w^  he 
futleral  pageant,  the  widow's  and  the  orphan's  tears,  t  earths 
made  desolate.  When  .he  remains  of  the  lamented  V.  „i,  w  re 
earned  home  and  conveyed  to  Greenwich  eemetry,  there  wa   a 

EtZdher''"'"""'"'"  '■"  ""  ""'''""■•"  i"'-''-  ^-l^"'  '     '  °v- 
cmpne,  and  the  triumph  of  its  armies 

We  know  how  ,vell  it  is  ordered  'for  us,  as  individual,   that  a 
curtain  is  drawn  between  the  present  and  tlie  future;  that  ou    pi 
en   happmess  is  unalloyed  by  any  taste  of  the  hiUe  i,-ntZ!Z 
eoncealed  even  ,„  the  cup  of  bliss.     So  with  nations,  if  fh  y    „u  d 
always  see  the  tendency  and  the  end  of  events,  the  e  won  d  have 

a  pldleTE'T";'"  r  '"^  '"""""'^  °f  --•     H-v  wold      ha™ 
app.  lied  England ,  how  would  her  Kin;;,  her  Statesmen,  sittinc  u„! 

t    "'".'"l^'"l/'-'=l'0».  o--  holding  saturnalias  at  festive  boards  liave 

u  :  tu  ;:  11""'  'i^r^"'  "■  ^""•^  P'-^'-'-  "and  had  ilscriS 
upon^then  walls:-"  You  have  „A,»En  a  P»ov,»cn  a»„  lost  a» 

And  such  was  the  destiny ;_  crowding  into  a  brief  space   the 
cause  and  the  eff-ect,  the  triumph  and  its  consequences       riitted 

have  been,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  in  the  absence 
of  tie  apprenticeship  in  the  trade  of  war,  that  the  last  French  and 
E,  g  sh  war  upon  t  is  continent  aff-orded.  What  better  discipitne 
could  men  have  had  ;  what  better  experience,  to  inure  them  t^toil 

SLf  P^^^    \   :;  J  ^^f'-^:    Q-hcc,  Montreal, 
lu  i^ia^a.a.     i.veiy  cuiDpaign  svas  a  school  far 


«8 


PIIELPS    \XD    GOPJUm's    PURCIUSE. 


better  than  West  Point  and  Annapolis.     Mingled  in  all  these  were 
the  colonists  of  Wew  York  and  New  England".  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, Maryland  and  Virginia.     Out  of  the  ranks  of  those  retir^-d 
arm.es,  came  a  host  of  the  efficient  men,  who,  upon  thebreakin-out 
of  tne  Revolution,  so  well  convinced  their  militarv  instructors  of 
the  proficiency  they  had  made  under  their  tuition."    The  military 
skill  and  genius  necessary  to  organize  armies,  the  courage  and  chi^-- 
alry  necessary  to  lead  them  to  triumph,  which  had  been  inert,  was 
aroused  in   the  stirring  scenes  of  the  French  war;  its  succession 
of  splendid  triumphs.     England  had  made  war  a  profession  with  a 
large  number  of  the  colonists,  little  thinking  where  would  be  the 
field  and  what  the   occasion  of  its  practice.     In  the  prosecution  of 
the  French  war,  England  had  fearfully  augmented  its  public  debt; 
in  an  hour  of  evil  councils,  against  the  protestations  of  her  wisest 
statesmen,  taxation  of  the  colonies  was  added  to  the  burthens  the 
privations  and  sufferings  that  had  borne  so  heavily  upon  tliem 
And  It  may  be  added,  that  a  handful  of  feeble  colonies  would  hardly 
have  ventured  to  strike  a  blow  for  separation,  as  long  as  the  French 
held  dominion  here.     Independence   achieved,  the  colonies  would 
necessarily  have  had  to  assume  the  relative  condition  that  England 
bore  with  France.     They  would  have  assumed  England's  quarrels 
growing  out  of  unsettled  boundaries  and  disputed  dominions 

Had  there  been  no  English  conquest  of  French  dominions,  the 
separation  of  the  colonies,  if  realized  at  all,  would  have  been  an 
event  far  removed  from  the  period  in  which  it  was  consummated. 
France  surrendered  her  splendid  possessions  in  America,  sullenly 
and  grudgingly,  yielded  to  destiny  and  a  succession  of  untoward 
events,  hoping  for  some  event -some  "tide  in  the  affairs  of  men  " 
that  would  wrest  from  England's  Crown  the  bright  jewel  she  had 
picked  up  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  bathed  in  blood ;  and 
which  she  was  displaying  with  a  provoking  air  of  triumph      It 
came  more  speedily  than  the  keenest  eye  of  prophecy  could  have 
orescen^  In  a  little  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  fall  of  Que- 
bec, La  Fayette,  Rochambeau,  Chastelleux,  D'Estang,  M.  de  Choisv 
Viomen.l,  de  Grasse,  M.  de  St.  Simon,  and  a  host  of  gallant  French- 
men beside,  saw  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown  •    -.n 
event  as  crowning  and  decisive,  in  the  loss  of  an  empire,  as' was 
the  surrender  of  Quebec,  in  the  loss  of  a  colony. 


PIIELPS    AOT)    GOEHASId    PUECIIASE. 


69 


CHAPTER  IV, 


ENGLISH  DOMINION BORDER  WARS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


From  the  end  of  French  dominion  in  Western  New  York,  to 
the  close  of  the  Revokition,  constituted  a  period  of  twenty-four 
years ;  the  events  of  which,  having  an  immediate  bearing  upon  our 
local  region,  must  be  crowded  into  a  space  too  limited  lor  elaborate 
detail;  allowing  of  but  little  more  than  what  is  necessary  to  pre- 
vent a  break  in  the  chain  of  events  that  leads  us  to  the"  main  de- 
sign of  the  work  in  hand. 

Little  of  historical  interest  occurred  previous  to  the  Revolution. 
The  English  would  seem  to  have  made  nu  belter  use  of  the  rich 
prize  that  the  fortunes  of  war  had  thrown  into  their  hands,  than  had 
their  French  predecessors.  Settlements  made  the  advance  of  but 
a  day's  walk,  and  occupancy  in  any  form,  west  of  the  lower  valley 
of  the  Mohawk,  was  but  the  fortresses  of  Oswego  and  Niagara,  and 
small  English  trading  establishments,  that  had  succeeded  those  of 
the  French.  The  rich  soil,  that  has  made  this  region  the  prosper- 
ous home  of  hundreds  of  thousands ;  in  which  lay  dormant  the 
elements  of  more  enduring  wealth  than  would  have  been  the  rich- 
est "  placers  "  of  California,  had  no  attractions  for  their  ndventur- 
ers,  and  were  without  the  narrow  circle  of  enterprize  that  bound- 
ed the  views  of  colonial  governors  and  legislators. 

The  change  of  occupants  does  not  seem  to  have  pleased  the 
Senecas.  Scarcely  had  the  English  got  a  Jbotl.old  in  their  coun- 
ty, before  a  war  was  commenced  by  an  attack  upon  a  British 
wagon-train  and  its  guard,  as  they  were  passing  over  the  Portage 
from  Lewiston  to  Schlosser.  A  tragical  event  that  has  much 
prominence  in  the  local  reminiscences  of  that  region.  This  was 
followed  by  an  attack  upon  a  detachment  of  British  soldiers  at 
Black  Rock,  on  their  way  from  Niagara  to  Detroit.  Sir  William 
Johnson,  in  his  official  correspondence,  called  the  Senecas  a  "trou- 
blesome people."' 


70 


PHELPS    AND   GORIIAM's    PURCHASE. 


All  of  Engish  dominion  west  of  Albany,  other  than  its  military 
posts  was  a   'one  manpower;"  and  before  proceeding  forther   ft 

.tied;,  mcidentaljy,  been  introduced  in  our  narrative. 


SIR  WILLIAM  JOHXSON. 


He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  of  a  good  family,  and  was  well  edu- 
cated.    Soon  after  he  became  of  age,  in  1737  or  '8,  he  came  to 
America  as  the  land  agent  of  his  uncle,  Sir  Peter  Warren,  an  Ad- 
minil  in  the  English  navy,  who  had  acquired  a  considerable  tract  of 
and  upon  the  Mohawk,  in  the  present  county  of  Montgomerv     He 
located  a  few  miles  from  the  present  village  of  Port  Jackson      Of  a 
romantic  disposition,  and  liaving  acquired,  from  the  unsuccessful 
ternaina  ion  of  a  love  affair  in  hi.  native  country,  some  distaste  for 
civilized  society,  which  he  was  well  qualified  to  adorn,  he  had  not 
been  long  a  resident  in  the  backwoods  of  America,  when  he  had 
determined  upon  permament  settlement.     He  formed  an  exception 
to  a  arge  majority  of  his  countymen,  in  the  ease  and  facility  with 
vvhich  he  exchanged  the  refinements  of  civilized  society  for  life  in 
the  woods,  with  few  but  the  native  Indians  for  neighbors  or  associ- 
ates.    JNo  Frenchman  ever  sit  himself  down  upon  the  borders  of 
our  western  lakes,  alone  of  all  his  race,  in  the  midst  of  Indian  wig- 
wam., and  sooner  merged  and  blended  himself  with  all  about  him 
?>ays  the  London  Gentlemnn's  Magazine,  (1755) :- "Besides  his 
skill  and  experience  as  an  officer,  he  is  particularly  happy  in  making 
himself  beloved  by  all  sorts  of  people,  and  can  conform  to  all  com 
pames  and  conversations.     He  is  very  much  the  fine  gentleman  in 
genteel  company.     But  as  the  inhabitants  next  to  him  are  mostly 
uutch  he  sits  down  with  them  and  smokes  his  tobacco,  drinks  flip 
and  talks  of  improvements,  bear  and  beaver  skins.    Being  surround- 
ed^^.lth  Indians  he  speaks  several  of  their  languages  well,  and  has 
a  wa>.  some  of  them  with  him.     He  takes  care  of  their  wives  and 
old  lnd.ans   when  they  go  out  on  parties,  and  even  wears  their 
niess.     m  short,  by  his  honest  dealings  with  them  in  trade,  and  his 
courage,  wh'.ch  has  often  been  successfully  tried  with  them,  and  his 
courteous  behavior,  he  has  so  endeared  himself  to  them,  that  they 
chose  him  one  of  their  chief  Sachems,  or  Princes,  and  esteem  him 
as  their  father. 


PHELPS    AND    GORTIAM's    PURCHASE.  ^1 

He  was  just  the  man  the  English  government  required  in  the 
contest  they  were  waging  with  the  French;  and  he  had  not  been 
long  m  the  Mohawk  valley,  before  he  became  its  Indian  a-nt  and 
the  dispenser  of  its  gifts,  which  added  to  his  personal  popularity 
with  the  Indians,  gave  him  an  influence  over  them  greater  than 
any  one  of  our  own  race  has  ever  possessed.  He  was  the  first 
Englishman  to  contend,  with  any  great  measure  of  success,  with 
French  Indian  diplomacy;  their  governors,  missionaries  and  tra- 
ders. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  last  English  and  French  war  upon 
this  continent,  he  was  made  a  General  of  colonial  militia,  and  by 
virtue  of  a  leadersliip  that  had  been  created  by  the  Iroquois,  he  was 
head  warrior  of  all  of  them  that  inclined  to  the  English  interests. 
His  first  military  service,  was  to  head  the  formidable  expedition 
against  Crown  Point,  in  which  he  was  the  vanquisher  of  the  Baron 
Dieskeu.  For  this  signal  service,  he  was  made  a  Baronet  The 
other  prominent  event  in  his  military  career,  was  the  siege  and  con- 
quest of  Fort  Niagara,  which  mainly  devolved  upon  him,  by  the 
death  of  his  superior  in  command.  Gen.  Prideaux. 

The  gifts  of  his  sovereign,  and  the  facilities  he  enjoved  for  pur- 
chasing Indian  lands,  made  him  the  possessor  of  great  wealth,  which, 
with  his  military  honors,  the  partiality  of  his  countrymen,  and  his 
great  influence  with  the  Indians,  rendered  him  as  near  a  Prince  as 
any  thing  the  backwoods  of  America  have  witnessed.  * 

After  the  close  of  tlie  French  war,  as  a  British  agent,  he  held 
treaties  and  negotiated  with  the  Iroquois,  and  some  of^he  western 
,  nations,  all  of  the  territorial  acquisitions  in  middle  New  York  north- 
ern Pennsylvania,  and  upon  the  Ohio  River,  that  was  made  pre- 


«n ft-r-ir  .'    ':^  * 

•  f         I  1         ,"•'"  '^'"'>'  ^''''■''  "•'  liberally  entortjiinod  by  Sir  William    and  500 

un  American  Lady       ■'      ^  ^  "''^^^^8^°  them  valuablo  ox  A<^mM^: '- Memoir,  of 


72 


PHELPS    AND    GOmiAai's  PUECHASE. 


Ill 


vious  to  tlie  Revolution.     To  his  influence  with  the  Indians  as  a 
British  agent,  mhented  by  his  family,  may  be  attributed  in  a  great 

ZZl  h7:n  "T'  '"  ^'""^  ^^"•^"Shout  the  Revolulon ; 
and  yet  had  he  hved  when  the  contest  was  waged,  it  is  doubtfu 
what  would  have  been  his  position.  There  areVong  reason  for 
assumn^g  that  he  would  have  been  at  least  a  neutral.  He  died  at 
JohnsonHallm  June,  1774,  just  as  the  storm  was  gathering,  soon 
after  he  had  himself  predicted  that  "  En'gland  and  her  colonie;  were 
approaching  a  terrible  war,  which  he  should  never  live  to  witness." 
tils  health  had  been  for  some  years  declining  * 

In  his  youth,  soon  after  he  became  a  resident  upon  the  Mohawk 
hetook  for  his  wiie,  (conventionally,)  a  comely,  German  girl,  2. 
being  a  redemptionist,  was  serving  her  time  with  one  of  his  nLlbors 
She  was  the  mother  of  his  son  and  successor,  Sir  John   Johnson" 
and  of  his  daughters,  who  became  the  wives  of  Col.  Claus,  and  Col' 
Guy  Johnson,  a  distant  relative  of  Sir  William.     A  lecral   marria™ 
ook  p,       when  Sir  ^yI]liam  was  on  his  death  bed,  whicii  cremof: 
had  reference  to  the  descent  of  property.     And  here  it  would  b'e 
historical  dehnquency  to  conceal  the  fact,  that  Sir  William,  awav 
from  th^  restraints  of  civilized  life,  had  indulged  in  what  M    Ban 
croft  would  call  the  <•  freedom  of  the  backwoods."     Ebeneze  Allan' 
who  was  at  one  period,   in   the  valley  of  the  Genesee, "L^S": 
William  was  m  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  without  taking  his  many 
yiitues  as  his  examples,  was  but  an  humble  imitator  of  his  one  pr  J- 
mentv.ce.     The  fruits  of  his  amours  may  be   traced  at  this  d'^t 
a  1  the  re  reats  of  the  remnants  of  the  Six  nations.     Upon  tii.  banks 
of  the  Allegany,  the  observing  traveller  will  recognize  the  family 
resemblance  in  the   contour  of  faces;  the  "  blood  cJ  the  Johnsons '' 
ouoL""%'h'  ^f '  'A^  harmoniously  blending  with  that  of  the  Ir;. 
quois.     The  sister  of  Joseph  Brant,  in  some  respects  as  good  a  speci- 
men of  her  race  as  was  her  renowned  brother,  was  the  mother  of 
several  of  his  children  who   were  also  legitimatized  by  a  private 
marriage  that  took  place  a  l■o^v  years  before  his  death 


Histories  of  the  Revolution  exist  in  too  many  forms,   are  too 
easily  accessib^^todlclasses  of  readers,  to  make  it  necessary  to  em! 

*  DocuiiicntniT  History  Vol   o,i  ,,  O'-.?  •  n  ,i  r»  x       ^  ."    T  ~  ~~ 


PHELPS    AND    OOEKAm's    PUKCIIASE. 


IB 


brace  even  any  considerable  allusion  to  it  in  a  work  of  this  character. 
All  ofit  that  has  any  more  than  a  remote  connection  with  the  his-' 
tory  of  our  local  region,  are  the  Border  Wars  of  New  Vork  and 
with  them  the  author  will  assume  that  his  readers  are  "  generallv 
familiar. 

On  the  death  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  his  son,  John  Johnson,  suc- 
ceeded to  his  titles  and  estates,  and  his  ofHcer  of  General  Superin- 
tendent of  Indian  Aflairs  fell  into  the  hands  of  Col.  Guy  Johnson 
his  son-in-law,  who  had  as  his  deputy  Col.  Claus,  another  son-in' 
aw.     Thus  inherited,  all  the  official  and  personal  influence  that  had 
been  acquired  ^vas  wielded  against  the  Colon^   .  and  in  favor  of  the 
mother  country.     The  natives  unschooled  in  all  that  could  enable 
them  to  understand  the   merits  of  the  quarrel -(Iiemsflvcs  recog- 
nizing  in  their  simple  form  of  government  heriditary  rulers -could 
see  in  the  up  rising  of  the  Colonies  against  their  i^ing,  little  else  thnn 
unjustiflable  rebellion,  and  they  were  told  by  the  Johnsons  that  the 
outbreaKs  in  Boston,  and  the  battle  of  Lexington,  were  the  acts  of 
disobedient  children  against  the  King  their  Father,  who  had  been 
kmd  to  them  as  he  had  to  the  Six  Nations.     Sir  William  Johnson  had 
been  the  almoner  ofannual  gilts  from  his  sovereign,  and  minglino-  a 
smcei-c  regard  for  them,  with  his  official  duties,  had  wedded  them 
strongly  to  him  and  to  his  government. 

ri°''ltn'^''^'x^'''  ^"^^^"'  Thay-en-da-ga,)  had  been  the  protege 
of  Sir  WiUiam  Johnson.  When  quite  a  youth  he  had  sent  him  to 
the  Kev.  Dr.  Wheelock's  school  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  after- 
wards  employed  him  in  his  private  business.  *  Engaged  in  military 
service,  when  he  took  the  field,  the  young  chief  took  the  war  path, 
one  of  the  leaders  of  Sir  William's  Indian  allies.  Under  these  cir- 
cmnstances  It  was  very  natural  that  Brant  should  have  been  found 
a  follower  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Johnson  family. 

With  those  influences  bearing  upon  them,  the  Six  Nations,  with 


river,  l,is  piuvnlj    av     ?  ;;  S  ""^^^  ^''"^  ^^^^'^>^  '^  jVIol.nvk,  iK.rn  .m  th.  Ohio 
Chc.l.es  i.  all  it.  .^uiou.  of  ulelLiL^^i^:  S^eSJS  J^  ^^^ 


74 


PHELPS    AND   GORIIAJi's    PUECJIASE. 


14' 


a  l,cs  01  Lnsiand  throughout  the  war  of  tho  Revolution      Immerfi 

'  ::;':.  hf  °'  ''  '?"'™'  «"^  •"■^-°"  renewi "I  : 
ces  and  as  host.hties  approached  tho  Mohawk  valley,  ■■  brightened 

the  Cham  oflnendship"  with  gift.,  „„d  lavish  promiseJof  i^crea"cd 
patronage  from  hi,  master,  the  King.  A  "committee  o™,;- 
wh,ch  was  early  organized  in  "  Tryon  county,"  were  iealou  of 
every  movement  of  the  Johnson,  and  especiall/ihose  of  G  John- 
son.  It  would  seem,  m  fact,  that  he  had  at  f.rst'ra.hly  determined  to 
mam  am  h,s  ground,  and,  for  that  purpose,  under  prete  e  o  e 
of  attack  from  "the  rebels,"  had  fortified  his  hotse   and   dra™ 

auxniary    to  the  central  committee    at  Albany.     Thev  made  re- 
present.at,ons  to  the  Albany  committee  of  all 'that  dZZZ 

tht'::;  "'.?"':  ^"""'""'f-""^"  ««'»  and  ,he  hostUe-mdC 
they  say.-    We  are,  gentlemen,  in  a  worse  situation  than  any  par 
of  Amenca  at  present.     We  have  an  open  enemy  before  our  faces 
and  a  treacherous  enemy  at  our  backs."     Thev  assure  the  Alba,  y 

■^rSC  '  ''  r"'  "-•'^--"'™'  •"  'hi  acts  of  Parltmrn^ 
1101  Lol.  Johnson  s  arbitrary  conduct." 

A  series  of  stirring  local  events  followed  :  -  The  Johnson  fmilv 
c^ob;  dhed  in  interest  and  ft-iendship  with  other  infliiZl t^^ 
hesof  Tryon  couMy,  not  only  controlled  the  Indians,  hut  had  .uch 
an  influence  with  the  whites  as  almost  to  enable  th^ni  to  co"c 
oca     obedience    to   them,  and   fealty   to   the  King.     They  even 

U.c^  ancl  partial  were  successfbl,  in  using  tl^  civil  .L W 

or  ho  instances  ,n  breaking  up  what  they  termed  "rebel  n-e^tin^s  " 
-Laily  HI  the  summer  of  1775  however,  Guv  .Tohnson  had  deter- 
mined  that  his  own  safety  and  the  interests  of'his  Kin.,  won  d  b^h 
be  promoted  by  removal  to  Canada.     Up  to  this  time,  lie  had  .  .lie 

"27"  h-V"  -r'"^'---T  movements  were  init  temp  r  y 
outbieaks,  which  would  be  suppressed  bv  the  strong  arn/of  his 
govemment,  or  conciliated  by  a  redress  ol^'  son,e  of  the  -n-ievanc  s 
complained  of.  But  admonished  by  the  dark  clouds  of^v  ha 
ere  gathenng,  that  the  crisis  had  arrived,  that  he  could  not  preserve 
uhere  he  was  with  safety,  a  position  even  of  neutrality,  he  resolved 
upon  placmg  himself  in  a  position  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  coa- 


nn.;j:L 


n-e  the  firm 
Immedi- 
wcd  allian- 
brightened 
'  increased 
of  safety," 
jealous  of 
Guy  John - 
M-mined  to 
ce  of  fear 
id   drawn 
s  alarnaed 
ganized  as 
made  re- 
goin,2;  on, 
e  Indians, 
I  any  part 
our  faces, 
c  Albany 
arliament 

3n  family 
tial  fami- 
Iiad  such 

0  coerce 
ley  even 

1  authori- 
ng in  one 
eetintrs." 
id  deter- 
)u]d  both 
;id  iolied 
inporary 
n  of  liis 
evances 
lar  that 
ireserve 
■esolved 
ihe  con- 


PIIELP3    AND    GORIIAm's    PUllCUASE. 


75 


test.  Under  the  pretence  that  he  could  better  control  the  Indians 
and  keep  them  from  harming  the  inhabitants  by  fixin^  his  head-' 
quarters  at  Fort  Stanwix,  he  left  "Guy  Park"  and  repaired  to  that 
post,  where  he  was  soon  joined  by  John  and  Walter  Butler  Brant 
and  a  formidable  body  of  Tories  and  Indians.  He  soon  removed 
with  most  ot  his  retinue  to  Oswen-o. 

It  should  here  be  observed,  that  inured  to  war  as  had  been  the 
Iroquois -fond  of  it  as  would  seem  fromthe  avidity  with  which 
they  had  engaged  in  it  with  their  own  race  and  ours  — the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolution,  found  them  with  somewhat  altered  inclinat 
tions.  Vastly  reduced  by  wars  with  the  southern  and  western 
Jnduns,  and  with  the  French,  the  remnant  of  them  that  had  enjoy- 
ed a  few  years  of  peace  had  learned  in  some  degree  to  estimate  its 
value.  Fully  realizmg  the  consequences,  should  thev  take  up  the 
hatchet  for  the  King,  the  local  committees  of  safetv  for  Tryon  and 
Albany  counties,  heM  conferences  with  the  Mohawks  and  received 
assurances  of  neutrality.  In  June,  1776,  General  Schuyler,  appoint- 
ed for  that  purpose  by  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  held  a  council 
with  all  of  the  Six  Nations  upon  the  German  Flats,  where  assur- 
ances  of  neutrality  were  renewed.  But  the  superior  influences  that 
have  been  spoken  of,  finally  prevailed. 

Guy  Johnson  soon  repaired   to  Montreal,   where  he  made   his 
head  quarter.;,  and  engaged  with  zeal  and  activity,  in  enlisting  the 
Indians  m  a  harrassing  border  war,  chiefly  directed  against  Ids  old 
neighbors.     Sir  John  Johnson,  previous  to  the  flight,  or  he-ira  of 
his  brother-in-law,  had  stipulated  with  Gen.  Schuvler  that  he  would 
remain  and  be  a  neutral,  the  chief  motive  being  the  preservation  of 
the  vast  estate  he.  had  inherited  ;  but  encouraged  bv  the  prospect  of 
a  final  triumph  of  the  King  over  the  colonics,  lie  followed  his  incli- 
nations, violated  his   pledges  of  neutrality,  and  taking  with  him 
three  hundred  of  his  neighbors  and  dependents,  (chiefly  Scotch,) 
loincd  his  brother  in  Montreal,  and  became  like  him  an  active  par- 
tisan     The  immediate  presence  of  the  powerful  family  was  thus 
withdrawn  from  the  Mohawk,  and  little  left  of  them  but  their  deser- 
ted f^ields  and  mansions;  but  the  devoted  valley  had  yet  to  feel  the 
terrible  scourge  which  loyalty  could  inflict,  when  sharpened  by  mo- 
tives  ot  ])rivate  vengeance. 

Col.  John  Butler  soon  fivred  his  residence  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Untario,  ni  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  village  of  Niagara,  where 


'n 


70 


PHELPS    AND    GOEHAM'S    POECnASE. 


j'l; 


'i! 


he  ,™  .oon  installed  as  the  leader  of  the  torv  refugees.    Erectine' 

tt    salM     7-       '  "'Sf'^'^^J""'!  quavered;  and  from  that  |,oint 
hlk      ri       '"'"•■"\"'''"S  -Podi'w"'  to  the  valli,»-  ol  the  Mo. 

hey  relumed  when  their  errands  of  ml^diief  had  been  executed 
(was  there  the  expeditions  to  the  devolod  valley  of  Wyomin--  and 

to  arres  the  mareh  of  Sullivan,  were  projected.  ° 

After  leaving  the  JMohawk  valley,  Brant  was  alternately  at  Oswego 

A-gam  upon  the  Susquehannah  and  Genesee  Rivers' until    Sy 

at  uld  Ih'  n.^"";     '"^.  W'=™"»<=  with  an  armed  band  of  warriors 
at  Unadilla,  an  Indi.an  village  upon  the  Susquehannah.     There  Gen 
Herknner,  with  a  strong  guard  of  Tryon  county  militia  sou4t  an 
|".e,-v,ew  with  him.  in  hopes  of  changing  his  purpos   ^l  eng  li  ^ 
n  the  Kmg  s  servtce.     They  met.  Bran.rather'ha,!ghtilydema,rde3 
he  object  of  the  mterview.  which  ,vas  explained.     Hinting  to  Gen 
Herknner  that  h.s   attendants  were  pretty  numerous  for  a  peac: 
a.nbassador  he  assured  hi.n  that  he  Itad  a  superior  force,  fiv    llZ7d 
varnors  w.th  winch  he  could  crush  him  and  his  part^  a,  a   "o  d 
bu  sa,d  he,  "we  are  old  neighbors  and  friends  and  I  w'll  no"  dot  " 
A    ot.headed  and  .mprtjdent  Coi.  Cox,  who  had  accompanied  Gen. 
Iletknner,  grossly  tnsulted  lirant,  which  came  near  bringing  on  an 
unequal  contest,  bu,  Brant  hushed  the  impending  storm  and  prnLed 
another  tntervew.     It  was  had  according  to  promise ;  Brant  a    u,. 
cd  the  General  that  he  fully  understood  his  enand  ;  "but"  sa  d  h 
you  are  too  late,  I  am  already  engaged  to  serve  the  King.     We 

Ls  ed.  although  you  are  entn-ely  within  my  power."     This  was  the 
last  conference  held  by  the  agents   of  Congress  with  the   Man 
pendM,gordu„ng,hewarof  the  Revolu.io;;  and  after  thi  . ton 

lollowed  the  tern  be  scenes   with  vvl„V.'  fi.^       .i 

reader  to  be  famih-ar.  ^^^^h  vvhicu  the  author  presumes   the 

Imrnecliately  following  this  interview  with  Brant,  Sir  John  John- 
son and  Col.  Water  Butler  sent  out  runners  and  convened  dele'  - 
tions  rom  all  of  the  Six  Nations  at  Oswego.  The  counci  w 's 
open  by  a  speech  fro.  Sir  John,  in' which  L  assured  thc^Ind;::: 
hat  then-  assistance  was  wanted  "to  subdue  the  rebels  who  Imd 
taken  up  anns  a,an.st  their  good  Father  the  King,  and  was  about 
to  rob  him  of  a  great  part  of  iiis  possessions  and  wealth."     Tiau 


PTIELPS    A  .m   GORIIAJl's   PURCHASE. 


11 


JlO 


chiefs  then  rose  and  severally  assured  the  British  agents  that  they 
had  only  one  year  before  in  council  with  General  Schuyler,  pledcred 
themselves  to  neutrality,  and  that  they  should  not  violate  the  pledge 
by  taking  up  the  hatchet.     The  British  agents  told  them  that  the 
rebels      were  few  in  number  and  easily  subdued,  and  that  on  ac- 
count of  tneir  disobedience  they  fully  merited  all  the  punishment  that 
white  men  and  Indians  united  could  inflict ;  that  the  Km<r  was  rich 
and  powerful,  botn  In  money  and  subjects;  that  his  "vim  was  as 
plenty  as  the  waters  of  Lake  Ontario."     This  appeal  to  the  appetites 
of  the  simple  nafves  which  British  agents  had  done  much  before  to 
vitiate,  accompanied  by  promises  of  rich  gifts,  prevailed,  and  a  treaty 
was  made  in  which  they  pledge  themselves  to  take  up  arms  a^rainst 
the  rebels,  and  continue  in  service  during  the  war.     "  Upon  the  con- 
elusion  of  the  treaty,  each  Indian  was  presented  with  a  suit  of  clothes 
a  brass  kettle,  a  gun,  a  tomahawk,  a  scalping  knife,  a  quantity  of 
powder  and  lead,  and  a  piece  of  gold."  * 

_  In  the  speech  of  Cornplanter  to  the  Governor  cf  Pennsylvania 
in  1822,  he  said  :  -  "  The  cause  of  Indians  having  been  led  into  sin 
at  that  time,  was,  that  many  of  them  were  in  the  practice  of  drink- 
ing  and  getting  intoxicated.'  Great  Britain  requested  us  to  ioin 
hem  m  the  conflict  against  Americans,  and  promised  the  Indians 
land  and  liquor. 

Soon  after  the  war  commenced,  Brant  collected  the  Mohawks  at 
Lewiston,  selecting  for  their  home  some  of  the  fine  grounds  on  the 
Kidge  Road,  near  the  present  village.     He  built  a  small  lo-  church 
using  the  bell  of  one  of  the  Indian  churches  upon  the  Mohawk 
which  was  hung  upon  the  notch  of  a  tree,  the  British  chaplain  at 
J^ort  Niagara,  frequently  holding  service  there.     After  the  Revolu- 
tion, he  removed  to  Brantford,  C.  W.,  where  large  c^rants  of  land 
were  secured  to  him  by  the  British  government.     He  died  in  1807 
aged  64  years.  ' 

Col.  John  Butler,  who  was  respectably  connected  upon  the  Mo- 
hawk,  became,   from  the  first  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  a 

*  Life  of  Mary  Jemison. 
them  «  scou^  to  bordtr  sottte  „f  N.»  iVk  a'di'^Sitolta  '         '""'" 


I     ■    X 


78 


PIEELPS    AND    GORIIAm's    PtJRCIIASE. 


s  on  that  he  had  a  good  share  of  business  talents.     At  the  close  of 
the  Revo  ut.on  he  becan.o  Superintendent  of  Indian  afK  irs  fo^^^Un 
per  Canada  and  was  also  a  half-pay  British  Colonel.     T  e  p  tron' 
age  of  a  K.ng  he  had  served  so  devotedly  at  the  s.crifico  of  th 
private  esteem  of  even  those  who  had  been  hi.  ..  ^ 

enabled  him  to  surround  himself  v^     .]  "^P^^'^"-'^  ^"«™s, 

the  In vnrir.«  nC  I,T       Ti     u  '  '''^  Comforts  and  many  of 

the  luxu nes  of  hfe      The  home  of  which  he  was  the  founder  even 
now  n.  us  neglected  condition,  exhibits  in  all  its  primiti^  am^^^^^^^ 

annals  of  Border  WrT;^;^S^^^^^^^ 

llie  „,nucnce  ol  tl,o  Johnson  lamiiy  with  the  Indians  was  hard 
y  less  potent  than  with  their  white  neighbors.      No  wl  e     in  aU 
nttt'lrV ""  "'"°  '"  'r«^  "  P'-oVon-'onaie  diversion  o.h 

of  th  C  7  ""/^IT"'  "'  "'=  ''''™'»"°"'  "'  i"  '!'»  valley 
of  theiVIohawk;  and  on  the  other  hand,  no  where  were  there  bet- 
ter examples  of  patriotism,  bravety  and  self  sacrifiee.     It  was  en 

ha,J  all  the  features  of  cvd  war;  households  were  divided-  it  was 
brother  agatns.  brother,  and  neighbor  against  neighbor  f^^td     he" 

1  ou  iMiag.,ra  and  Canada,  they  returned  from  time  to  thne  unon 
g.«und,and  «el]  Inew  where  most  effectually  to  direct  their  steps. 


that  wo  UK  under  much  fours  from  H,-.   r    i  '  f'"^"'l :  — "  \<.u  will  not  .supiwse 

lJ.o(;ouo.ce  river  wi.W.;^::;^,,^;"  S  nll'O  "^'^Ull  7""  ^1'^'^  ^  «tarto,l'Lm 


tJio  (leuesco  ru  J,:  w)^W.   0:^,,^  J  ^i  tli'S:^  x""  '  ^'^"  ^""  ^1'''*  ^  ^tartoti'i^on 

)1, 


Butler.     We  were  served  with  a,>£   d  isfnnf  •    I  ""/'xc.'lont  dmuer  with  Col 

Bu,>i.ed  ine  .0.,  wa.  to  see  a^fiVlll^aolr  ^^Z  a^'US'l  o^l^^lSli^ 


PHELPS   AND    GORlIAJi's   PURCHASE. 


79 


and  where  to  execute  the  most  terrible  mischief.     In  the  retrospect, 
when  nations  have  settled  down  in  peace,  and  look  bnck  upon  the 
excesses  they  have  committed  in  the  strife  and  hr  it  of  w  ir,  there 
is  always  inucii  even  for  self-accusation ;  but  r    all  t'       .ist'ory  of 
wars,  there  is  nothing  that  so  stands  out  in  bold  •-,iief,  <  ithout  miti- 
nation  or  excuse,  as  was  the  sanguine  policy  of  ;.,..  hv'  in  the  em- 
ployment of  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife,  to  aid  uv:i  in  warring 
against  her  colonies.     In  all  her  own  dark  catalog.- n  .,:  wrongs,  in 
the  east,  at  home,  in  compelling  obedience  to  i.'u;  Uuune,  the°re  is 
nothing  that  so  far  outraged  humanity,  that  so  far  transcended  the 
rules  of  civilized  warfare,  as  was  the  arming  of  savage  allies,  and 
sendmg  them  to  lay  waste  unprotected  backwoods  settlements  and 
massacre  their  inhabitants,  without  regard  to  age,  condition,  or  sex. 
What  the  feeble  colonies  scorned  to  do  in  self-defence  —  after  they 
had  determined  upon  asking  nothing  farther  than  to  have  the  toma- 
liawk  and  scalping  knife  kept  out  of  the  contest  — British  agents, 
with  the  sanction  of  their  government,  did  not  hesitate  to  do°in  a 
spirit  of  inhumanity  so  sanguinary  aud  unrelenting,  that  it  urged  on 
Indian  warfare,  even  when  it  hesitated  in  the  execution   of  its 
stealthy  and  bloody  missions. 

The  Border  Wars,  the  tory  and  Indian  incursions  from  Canada 
Oswego  and  Niagara,  continued  at  intervals  from  the  flight  of  the 
Johnsons,  Butler  and  Brant  in  '75,  until  August  1779.     The  horrid 
details  already  fill  volumes  of  published  history.*     With   powerful 
British  armies  to  contend  with  upon  the  sea  board  — work  enou<Th 
for  the  feeble  and  exhausted  colonies  — inadequate  help  had  been 
afforded  to  repel  invaders  of  the  frontier  settlements  of  New  York 
The  stealthy  foe  could  make  descents  by  land  or  water  through  dif- 
ferent  unguarded  avenues,  and  when  their  work  of  death   was 
accomplished,  retreat  to  their  strong  holds  at  Oswego  and  Niagara 
a  wide  wilderness  their  defence  and  security  against  pursuit  and 
retribution.     VVhen  expeditions  were  planned  at  Niagara,  if  designed 
tor  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  the  Indians  and  tories  would  concen- 
trate at  Oswego;  and  if  the  valley  of  the  Susquehannah  was  the 
destination,  they  would  concentrate  upon  the  Genesee  river,  Seneca 


££HSsBS~;«- 


80 


ii  i,f 


■1 


PIEELPS   AND   GORnA:\l's   PURCHASE. 


Lake,  or  the  Tioi 


ga  river.     Their 


Fort  Niagara,  the  Bastile  of  the  then  .,_ vv„uc., 

At  last,  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1779,  Gen.  W; 


prisoners  were  usually  taken  to 
western  wilderness 


.  ^  1     -    -  —  jv.>*.   *i«.f,  v<cu.  vv  ashinjiton  de- 

termmed  upon  a  measure  for  carrying  the  war  home  upon  the  inva- 
ders, rou  mg  the  Indians  from  their  villages,  and  if  practicable,  the 
o,ge  and  capture  of  Fort  Niagara.     The  command  was  entrusted 
to  Gen.  Sulhvan.     The  army  organized  for  the  expedition  was  in 
three  divisions.     That  part  of  it  under  the  immediate  command  of 
Gen  Sdhvan,  coming  from  Pennsylvania,  ascended  the  Susquehan- 
nah  to  Tioga  Pomt.     Another  division  under  the  command  of  Gen. 
James  Chnton,  constructing  batteaux  at  Schenectadv,  ascended  the 
Mohawk  and  rendezvoused  at  Canajoharrie.  opened  a  road  to  the 
head  0    Otsego  Laive,  and  from  thence  proceeded  in  a   formi.lable 
fleet  of   over  two  hundred  batteaux,  to  Tioga  Point,   formin.   a 
.ivmction  with  the  force  under  Gen.  Sullivan,  on  the  22d  of  Au4st 
Prev.ous  to  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Clinton,  Sullivan  had  sent  forward 

^::::^:t'''  ^" '- '-''  -  '-'^'-^  ^-^^  -^  ^-'^-  -^  ^ 

The  con.bined  forces  amounted  to  5,000  men.  The  expedition 
had  !,een  so  long  preparing,  and  upon  the  march,  that  the  enemv 
were  well  apprized  of  all  that  was  going  on.  Their  plan  of  de- 
fence contemplated  a  decisive  engagement  upon  the  Chemung  river 
For  this  purpose  the  Rangers  and  regular  British  troops,  under  the 
command  of  Col  John  Butler,  Cols.  Guy  and  Sir  John  .Tohnson. 

undei  Brant  had  concentrated  their  forces  upon  a  bend  of  the  river 
near  the  present  village  of  Elmira,  where  they  had  thrown  up  a 
long  breast  w^orkot  logs.  The  united  forces  of  the  British  al  es 
as  computed  by  Gen.  Sullivan,  was  about   1500.  *     Havin..  ascer- 

ained  their  position.  Gen.  Sullivan  marched  in  full  force  and  .Stacked 
them  1.  the  forenoon  of  the  29th  of  August.  He  found  the  enemy 
partly  entrenched  and  partly  arranged  in  scouting  and  tlankin:. 
parties,  the  Imhans  especially  adopting  their  favorite  mode  of  wai^ 
are.  Well  provided  with  artillery,  a  heavy  fire  was  op.aed  upon 
the  enemies  entrenchments,  which  soon  proved  them  a  weak  de- 
fence; apart  of  the  Indians  were  panic  stricken  bv  the  heavv 
cannonade,  and  fled,  while  other  portions  of  then,  were  rallied  by 


*  Assumed  to  be  niucli  less  in  the  British  accounts. 


PHELPS    AND    GOEHA^^l's     PURCHASE. 


81 


their  intrepid  leader,  Brant,  and  well  maintained  the  unequal  contest 


'Bothtories  and  Indians  were  entitled 


manfully.     Ev( 


3k  and  tree  and  bush 


to  the  credit  of  fighting 


,,.,,.,-  .sheltered   its  man,  from 

hehmd  which  the  winged  messengers  of  death  were  thickly  sent 
but  with  so  little  effect  as  to  excite  astomshment.  The  Indians 
yielded  ground  only  inch  by  inch ;  and  in  their  retreat  darted  iVom 
tree  to  tree  with  the  agility  of  a  panther,  often  contesting  each  new 
po.it.on  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet- a  thing  very  unusual  even 
with  m.ht.amen,  and  still  more  rare  among  the  undisciplined  warriors 
ol  the  woods/;  *  The  battle  had  been  waged  about  two  hours, 
when  the  British  and  Indians  perceiving  their  forces  inadequate 
anc  that  a  maneuver  to  surround  them  was  likely  to  be  successful, 
broke  and  fled  in  great  disorder. 

"  This  "  says  John  Salmon,  of  Livingston  county,  who  belonged  lo 
the  expedition  and  gave  an  accouiii  of  it  to  the  author  of  the  LH« 
ot  Mary  Jemison,  "was  the  only  regular  stand  made  by  the  In- 
dians. In  their  retreat  they  were  pursued  by  our  men  to  the  Nar- 
rows, where  they  were  attacked  and  killed  in  great  numbers,  so  that 
the  sides  of  the  rocks  next  the  River  looked  as  if  blood  had  been 
poured  on  them  by  pailfuls." 

The  details  of  all  that  transpired  in  this  campaign  are  before  the 
public  in  so  many  forms,  that  their  repetition  here^is  unnecessary. 
1  he  route  of  the  army  was  via  "  French  Catherine's  Town,"'  f  head 
ot  Seneca  Lake,  down  the  east  shore  of  the  Lake  to  the  Indian 
vi.age  of  Kanadesag;..  (Old  Castle.)  and  from  thence  to  Canandai- 
gua,  lloneoye,  head  of  Conesus  Lake,  to  Groveland.     Tlie  villa-res 
destroyed  (with  the  apple  trees  and  growing  crops  of  the  Indian!  ) 
were  at  Catherinestown.  Kendai,  or  "Apple  Town"  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Lake,  eleven  miles  from  its  foot,  Kanadesaga,  lloneoye 
Conesus.  Canascraga,  Little  Beard's  Town,  Big  Tree,^  Canawagus,' 
and  on  the  return  ot  the  army,  Scawyaoe,  a  village  between  the 


'  Life  of  Brant. 


chief  ,o  I'hih'w  plii  h  ;•  \^L2^  ZZ^fu  "I'T'"'  '^'"  -eo„,paniea  tho 
'""I  "•'■■■'t«l  will.  i.Hicli  rcspoA  SlK  • .  I  '  i' ,  1  K.T>i""^'"^V  "]  l"''^-'''f<r '"'<'«<'• 
mm'kud  utten  iun  ),y   iK.  Jir  Sim to'*  ^'''  Niagara,  wJ.e.e   slie  was  trealod  with 


M 


i.tr' 


In 


82 


PHELPS    AND    GOllIIAM'rf    PURCHASE. 


Cayuga  and  Seneca  Lakes,  and  several  other  Cayuga  villages 
Captain  Maelun  was  at  the  head  of  the  engineers  in  this  expion' 
Tiie  industnous  gleaner  of  Po.vIpv  W  •   •  expedition, 

or  the  Ilistor-' of  SI    1      .^^ '^^  War  rernmisc-ences,    the  author 
01  lli.to  ^  of  Schohane,  has  found  among  his  papers  the   fol 

lowing,  whicli  accompanied  a  map  of  Sulhvan\  entire  route  L 

esee]  Lasllc,  taken  in  1779,  In/  actual  survey :  — 

MILES. 


NAMES  OF  PLACES. 


I<rom  Eastou  to  VVeoiniuiiin. 

lo  Lackuwjiiii'Lk  Creek      "' 

Qtiniliitermink,  .     '    . 

Tuiikliiiiiiniiik  Creek, 

Mcsli()liiii.f  CrvL'k. 

VaiiderJips  J'lantaliou,      - 

\\  ealuhkiiiy  'lV»\vii, 

Wefisawkiii,  01-  Pine  Creek, 

Iioga,      .... 

Cliemiiiig,         ... 

Ncsvtoii,  ... 

Preuv'li  Catlieriiicstowii,     - 

Kaiiilia  <,r  Ajjplotim 

Outlet  of  Seneca,   Lake, 

Kaiiatlesaga,  „:■  Scueca  Castle 

KanaTi(la(|iie, 

Haiinyauya, 

A'.ijiista,  "... 

CoKsauwauIoiij^-liby^  . 

Cliene^see  Cu»tlu    '  '  . 


G5 
10 

7 
11 

9 

5 

■  8 

141.,' 

l.Vi.~ 

l-^  ~ 

18 

27j,r 
11/."; 

15'.; 

1-2}... 

7 
51 


TOTAL. 

C5 
75 

H2 

m 

10:2 

107 

115 

l:i!li.,' 

145  ~ 

157 

l«5k; 

21 1'" 

2:20 
24 IJ.; 
255  ~ 
207i..< 
274'.' 
2^0 


mad,  ^A,„„„g,he  papc.  „f  Cap,.  Muchi,,  «  ,|,e  following  c^-tifi- 

i,™-i..s  «ur  ,1,0  F„„,  t  ;  ,t  ■  1 1 :"" ':"" ""  -"'"  "■"' » "»i"»''t  "'4  «.„ 

}        .l..tta„,I.„  I,  JOll.N-IlUTLKil,  C„l.a„,l 

f-iilil.  o.  II...  s,x  X„,i„„  „„j  „,„  „|,i,„  „,  ,,j_,  ,^^.  ,^^^,  „ 

wa.s  prow,:,,  ';i  f:^;;::^^!]  't  '"  't-  ^■"'°-- 


'.dJki^' 


PHELPS    AND   GOEIIAM's    PUECHASE.  S3 

Capt  Gregg  revived.    His  dog  ran  off  to  some  fishern.en  of  the 

.^  t  'c  di;^;;.-  ''^^"^^',^'^--^  ^^--   ^7  i^is  -oaning,  attracted  then, 
in  the  dnection   of  his  wound.d  master.     Capt.  Gre..  was   thu. 
discovered,  and  hvcd  to  relate  the  story  of  his  preser^Mioi      I    i 
given  upon  the  authority  of  Dr.  Dui<it  ^^^"^'^^ ^ '^^•'^"-     ^'  ^« 

The  march  of  Sulhvan,  the  devastations  committed  by  his  armv 
judat  this  distant  period  seem  hke  Vandalism,  in  tL  ab    Se' 
0    the  consideration  ihat  he  was   acting  under  strict  orders     L 
^Mt  those  orders  were  approved,  if  not   dictated  by  Washington 
The  campaign  was  a  matter  of  necessity;    to  be   effectual  utas' 
no   -;^y-essary  that  its  acts  should  be  Retaliatory  and  r^tiib  th^ 

of  the  So,  r\  '''^  ''  '^''''''y  ^"  ^'^^  '^'"^"^  «f  subsistence 

ad      '"   "r  '7'^^^^'-^'^- '---'  P--nt  their  return  to  them, 
River   ^  T  '  T  ^'^^';-P^"™-^«"t  retreat  beyond  the  Niagara 

ha    Luld  t^r  ^"^r'  '"-""^^   ''  ''^''''y'  ^^''-'^  Col.  Stone 
d  b    ?h    so  n?'"r  J      ""  "  '''•'"™"^'^  ''''y  ^^"=^Se  he  approach- 
ed b)  the  sound  of  his  cannon,  the  author  conceives,  a  n  isappre- 
hension  of  his  mot  vp«      <^fo..ifi  •  .  <-  ,  u,  luiscippre- 

•    !!>,  motives,     btealthy,  quiet  approaches,  would  have 
fou.^  as  vicums  ni  every  village,  the  o.d^Len,  th^  .ZJZ 

Huma^^^^  '^"'^^'*   '''''  ^'--   ^-^-^^  ^I'ies. 

vTat    s  '  ,        ^''""''^^S,  that  those  he  did  not  come  to 

war  against  cou  d  have  time  to  flee.     It  would  have  been  a  f.r 
darker  feature  oi  the  campa.gn  than  those  that  have  been  coLain; 
o    an    o,ie  that  could  not  have  been  mitigated,  if  old  men.     . 
and  children,  had  been  unnlarmed,  and  exposed  to  the  vengeanc 
o     hos    who  came  from  the  valleys  of  the  Susquehannah  .-md  th.^ 

^o^^tr'T  f  '''''  ''''''''  -''  -^'^^'^^--    '^h 
ex  ept  n  a  small  degree -just  as  it  should  have  been,  if  lie  could 
not  make  victims  of  those  he  was  sent  to  punish 

The  third  expedition  of  this  campaign,  which  hasgenerallv  b.-,. 

Fort  1  itt  m  August  with  six  hundred  m.Mi.  and  d....oyed  seven,' 
M.ngoand  Muneey  tribes  living  on  the  Allegany,  French  Co  ' 
and  other  tribmaries  of  the  Ohio.  '«"i-"  «-Kl... 

The  heavy  artillery  that  Gen.  Sullivar  , :,n,.ht.s  for  as  IVowton- 
wod.l  uidicate  that  N^^gara  was  ong:.:.i!y  the  destination.  T^l 
the  Geiu-ral  and  Ins  ollieers,  sen.g  how  !,„g  it  had  taken  to  reach 


N.' 


84 


i:-L. 


i 


If 'ill 
If', 


'  m 


^'  ill: 


h 


PHELPS  AND  gokiiam's  pueciiase. 


season 


that  pomt,  m  all  probability dclormined  .hat  toomuch  of 
had  been  wasted,  .„  allow  of  executing  their  tasks  in 

h     ZTll  ?""?  ''."'^'r  *'  '"""" '"  "f ™"'"-   Besides,  befofe 
aseeZed   hat  ,1,"  'n  T"'^  °''  "'=  <^''™'»*  ""^  f»«'  ™s 

After  the  expedition  of  Gen.  Sullivan,  the  Indhans  never  h-d  an- 

i:  :■;  vef' xre'"'  rrr  "''^'  °^  •^^'-  ^■"■~' »'  •">« 

eneseenvei.    They  settled   down   after  a  brief  (li-^ht    in    tbei,- 

i:  o°"m.  M '  ™i  f'  °'  '"^  "^^'  ■"  '^^  -■=* •"^«i  G " 

Hinel  "'"'  "'""'  '™°I'''  ^"'^  ""frati™  of  William 

..eommt  of  Sull.vai,  s  expedition,  as  copied   from  the  manuserints 


I) 


J'nrve.«t.    ''J'liis   .tocupaucy   contimicTi  'Afr'"in."  •''   '",'"'1^:'''^"  '"'^'"l   ""''1   tlie   next 
liPi-  at  tlie  .Morris  treity.-^  contimiccl,  .AIi,,.  Jemisoii  liml  the  Giudcuu  tract  grautud  to 


PAET  SECOND 


CHAPTER  I 


OUR  IMMEDIATE  PREDECESSORS  -  THE  SENEGAS  ~  WITH  A  GLANCE  AT 

THE  IROaUOIS. 


I 


It  IS  not  the  design  of  this  work  to  embrace  a  detailed  account  of 
Uie  Five  Nations.  The  Senecas,  however,  the  Tsonnontouans  of 
I  rench  chronicle,  who  guarded  the  western  door  of  the  Lon^ 
House,  looking  out  on  the  Great  Lakes,  demand  a  passhig  notice,  as 
we  are  approaching  a  series  of  events  connected  with  the  "par 
tition     ot  their  wide  and  beautiful  domain. 

In  common  with  the  red  races,  they  are  the  "  autochthonoi  "  of  the 
soil- "fresher  from  the   hand  that   formed  of  earth  the   human 
^ce,    than  the  present  rulers  of  the  land  that  was  once  theirs 
Un  their  hunting  grounds,  the  pioneevs  of  the  Genese^;  country 
preparatory  to  settlement,  kindled  their  camp-fires.    Our  clusteriii 
Cities  and  villages  are  on  the  sites  of  their  ancient  castles,  forts  and 
places  of  burial.     In  the  vallies  where  they  lived,  an.l  on  hills 
where  blazed  their  beacons,  a  people  with  the  best  blood  of  Europe 
111  their  veins,  at  one  ana  the  same  time,  are  founding  halls  of  leain- 
mg,  and  gathering  in  the  golden  harvests.     The  early  annals  of 
their  occupation,  to  which  the  reader  is  soon  to  be  introduced,  are 
intimately  blended  with  this  once  powerful  and  numerous  branch 
oi   the  Iroquois   confederacy,   that  furnished   under  the    toteiuic 
l)ond,  at  the  era  of  confederation,  two  of  the  presiding  law-crivers 
and  chiefs.  *  '"^ 

An  opinion  prevails,  that  the  guardians  of  the  Eastern  Door,  the 
Mohawks;   or.  as   called   by   their   brethren,   "  Do-de-o-gah,"   or 


*  Docimicutaiy  History, 


m 


!  C- 


m 


8Q 


PHELPS    AND    GORIIA]\i's    PURCHASE. 


message  bearers,"  were  the  most  warlike;  but  a  careful  exami- 
nation of  history  and  the  pages  of  Jesuit  journals,  establishes  the 
luct,  that  the  Senecas  were  not  their  inferiors  in  every  martial  at- 
tribute, and  were  always  represented  at  a  general  gathering  of  ^he 
clans,  m  time  of  danger,  by  a  more  formidable  force.  They're  is  no 
foundat^ion  for  the  remark  of  Buchanan,  speaking  in  reference  to 
the_  Mohawks,  that  their  allies  neither  made  war  or  peace  without 
their  consent. 

Unquestionable  proof  is  on  record,  that  the  fierce  Senecas  were 
not  always  governed  in  their  action  by  the  general  voice  at  Onon- 
daga.  Sternly  independent,  they  some  times  took  up  arms,  when 
the  other  tribes,  to  use  an  Indian  metaphor,  sate  smokin-  in  quiet 
on  their  mats.  After  the  rapid  decline  of  French  ascendancy  on 
this  contUK'nt,  and  many  of  the  tribes  beheld  with  terror  the  .rov- 
ernmentof  Canada  fldling  into  English  hands,  the  Senecas, "un- 
daunted by  the  danger,  adhered  with  dogged  obstinacy,  to  the 
vanquished. 

For  a  time,  they  were  in  alliance  with  Pontiac,  and  played  a 
conspicuous  part  with  the  great "  Ottawa  "  in  his  plan  of  surprisin.^ 
a  cordon  of  posts  in  the  Lake  country,  and  exterminating  th^ 
•  dogs  m  red  clothing,"  that  guarded  them.  This  statement  does 
not  rest  on  vague  conjecture,  or  blind  tradition.     By  reference   to 

Apul,  1763  Sir  William  Johnson  concluded  at  Johnson  Hall,  on 
le  Mohawk,  preliminary  articles  of  peace  with  eight  deputies  of 

Pon^^r' Wrr;;     "''  "'r  '''  ^'^  ^^°^^^^^  '"-g-'  ^ad  joined 
Pont  ac.     WMe     he  proud   and   conquering   Mohawks   imposed 

n  bute  on  the  Mohegans.  and  scoured  the  pine-forests  of  dLan 

Maine  in  pursuit  ot  flying  loe.s,  westward  the  track  of  the  Seneca 

::^tl^'nr'^  -^  "'-''•  ^^-  ^-'^er  Nation,  with  UoZZ 
both  Ides  0  the  Niagara,  were  "blotted  from  the  things  that  be  •" 
and  the  Eries,  after  a  brave  resistance,  destroyed  _  tlie  pri.e  of 
c<.nquest,  the  loveliest  portion  of  our  trans-denessean  o  try 
The  barren  coast  of  Superior,  a  thousand  miles  away  from  the  r 
great  counc.l-fire,  was  trodden  by  their  warriors 

The  IH.nois  turned  pale  at   their  approach  on   the  shores  of 
he  M  ssissipp,   and  no  hatchets  were  redder  than  theirs  in  the 

et-culean  tas     of  humbling  the  Lenni    Lenapes,  and  fo    etc 
hushing  into  silence  their  boasting  tonnies. 


PHELPS    AND  GORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


87 


I 


The  ChippoAvas,  a  valinnt  pc^nplo,  discomfitted  and  utterly  dis- 
mayed by  their  prowess,  lied  like  hunted  deer  to  the  remote  vil- 
lages  of  the  Sioux.     The  Ion-  and  bloody  wars  waged  by  the  Five 
Aations  with  the  Southern  tribe.,  owed  their  origin  to  an  attack 
made  on  the  Senecas  in  one  of  their   distant  expeditions  to  the 
south  west,  by  a  party  of  Chorokees.     The  war-post  was  at  once 
struck,  and  the  confederates  joined  with  their  injured  brethren  in 
resenting  the  insult,  and  taming  the  pride  of  their  wily  antagonists 
Though  a  vast  extent  of  territory  lay  between  the  hunting  grounds 
of  the  latter  and  the    central  fire  of  their  cantons,  the^  dreaded 
war-whoop  of  the  Iroquois  w.as  heard  on  the  banks  of  the  Talla- 
poosa and  Ocmulgee.     Forbidding  wilds,  draped  in  the  lonrr  .ray 
moss  of  mdder  latitudes,  and  swampy  fastnesses,  the  savage  haunts 
of  the  alligator  and  terrapin,  were  explored  by  the  infuriated  in- 
vaders. 

Nature  opposed  no  barrier  to  a  triumphant  campaign,  and  dis- 
tance was  no  obstacle  in  the  fearful  work  of  retaliation. 

Hiokatoo,  the  renowned  husband  of  the  "  White  Woman  "  was  a 
leader  in  one  of  those  wild  forays,  and  when  a  grav-haired  ancient, 
cheered  many  a  listening  circle  at  his  lodge  fire,  with  a  narrative 
ot  his  exploits  on  that  occasion. 

Individuals  of  Cherokee  extraction,  still  reside  on  the  Tonawan- 
da  Reservation.  They  trace  their  descent  to  captives,  saved  from 
torture  at  the  stake,  and  adopted  as  tribesmen  bv  their  victors 

I  must  differ  from  many  writers,  misled  by  Heckewelder  in  the 
opinion  that  compared  with  surrounding  nations,  the  Iroquois  were 
no  a  superior  race  of  men.  No  primitive  people  can  boast  of 
nobler  war  captains,  than  Kan-ah-je-a-gah,  Jlon-ne-va-was,  Brant, 
Hendrick  an.!  Skenandoah  ;  -  no  abler  orators  and  statesmen  than 
Dekanissora,  Canassetego,  Logan  and  Red  .Jacket 

When  the  adventurous  Frenchmen  first  set  foot  on  Canadian  soil, 
HI  003  ho  ound  the  tribes  of  the  League  settled  near  Hochelaga 
on  he  site  of  Montreal.  Previous  to  this  eventful  period,  they  we'^e' 
said   o  have  been  a  peacc^ful  and.  happy  people  -  more  inclLd  to 

rl  \  ]''  f '''  '^'  "'="-P''^^^-  ^''h«  unprovoked  encroach- 
men  o  the  Ad.rondacl.  on  their  land  -  a  powerful  nation  residing 
.  00  milos  above  Trois-Riv.eres,  at  length  woke  their  latent  enennes 

banks  of  the  .S^  Lawrence,  one  of  America's  mighty  arteries,  and 


88 


PIIELP3   AND    GORHAM's    PUECIIASE.  ; 


conquering  the  Satanas  in  (lie 


..        .         .  ,      ,  i''  migrations,  they  laid  the  founda- 

tion  of  empire  on  the   borders  of  our  beautiful  Lakes.     Seasoned 

hke  C«;sars  veterans,  by  hardship,  long  marches  and  victory,  they 

bravely  resisted  the  inroads  of  their  old  ene.nies,  the  Huron    and 

ameiKls  therefm-,  by  the  exercise  of  greater  prudence,  and  super  or 
tiategy      Fighting  in  small  detached  parties,  and  under  iii  repid 
aders  they  struck  blows  in  remote  points,  at  oiie  and  the  same 
moment  of  time,  producing  a  general  panic  and  surprise. 

In  turn,  assuining  the  offensive,  they  drove  back  the  invaders, 
di.heai  toned  and  disconifitted,   to  the  neighboi-hood  of  Quebec. 
Thcii  came  the  tug  of  war.     Through  the  intervention  of  Jesuit 
mfluenee    so  puissant  in  the  17th  century,  that  Kings  and  I'ontiffs 
su  mi  ted  to  its  dictation,  the  F,-ench  coloiiists  foi.iied  an  alliance 
ith  the  vanquished  tribes.     Supplied  with  moi-e  de;idlv  ^^■ea].o^s  - 
the  fire-ocks   of  civilization -the   Algoi.quin  ai.d  ilm-o,;  again 
.a-uggled  lor  the  ma.tei-y.     By  coiisulting  Golden,  we  learn  that 
previous  to  the  conflict  between  Chamj.lain  and  the  Irocjuois,  on  the 
Lake  that  bears  his  name,  the  latter  had  never  hea,-d  the  thun.Ier 
or  seen  the  iightniiig  of  the  pale  faces.     Though  debated  on  that 
occasion,  they  were  not  humbled  ;  all  fear  of  conseque.ices  was 
mei-ged  in  a  feeling  of  deep  and  deadly  exasperation.     The  re- 
doubtable  Cha.iiplain  himself,  was  doo.ned  a  few  years  after  to  feel 
he  heavy  weight  of  their  vengeance.  *     Incautiouslv  lavinc.  ..ie^e 
to  one  of  their  forts  on  Onondaga  Lake,  in  October,  Ul'o,  he  "was 
twice  wounded  by  arrows,  and  forced  to  retire  in  disgrace  with  his 
motley  an-ay  of  French  and  Indians. 

He  who  foils,  in  hard  encouiUei-,  a  dexterous  swordsman,  with 
an  oaken  stall,  gives  proof  of  matchless  uddi-ess  and  prowcss- 
and  the  fact  that  the  Five  Nations,  recovering  fi-om  the  illbcts  of  a 
first  sui-prise,  boldly  maintained  their  ground,  even  at  this  period, 
and  o.ten  played  an  aggi-essive  part,  proves  their  native  superioritv 
and  gives  them  indisputable  right  to  their  own  haught^•  tei-m  of 
designa  t.on  _  "  O.i-gui-hion-wi  "  -  men  without  peer.?    ' 

Irench  interference,  in  behalf  of  the.r  old  and  implacable  foes, 
only  developed  the  genius  of  their  Sachems,  and  attested  the  devo- 
tion  ol  their  warriors. 


*0. 11.  Mar«lu.U'«  ulle.addrcss  before  the  YouDg  Men'.  As«ociatiuu  at  ButtUlo. 


PHELrs   AND    GORilAM's    PUUCllASE. 
remely 


89 

«l.em  ,0  wage  a  w     tin.     Zl  I  "''  ""''"""'■''  ""=>■  '=""°™8'=d 

in...  «n.i.  Canada  Is^pXf  T^°Z::'^rr  '"'■ 

posts  were  burned  — fh^  r    ■  scream,     louns  and  out- 

-e,  a,.  .„.  :l  i;^'r,:  iLr,t  ;',::r  %r 

age  nor  sex  was  spared.  ciearnig.     NeitJier 

The  fur-trader  found  a  red  frrave   in  iU.      -i . 
sentinel  was  shot  mr>in.  f.       "^    ^       .        ^'Iderncss ;  even  the 

rovZtolTx'^V     ■°"''',  ""  "'''""-'-'ion  of  succlsive  Vice- 

Ar„:;^!:;f  ?a;r:r  i::;- ":;;:  "^  f  ;'f r -^  ^ 

Hurons  under  Iho  ..uns  „(■  Omi!,  ""  °'  •""■  'aiHiful 
foe  that  overran  the°Z.°„e?l'  "f  '"""''"''"S  '■'"l''-"^  "^  ^ 
isis,  ■■  as  a  torre,  ,  i  ^    ,  "    ■     ,"''  ""^  f  ™"S  """"■''  »''  l""'  annal- 

and  there  i  "^^Itl.tndt!;""'-''"''^'  "■'■^"  "  »-'"»-  -  "--k^. 

fer^r ■'Lt:.  ™,rl' Ita't"?""^,  """  """■•  ^»P-'  "^ 
Ab„righ,al  League     Th„n  ,         f  ""''''"  ""''  "''"'■^  "'  'l>i» 

I'i-rro.  with  a  few  horl     "f        S     'ch"'  """""r"  ""^ 
shouting  rider- deemed  bv  tl,r=l  ,         '^'""^'"5  slecd  and 

Centaur    of  fable  !!ra,,ll„;         ^'">  ,"""«»"<=  a'M"aI,  like  the 
^bdned  them  '^th  T^^JZ'"^  ""  '','"''  "^  "'^-  '™">P»' 
overcome     In  ,i.  1^  „f  ^     ,         ™  "PI*"'  '°  P""-'"'!^'"  could       . 
»iain  like  unre  is  n    ,|1„    i!'  '"'""  ""','  """'^'  "'""-"i^  -'e 

yoke,  and  loold;^  ^n  X  'ol/  ^Z:,™'?""™"  f'"'  "^'=^^  '°  ""= 
ed  ignominious  dea.l^^     Vr  '"■  '"'••"■'■'"■'*en  Incas  sufltr- 

perieueed  a  f  vjXt  J  ^e  Thf '^'  ™r"  ""^  """^  ^^'^^  ""^  -- 
away,  as  it  wore  in  ,  nuZ  '"r ]''^'-'^^"<"'»  f>'c  ;  U  crumbled 

feet^aliy  insur,';  i^:! J.i»  ^'"™''"  "  ''  """""'S  -ore  ef- 
6 


il 


00 


PHELPS    AND    GORnA:\l's    PUECIIASE. 


ii»    n 


The  romantic  valor  of  a  few  Castiiian  adventurers,  outweighed 
in  the  scale  of  rondict,  the  countless  multitudes  that  opposed  them. 

Montezuma  and  Guatimozin,  after  all,  were  nothii.f^  more  than 
royal  shadows,  notwithstanding  their  patient  martyrdom. 

The  sceptred  i)hantoms  invoked  by  the  weird  sisters  were  less 
trad  and  unsubstantial,  for  they  inspired  fear  —  extorting  this  shud- 
dering cry  from  a  tyrant  and  regicide,  bloody  and  false  like  Cortcz  — 

"Lot  this  pernicious  Jiour 

Stand,  aye,  acciirsetl  in  the  calcmhir." 

Of  difTerent  mould  and  mettle,  were  the  Sachems  and  Attotarhos 
of  the  Five  Nations.  They  were  endowed  with  the  will  to  dare  — 
the  hand  to  execute.  Their  Garangulas  and  Decanissoras  —  their 
OuHdiagas  and  Karistageas  united  to  indomitable  courage,  talents 
for  negotiation,  and  resistless  eloquence. 

Less  brilliant  than  banded  states  that  paid  submissive  tribute  to 
the  Aztec  emperor,  there  was  more  stability  and  strength  in  their 
unwritten  compact  of  union.  Though  a  mere  handful,  compared 
with  tlie  swarming  and  priest-ridden  slaves  of  Mexico,  they  posses- 
sed  an  inherent  valor  and  spirit  of  independence,  that  submitted  to 
no  wrong,  and  brooked  no  rivalry.  Seldom  in  the  field  with  more 
than  a  thousand  warriors,  they  went  forth  conquering  and  to  con- 
tjuer—  bound  by  an  heraldic  tie  that  evoked  a  deeply-rooted  senti- 
ment of  regard  and  national  pride. 

Less  formidable  by  far  was  Spanish  inroad  at  the  extreme  south 
than  French  military  power  on  this  continent  so  vainly  exerted, 
under  De  Nonville  and  Frontenac,  to  overawe  and  subdue  them! 
"  and  it  can  scarcely  be  deemed  fanciful  to  assert,"  says  a  dis- 
tmguished  writer,  *  "  that  had  Hernando  Cortez  entered  the  Mohawk 
valley  inst,  .d  of  that  of  Mexico,  with  the  force  he  actually  had,  his 
ranks  would  have  gone  down  under  the  skilfulness  of  the  Iroquois 
ambuscades,  and  himself  perished  ingloriously  at  the  stake." 

Wherever  they  were  urged  onward  by  a  martial  impulse  and 
ardor  that  no  diiHculties  could  lessen  or  abate  — whether  traversing 
the  Appalachian  chain  or  western  prairie  —  the  fame  of  their  ex" 
ploits  preceeding  them,  created  panic,  and  paralized  resistance. 
Though  thinned  in  number  by  long  and  bloody  wars,  they  were  fear- 
fully  formidable  in  modern  times :  foes  in  our  revolutionary  struggle, 


*  Schoolcraft. 


PHELPS    AlfD  GORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 
theyproye.1   their  devotion   to  their  British   Father  at   Wyom 

i\iinni«ml.-  onri  rvi,M,..,^r.,l  /-»_•   i._  ....  J      " 


91 


Al.nn.sink  and  mournful  Oriskauy- friends  at  a  later  epoch,  of  ou 
Union,  they  followed  Oundiakaand  Ilonneyavvas  to  the  red  field  of 
Chippewa.     Atall  periods  oftheir  history -flushed  with  triumph.or 
clouded  by  disaster -there  has  been  no  decay  of  hereditary  valor. 
Whether   known  as 'Massavvornekes'  to  the  southern,  or  'Na- 
dowu  to  the  western  Tribes,  they  were  alike  terrible  and   invinci- 
ble.     A  more  splendid   race  of  savages  never  launched  their  war- 
cnnoes  on  our  streams,  or  drew  bow  in  our  forests  ;  and  a  wild  macr. 
namity  throws  light  on  their  darker  traits,  in  their  practical  applica- 
tion of  the  motto,  "  parcere  subjectos,  et  extirpare  superbos."     Hu- 
manity blushes  to  recall  the  scenes  of  rape  and  hellish  licence  that 
have  followed  the  storming  of  towns,  and  sack  of  cities  in  the  old  world 
t.ut  an  Iroquois  warrior  was  never  known  to  violate  the  chastttv  of 
a  temale  prisoner. 

Often  a  chivalric  spirit  gave  an  air  of  romance  to  their  native 
daring.     After  a  successful  foray  into  an  encmv's  country,  pursu- 
ers on  the  trail,  finding  their  gage  of  mortal  defiance,  would  move 
with  greater  circumspection.     Like  the  generous  reptile   whose 
dread  rattle  arrests  the  step  of  the  hunter,  significant  tokens  dropped 
by  the  way,  warned  foemen  to  retire,  or  expect  no  mercy  at  their 
hands.     Thus  in  1696,  when  Frontenac's  army  was  on  the  Oswec^o 
two  bundles  of  cut  rushes,  in  their  line  of  march,  a  numerical  si^n' 
conveyed  the  startling  intelligence  that  more  than  fourteen  hundred 
warriors  were  on  the  watch  for  their  comincr. 

Not  less  haughty  and  heroic  was  their  conduct  in  1779,  when  re- 
tirmg  before  the  greatly  superior  force  of  Sullivan.  Thev  bent  a 
tree,  and  twisted  its  rugged  top  around  the  trunk,  as  an  emblem  of 
their^own  situation  -  bent  but  not  broken  -  smitten,  but  not  over- 

Though  all  the  tribes  of  aboriginal  America  were  competitors ;  the 
palm  forgreatest  manifestation  of  mental  power  would  be  awarded 
to  this  extraordinary  people.  The  principle  of  unity  that  banded 
them  together,  oflspnng  of  profound  policy  that  lifts  them  above  the 
hunter  state  -  the.r  love  of  liberty  that  scorned  submission  to  foreign 

Tt  it    '  f    r         f  '"  rP''  ^"  '°""^^''  '''''^  '^'  ^'''  ^J^i"^"'  diplo- 
matists of  a  boasted  civilization -the  wonderful  eloquence  of  their 

Ihene?'  t,!    "^l?^  eompanson  with  the  finest  periods  of  Demos- 
thenes -  their  self-reliance  that  laughed  r.tthe  menaces  of  kings- 


'4i " 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


/. 


'^ 


{./ 


'9/  ^m     J^  SsM'm 


& 


V. 


t/i 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


IM 

2.2 


12.0 


1.8 


U    IIIIII.6 


#3 


•?v# 


{Jy^v'o. 


# 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(>16)  872-4503 


r 

O 


15^^ 


it- 


r~?A 


;p.; : 


92 


PHELPS    AND     GOUnAM's    PURCnASE. 


their  long  adherence  to  one  great  plan  of  conquest ;  —  bear  witness 
that  they  were  a  highly-gifted  race,  and  may  well  make  them  objects 
of  intense  interest  to  the  poet,  philosopher  and  historian.  The  climate 
enjoyed,  and  the  country  occupied  by  them  were  favorable  to  the  de- 
velorpement  of  a  noble  manhood.  Their  broad  domain  was  irrigated 
by  streams  whose  rich  alluvial  bottoms  rewarded  the  rudest  tillage 
with  a  full  supply  of  golden  maize ;  its  forests  abounding  in  animals  of 
chase  — bear,  bounding  deer,  majestic  moose  and  elk  — furnished 
their  lodge  boards  with  venison ;  and  the  lovely  lakes  that  spotted  its 
rolling  surface,  paid  rich  tribute  to  the  bark-net,  and  barbed  spear  of 
the  fisherman. 

Man  owes  many  of  his  characteristics  to  the  scenes  amid  which 
he  is  nursed,  and  the  grand,  geographical  features  of  Iroquois  em- 
pire were  sources   to  its  upholders  and  lords,   of  liigh,  ennobling 
thought.     Rivers  rushing  to  find  a  level  "either  in  the  gulfs  oi'  St. 
Lawrence  and  Mexico,  or  in  the  intermediate  shores  of  the  Atlan- 
tic "  —  Erie  and  Ontario,  those  lonely  worlds  of  waters,  that  border- 
ed on  the  north  and  west,  with  a  blue   belt,  their  hunting  grounds ; 
the   Adirondack  chain,  with  its  deep  gorges,  vapory  cones,  and 
splintered  cliffs  —  old  mossy  woods,  where  the  mysterious  winds 
awoke  their  wildest  music ;  glades  basking  in   the  light,  and  glens, 
where  reigned  at  noon-day  a  sepulchral  gloom ;  and,  more  than 
all,  the  mighty  Cataract  of  Niagara,  singing  an  eternal  anthem  at 
the  western  door  of  their  Long  House;  were  sights  and  sounds  that 
found  a  reflex  and  an  echo,  not  only  in  their  magnificent  traditions, 
but   in  the  sublime   imagery  and  symbolic   phraseology  of  their 
orators.     Previous  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Neuter  Nation,   and 
subsequent  to  that  event,  of  the  Erics,  the  Seneca  country  extended 
westward  to  the  Genesee.     After  that  period  they  were  undisputed 
masters  of  the  soil  from  the  valley  of  Pleasant  Water,  to  the  banks 
of  the  De-o-se-o-wa,  or  Buffalo  Creek.     Disputes  have  arisen  among 
antiquarians,  as  to  the  question  whether  the    Kah-kwahs  and  Erie.s 
were  one  and  the  same  people.     All  Indian   history  proves  that  a 
tribe  is  often  known  by  diverse  names  in  their  own  tongue,  as  well 
as  in  difierent  dialects.     For  example,  referring  to  their  position,  the 
Senecas  were  called  "Swan-ne-ho-ont,"  (door  on  the  hinge)  —  in 
reference  to  the  place  of  their  origin —  an  elevated  point  at  the 
head  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  "  Nun-do-wa-ga,"  or  people  of  the  Hill. 
Whether  known  as  Allegan,  Erie,  or  Kah-kwah,  the  weitern  door- 


PIIELPS    AND    GOPHAM'S    PUilCHASE.  93 

keepers  strucrgled  many  years  in  vai'n  tr.  „•       .u     t 
of  .he  League  a  grca.efeins  „  "  To"      eS ,  t  si  ™'  "°"" 
Iheir  Canadian  seats,  on  the  St.  Lawrence  and  ,Kr"''""'"« 
.hey  checW  in  their  march  .owarV  he  e  ,    j  Jn    "xhT'  ^'7 
m  arna,  ,ve,e  incHned.  while  hand  could  wM  L.che.    no     o" 

-  well  worth  the  bloody  sacHficeTrw  T5 ''''=  ^''''^■•"''^ 

gallant  people  i„  defen'din;  hf  i  olrr  oTt  'V  'T^'  '"" 
.hen,  wa.  a  foe.  renowned  throu„Wh/naiI  T  ^"^^  '° 
durance,  enterprise  and  boundlef/lbita      "' '"  "™"^^' '"■ 

i  he  latter  assign  as  cause   of  war,  the  defeit  of  fJ,«  K"  u  i      u 
■n^J^ll  Playing,  and  other  athletic  ^^n^Z^t Z^^^;:^ 

lav  one  01  the  tairest  gardens  of  this  western  Wnrl^      t* 
was  a„  easy  task  for  their  subtle  minds  to  frame  Ip^  text        t     h 

bitterly  bewailin-  il„  !„..  .k  7u  """'"'"gas.  and  found  them 
massacre  "f, 7  "I  line  *lt°f ''^^^  '■"<'  -»'--<i  i"  the 
enemies,  the  IcIlkwahsTh  "^  "  A-nen-cra-os  "  by  their 

verydiskstrouststrto^th'er;:;^""""^"^"^""™  "^*°'"  -^ 

edTn":;llrlT!t;rer'"'''""'''^'™°=°^-''™--''"™ph- 

Wgl..  martia  '"ul^Ue    '  f  B^"!™' "  """'-'akeable  proof  of  their 

Chhood.  on  C::;,^z/!z:i^t:  "^ 

Genesel  Uiver  L^^h  :  tcTte  ^  !""  ''"T""'^""  "-"'^  """  '^» 

days  march  from  the  „U  X  e  of  C™"       "''""'°  ""^  "'^"  " 

o,a  village  of  Cannewaugus,  in  a  westward 


f  -*! 


It' 


I 


94 


PHELPS    AND    GORIIAm's    PUECHASE. 


direction.  The  place  of  final  conflict  is  better  known.  Leaving 
more  than  half  of  their  warriors,  pierced  by  the  shafts,  and  crushed 
by  tho  war  clubs  of  the  conquerors,  the  survivors  fled  to  their  prin- 
.cipal  village,  and  strong-hold  on  the  De-o-se-o-wa. 
.  ^  Reinforced  by  tlicir  allies,  the  Senecas  pursued  and  attacked  them 
in  their  fortress.  After  a  brave  resistance  a  feeble  remnant  of  the 
once  haughty  Eries  fled  from  their  old  hearth-stones  and  possessions 
to  an  Island  of  the  Allegany  ;  but  a  foe  was  on  their  trail,  truer 
than  the  sleuth-hound  when  he  has  tasted  blood.  The  unhappy 
fugitives,  surpris^^d  in  their  encampment,  fled  down  the  river,  under 
cover  of  night,  losing  forever  in  distant  wilds,  their  identity  as  a 
nation.  A  few,  saved  from  the  general  slaughter  and  dispersion, 
were  adopted  by  the  confederates  ;  for  by  this  politic  course,  they 
in  part,  repaired  the  dreadful  ravages  of  war,  and  postponed  the 
dismal  hour  of  their  own  inevitable  declension  and  fall. 

I  cannot  forbear,  in  my  brief  sketch  of  their  extirpation,  from 
closing  in  the  eloquent  words  of  my  friend  Marshall :  —  "  They  are 
a  people  of  whom  there  is  scarcely  a  memorial,  save  the  name  of 
the  Lake  that  washes  the  shore  they  ruled.  Fit  mausoleum  of  an 
extinct  tribe !  Even  the  vague  tradition  that  transmits  their  mem- 
ory, will  soon  be  lost,  with  the  last  remnant  of  the  '  Nun-de-wa-gas' 
that  swept  them  from  existence." 

Enraged  by  continued  infraction  of  their  territory,  during  the  ad- 
ministration of  De  la  Barre,  by  the  passage  of  French  trading 
parties  to  the  south  west,  laden  with  material  to  arm  their  enemies, 
the  Senecas  began  hostilities  by  wresting  from  them  their  powder 
and  lead  —  seizing  their  canoes,  and  dismissing  them,  homeward, 
with  threats  of  torture  and  death  if  they  ever  returned.  In  his  in- 
structions to  the  French  Governor,  on  receipt  of  the  alarming  intelli- 
gence, Louis  XIV,  recommended  a  prompt  invasion  of  the  hostile 
country,  and  directed  that  all  prisoners  of  war  takei)  in  the  cam- 
paign, when  opportunity  offered,  should  be  shipped  to  France,  re- 
marking, in  his  despatch,  that  "  the  Iroquois,  being  stout  and  robust, 
would  serve  with  advantage  in  his  galleys.' 

What  plan,  by  the  rash  Bourbon,  could  have  been  devised,  I  ask, 
more  certain  than  this  to  undermine  his  sovreignty  on  this  conti- 
nent? An  attempt  to  enslave  a  high  spirited  race,  that  preferred 
liberty  to  life,  was  a  long  stride,  on  the  part  of  French  America, 
towards  certain  destruction.    Captives,  treacherously  seized,  were, 


PHELPS   AKD    GORIIAM's    PUECHASE.  95 

actually  caiTied  to  France,  in  pusurance  of  royal  policv,  and  forced 
J  n  to  degradmg  service. 

At  a  subsequent  period  thoy  were  liberated  and  laden  with  pres- 
ents, brought  back  to  Canad..  But  the  dragon-teeth  had  been  sown 
and  U  was  too  late  to  hope  for  a  burial  of  the  hatchet.  The  nsu^t' 
n-as  one  that  the  Five  Nations  would  neither  forget  nor  forgive  - 
and  r.any  ^,^re  the  bloody  scalps  that  soon  hung  drying  \  the 
smoke  of  the.  w.gwams.     De  la  Barre's  expedition  to'La°Famine 

b;  r^^^y^  ^^''  ";  ''"'f'''''  ^^'^h  the  royal  pleasure,  was  attended 
b  d  sa strous  resets  A  terrible  distemper  broke  out  in  his  camp, 
and  the  half  fam.hed  troops,  spurning  restraints  of  discipline,  clamori 
eJ  lor  speedy  departure  to  their  homes. 

While  thus  in  a  condition  to  become  an  easy  prey  for  enemies 
ever  on  the  watch,  he  endeavored  to  achieve  by'^lomacyw"  he 
could  no  effect  by  force.  Messengers  were  sent  entreating  the  Five 
Nations  to  meet  h.m  in  council  on  the  shore  of  the  Lake 

1  he  Mohawks  and  Senecas  returned  a  haughty  refusal,  bvt  the 
remammg  tnbes  complied  with  his  request.  Th  .'peech  of  Gar  n. 
gulo.  on  that  occasion,  has  been  justly  deemed  a  master-piece  of 
argument  and  eloquence.  ^ 

De  la  Barre  had  indulged  in  idle  bravado,  thinking  that  his  real 
s.uat.on  was  unknown  to  his  eagle-eyed  adversary  f  and  no  h'g 
could  have  astomshed  him  more  than  the  picture^  drawn  by  f 
sarcastic  chief,  of  his  utter  inability  to  strike  a  blow -or  mire 
galling  to  a  soldier's  pride,  than  the  taunting  language  that  he  em! 

"Hear,  Yonnondio!   our  women  had  taken  their  clubs,  our  chil- 

or;::':^  t  '^'  ^"'■'^'  '^^"'  '^''-^  ^^^ — -^^  the  he . 

themblcr''      '"  '""""  '"'  "^^  ^'^'^^-'^^  ^'-"'  -^d  '-Pt 

Soon  after  this  signal  exposure  of  his  weakness,  the  Governor 

returned  to  Canada,  with  a  dispirited  army,  and  a  ta^ished  relX 

The  Marquis  De  Nonville,  successor  of  De  la  Barre  thoucrh  an 
accomplished  officer,  was  taught  a  still  sterner  lesson  in  1687       n 

tl.  n      H  r      IT)  7''  ^"°  ^'^^"^^^"^  -Sulars  and  militfa  and  a 
hou  and  fnendly  Induans,  he  landed  at  "O-nvui-da-on-da-.wat "  o 

ed    Long-house,  at  a  point  never  before   invaded,  bv  securing 


Ill 

< 


II   'I 


mw 


11' 


PHELPS    AND    GORHAM'S    PURCHASE. 


greater  chances  of  sucrpsc     T  .   ^      l- 

gardedthe  most  ferociousand  ^''.'"f ,""' /<"'«<^"'.  J-H)'  re- 
the  Marquis  hoped  1021  2  T  .'"  "'  "'"  '''""'  ^-'ions, 
their  strong  Loa'.„e  ?„  *  '  r  •'  "'  ''"™""  "" ''™"  "' 
hi»  name,  i„  eo„^  rin"  rt^ion  !'  "''  •™""  "''"  "^""^  '» 
nf  t;^,.ov,«  "^      legion,  and  annexinrr    t  to  the  rrnwn 

of  France,   unsurpassed  in  beauty  and  fertility    "J  J    i 
sons,"  mild  of  climate,  intersected  hvl,'''.  ,^^ '"«"'^^  ^^a- 
and  said,  by  writers  o    tl^^    ^1    ^be   ""^ '     ^ '^"'  """' 
the  fru.its  of  Touraine  and  1^^^  ^'^^''^  ''  '^^™S  all 

in  addition,  by  erectintT  n  fnrf  of  «.  ♦! 

■and  between  the  Niagara  Rit     a„a  La\:  or"''.^.".'""^r  "' 
secure  uninterrupted  oommund  „r  ,h  ,''"''    '''""'""M  to 

beaver  trade,  and   urnth  alee  „,       T"'  '"'«'^- "«>"°P»l-e  the 
savage  .,i     „,  Iwl^-ltr/^lThrq^r ''^  '"'  ''' 

tecttett^rh:t'„rr:^^r-"'^--  •»  - 

villa  put  his  ar„,,  i„  '^^.T    wlT:'^  T'^''  ^'  """"■ 

body  of  the  Seneea  warriors  hastened   to  rrn'ovethti;. 'old  ""''" 
women  and  children  to  places  of  safelv  ll  ,  "'"^  ™™' 

men  at  a  small  fort  to  lctZ!co!j^fT^  "  '""''""^  "''^'""^ 
watch  the  progress  of  the  invader^        *"~""'°"'  ""''  ^^'-^ 

The   latter,  informed  that  "  Ynnnnnri;^" 
sent  runners  to  their  friends     „d  Z  ™  ""  "■»'•■'"'*• 

give  him  a  suitable  recept!"„  "  ^'"""S  '™"  """^'^  ^-"'  '° 

baitr^t^'r;,:  S!'::!'^e!::t:f  r-"  "°*^ ''"'-^- 

which  was  a  deep  and  dan^erot's  ttile        ""=""''■  "  "'^  '■°°'  "^ 

No„oteofa,arJd;:rhctd:irZd:L"gTer^^^^^^^^ 

-.vmgs  to  quicken  their  moyempnt,      Ti  •  j       ^]  "^""^  "^"^ 

•be  nation  bad  Hed,  JZT^X^tS  X  ^T  '™'''  °' 
the  French  plunged  rashly  into  thedelil  While  icV'T'"™' 
*e  dreaded  and  blood-curdling  war  vh^iop'o?  '  T  ""'  ''"''^' 
their  ears,  foII„we<l  by  a  hcavv  volhv     f        ,  ■""""  '•'"S™ 

bravest  wen.  down  undir  d  e'elos  IcharT  f 'f  "^""^  "^''^ 
recoiled  ;  then,  emulating  French  .peedt^^'.^ttleSX  sp::!^ 


PirELPS    AND    GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 


97 

sharnefully  fled,  disorganizing  the  whole  line,  and  carryin.  dism.v 
in  their  course.     "Battalions  "  —  snv<!  T  n  TT     ♦         ">i>'o   aismov 

the  historian  of  the  H-ht -" 'separated  tf/rt'  '  T'^'"''  "^^' 
r,.,f       I  n       „     °  separated  into  platoons,  that  ran  with- 

ou  o.,e,  pe„.„,],  ,  ,he  right  and  left,  not  ..«..•„.  Ju^t 
v^r,nt.  A  more  vivid  picture  of  utter  overthrow  for  the  timp  11 
the  contagion  of  fear,  could  not  be  drawn  '  ''''^ 

Before  tJ,e  panic  subsided,  the  Senecas  broke  cover,  and  charged 
the  flying  foe,  tomahawk  in  hand.  cnarged 

f..,^f-^''i''''["Sitivesvvere   slain,  but  the  pursuers  followed  too 
far,  losing  the  advantage  of  a  thick  wood,  and  strong  position     Such 

vuie  checked  the  Senecas,  and  after  a  valiant  stand,  and  desoerate 

Spartan  prowess  could  l,ave  done   no  more.     A  General  thirty 
years  ,„  serv.ce,  and  a  favorite  officer  of  ..the  Magnificent  Lou  s" 
had  been  surprised  ;  his  savage  hordes  coloni-,1  levl.        , 
regiments  disordered,  charged'  and tren  ^       '  JTCo,  ™S 

numbcs  from   he  crmvnmg  disgrace  of  a  disastrous  defeat 

Though  repulsed,  the  Senecas  were  not  disheartened  and  when 
challenged,  ,„  the.r  retreat,  ,o  stand  and  figl,,,  halted  onTermw 
d  ed  ,'  ',  ""^'"''1''  ^-"^""'^  ""■  "■""  '■""dred  to  our  four  hZ 

we  ti^fU: :::.::'  Lt'':"  t"-"  *"™  ^-^-^  '^'^ 

iU^  r.         :■  •  '^  '^  unnecessary  to  remark  thif 

inX  ;"  T  ""' ""'"^'''  '"'  ™  ""™  ^--1-  -"  »%   or 

'hri:r:;et.t°''™'""° """  *'^"'  "•"""■'^  °-^'"»^- 

If  De  Nonviile  was  the  chivalrous  ;,o!dier  and  christian    fh,, 

*  Doc.  "Ilk"  Vol.  7,  p.  248. 
+  Doc.  "His."  p.  231. 


!•  •  < 


98 


WIELl'S    A.\D    GORHAm's    PUKCIIa'se. 


l.v 


Zu  ^    '"""" '°  "'^  '"^'^  "'»'  fell  i"lo  Ills  Land, 

wnicn  he  billorly  deiionnces  their  cowardice  and  cruel'v'   lln.J 

TOoate^s  1  iclory.  w,th  La  Hontan's,  Ijiat  besides  twentv-Uvo  woun 
ded,  a„  hundred  Frenchmen,  and  ,e„  savages  were  slak  ? 
/he  Baron  s honest  narralive,  so  little  flatlerin,;  to  the  militnrv 

in  view  or  their  „t.:rl„reLc7:o  cTf ^i^  ^ 'XeTnT 
mans,  sneenn-ily  exclaim,  tha,  "they  were  only  f„  to  make  war  on' 
Indian  corn,  and  bark  nnn«o.  »  r    *i        ■      ^  'uiumdKe  wai  on 

.he  French  ^ffic  s  "t  Snt  kovS  vl™  ,"  "'°'''  7  "°"'''  *" 
o„„,ii  II  ,1  ''""' "°}"l' jeered  one  another  for  bein<r 
appalled  by  the  Seneca  war  whoop  to  such  a  de<.ree  I,  .„Tn 
terror-stricken  and  powerless  to  the  ground  •  °  " 

The  memory  of  illustrious  women  who  have  matched,  in  defence 
of  altar  and  hearth,  the  deeds  of  the  sterner  sex,  has  beenenshri  ed 
m  song,  and  honored  by  the  Historic  Muse.  J^an  of  Trc  a„d  the 
dark-eyed  ma,d  of  Saragossa,  in  all  coming  time,  will  be  dnvllric 
watchwords  for  Fr,ance  and  Spain,  but  iJlcss  worthy  of  "corT 
and  poetic  er,,balmment,  were  the  five  devoted  heroines  wL  f„  o"ed 
«hei  red  lords  to  the  battlefield,  near  ancient  Gana™  "'d 
fought  with  unflinching  resolution  by  their  sides,  f  Ch^n^f 
sue    w-ives  could  not  beotherwise  than  valiant.     « Brin. b  ckTour 

junction  to  her  son;  but,  roused  to  a  higher  pitch  of  coura-e   the 
Jid  daughters  of  the  Genesee  stood  in  Ihe  perilous  pass,  and  !„ 

tiie  thunder  of  the  captains,  and  the  shouting." 

ton    'hniT'"  °^"!;'  '"■•"""''"'"^  i'™P'ion  into  the  Seneca  can- 
ton,  though  preceded   by  months  of  busy   preparation,  .reat  con- 
ump.on  of  material,  and  attended  by  the  pomp'and  pa  al  o   Tr 
may  be  summed  up  m  few  words. 


*  Doc.  "His."  Vol.  1,  p.  2.1C. 
tDoc.  "His."  Vol.  l,p.248. 


le  helpless  and 
his  hands, 
nor,  his  official 
iuty  admirably 
0  the  Minister, 
JruelLy?  IIqw 
to  an  almost 
ity-two  woun- 
ain  ? 

0  the  military 
lain,  by  other 
jnant  savage. 
Western  Ro- 
make  war  on 
a  record,  that 
ler  for  beinnr 
•ee,  as  to  fall 

d,  in  defence 
!en  enshrined 
Arc,  and  the 

be  chivalric 
ly  of  record, 
-vho  followed 
agarro,   and 

Children  of 
ig  back  your 
:r's  stern  in- 
ourage,  the 
'ass,  and,  in 
le  sword  — 

leneca  can- 
great  con- 
ide  of  war, 


PKELl'S    AND   GORHAM's   PURCHASE.  99 

A  battle  was  fought  in  which  the  field  was  won  by  the  French  — 
the  glory  by  their  foe.  Then  a  few  unarmed  prisoners  were  tor- 
tured, corn  fields  laid  waste,  and  bark  villages  burned,  followed  bv 
alarms  that  caused  a  precipitate  retreat  to  their  boats,  harrassed 
every  step  of  the  way  by  hovering  parties  in  pursuit.  Embarking 
at  Irondequo.t, after  the  loss  of  about  twenty  men,*  they  coasted 
along  the  Lake,  leaving  a  feeble  garrison  at  Niagara  to  defend  an 
isolated  post. 

i;iie  greater  part  of  them,  soon  after,  including  the  commander. 
Ue  Troyes.  while  closely  besieged  by  the  Iroquois,  fell  victims 
within  their  stockade,  to  the  not  less  fearful  assaults  of  famine  and 
disease. 


CHAPTER  II 


CONFLICXmo  CLAIMS  TO  WESTERV   NEW  YORK -INDIAN   TREATIES - 
THE   LESSEE  COMPANY  —  THE  MILITARY  TRACT. 


w!    %,   r    f  r    P'?f  '^  ^^'^'  ^^^^'^  '""^"^  '^''  Revolutionary 
wa      Engkind,  f.,rgetful  of  their  obligations  to  the  Six  Nations. 

tT  'n7      '    "^r''"^  '^'"^  '^■^'^^"">^'  ^'  ^'^^  d^-a^'ated  fron- 

e    se  tlements   fully  attested,  made  no  provisions  for  their  allies; 

but  left  them  to  the  mercy  or  discretion  of  those  against  whom  they 

clr'^f  .r«'  ^"^r  '"'^  «^"g"-^^T  warfare.     "The   ancient 

the  1 1  f  h  !,  1''""^'  '^'  '''''^'''''  °^  ^heir  ancestors,  from 
the  time  far  beyond  theiv  earliest  traditions,  was  included  in  the 
boundary  granted  to  Americans."  f     According  to  the  usages  of 

,  ,,        .  ,  tMaj.  Schuyler  to  Gov.  boiigan,  Doc.  His.  v.  1  p.  255 

t  Menional  of  tlie  Six  Js^ations,  presented  to  Lord  Camden. 


'lit: 


l-^VI 


w 


i  !l 


US!  I 


U 


^ 


I; 


¥i 


II 


100 


rilELPS   AND    GOPJIAm's   PURCHASE. 


;rr  r::::;r!:«  rr;!:;r  rrr 

ties  of  our  General  nm]  ^t.t.  r  ^""'1"«'  ">  •     -"ut  the  authori- 

so  strinrrpnt.  ,  ,  u  '^^^^  Governments  did  not  clioose  to  apply 
so  stringent  a  rule  to  the  simple  natives,  who  were  unlearnoH  n 
reference  to  the  position  in  which  their  action  in     e  w t       'pi  " 

mmmms 

Gene.,  sc,,„,:e.  aided  b^.  :^r:it:er„?t:,iir:;:":: 

co..,ue..  would  have  been  far  .„„  expeiive  .h  npraee        oh 

The  cessation  of  hostilities  on  the  pa,t  of  those  to  whor,,  they  had 
lately  been  all,es,  left  them  in  an  embarrassing  position  Enll  „d 
had  made  a  peace,  and  left  her  allies  in  the  fidd  to  fi"ht  it  ou    or 

Previous  to  the  cession  by  all  the  states,  of  lands  within  their 

Ge"r:  :u;d%M  "T^'  ^°^^^""^^"'  '''  -^P-tive  ri^f 
astliiStnt  Governments  were  but  illy  defined;  and  so  far 

as   h,s  State  was  concerned,  especially,  a  collision  was  had     As 

making  the  Governor  and  a  Board  of  commissioner    the  Superb 
ten  ents  oflndian  a^airs.     The  commissioners  designated  weTl 
Abraham  Cuj^er  P  ter  Schuyler,  Henry  Glen,  who°associated  with 

Yates,  jr.,  P.  W.  Yates,  John  J.  Beekman,  Mathew  Vischer,  (ien 

a    umJdTh   1  .  ""™"'  ""^"-^^  ^'^"^^"'  ^'  "-  head  of  the  Boar  ,' 
assumed  the  laboring  oar  of  negotiation.     The  services  of  the  mis- 


thc.iraids«S,f  til  w'slr'""'/^  been  pursued,  the  Indians  .vould  have  called  to 
HIacksnake,  m.w  Tn  h  mdre Tve  '.""fl  ""^-  r^'""^"'^  ^'^"  '''''■  '^'^'^  ^^^^'^^''We  chief 
«ists  that  tie  Six  Natriwe^Wo  tt/r''r  f''^  ^"'^-^''"^  Keservatiou,  i„. 


onquered  poo- 
Jt  the  authori- 
loose  to  apply 
unlearned  in 
5  war  had  pla- 
id,  ungrateful, 
vailed  in  the 
g  those  who 
>tate  Legisla- 
favor,  that  it 
opposition  of 
on,  with  the 
'  by  a  feeling 
ed  war  and 
ice  negotia- 
)etter  policy 

orn  they  had 
1-  England 
[ht  it  out,  or 
has  seldom 

ivithin  their 
e  rights  of 
;  and  so  far 
s  had.     As 
!ed  an  act, 
e  Superin- 
d  were :  — 
:iated  with 
3roeck,  A. 
cher,  Gen. 
the  Board, 
f  the  mis- 


ve  cnllcd  to 
erable  chief 
irvatiou,  in- 
a  conquered 


rmsips  AND  ooeiiam's  PUECIIASE.  101 

sionary,  the  Iv.v  Mr.  Kirkland,  of  Peler  Ryokman,  Jacob  Keed 
James  Deane,  Major  Fonda,  Col.  Wemple,  Major  F,y,  Col  Va„' 
%le,  -  „,„s,  of  whom  had  been  India,,  trader,  or  captive,  -were 
enhsted.      Peter   nyck,„a„   beean,e   to   the  Board.Tlcie  Tf 

■w,nged  Mercury,"  flying  from  locality  ,0  locality- now  aX  da 
then  at  Kanadesaga,  then  at  Niagara,  consulting,  with  Bran,    and 

ne«  a,  Albany,  reporting  the  result  of  his  conferences  vh  t  e 
sta  esn,e„  and  d,plo,„a.ists  of  the  forest.  The  time  and  place 
ol  a  treaty  vvas  parl,ally  agreed  upon 

In  the  mean  ti,ne,  Congress  had  contemplated  a  general  treaty 
with  the  Indians.  bor<}er,ng  upon  the  settlements  in  New  York 
Pen„syU,an,a  and  Ohio;  and  had  appointed  as  its  commisLner  ' 
Ohver  Wolcott,  K.chard  Butler  and  Arthur   Lee.     A  co,re  po^.' 
ence  took  place  between  the  New  York  Boa,-d  and  the  Co,l,s 

he  respec..-e  nghts  to  treat  with  the  Indians,  wasse,-i„usly  involv- 
ed.  The  New  York  Commissioners  found  the  Indians  generally 
averse  to  treating  with  a  State,  but  generally  disposed  to  mee    2 

pelt  of"so    "'    Tk'  ''""  "  "'"''  °f  ^^'^  J°'""J'  "i*  'heir 
people  of  some  of  the  western  nations.    Most  of  the  sp,in.,  and 

ummer  of  1784,  was  consumed  by  endeavors  of  the  New  Y„  k 

Board  to  get  acouncilof  the  Six  Nations  convened.     On  the  fi"., 

o    September,  they  met  at  Fort  Schuyler-deputies  from  the  mI 

hawks,  Cayugas,  Onondagas  and  Senecas.     The  Oneidas  and  Tus- 

caroras  held  back;  but  deputations  from  them,  were  b,ough.  i,^  by 

runners  on  the  th.rd  day.     The  deputies  of  these  two  nat,°o„s  were 

first  addressed  by  Governor  Clinton.     He  assured  them  of  a  di 

p„s,  ,o„  to  be  at  peace  ;  disclaimed  any  intention  to  deprive   hem 

of  thetr  lands;  proposed  a  settlement  of  boundaries;  and  warned 

.hem  ap,nst  dtsposing  of  their  lands  to  other  than     ommissione,; 

V  h  th  ra  for  lands,  when  they  were  disposed  to  sell  them.  In  re- 
pl)  to  tins  speech,  a  delegate  of  the  two  nations  cxp,essed  their 
gra.,ficat,„„  that  the  war  had  ended,  and  th,at  they  couM  now  me 

"vh  :rv'"  p''"  '"''''''■"  '■^°"'>-°  ---P."  -wTe 

th,s  path  winch  you  have  seen  as  you  have  come  along,  has  been 

rewed  w,th  blood.     We.  therefore,  in  our  turn,  console'your  Z 

es  and  sorrows  during  these  troublesome  times.     We  rejoice  that 


102 


PIIELPS   AND    GORIUJI'S   PURCHASE. 


you  have  opened  the  path  of  peace  to  this  country  "     Hp  fh.  v  A 
the  commissioners  for  their  nL\r^  f.  fi    VT     7^"  ^^^^ikeA 

r^  J  ,u    ,  /  *  '""'  °°  """""'"y  f™"!  Cons-ras ;  but  as  he  h-,<l 
.nv,ed.heI,,d,a„Mo  assemble  a.  For.  S.anvv^x,  o^  ,he  20  h  If 
Sep  ember,  the  commissioner,,  ,o  save  the  trouble  of  t,  o  cou noil/ 
would  alter  the  determination  of  holdin..  their  eound    ,^  N? 
and  meet  them  at  For  Stanwix  on  the  S„r  "°""' 

Mohawks,  Ouonda;,™,  Cayugas,  and  Senecas."    He  assured  them 
.ha  what  was  a  colony  had  becon,e  a  Stat.  ;  that  he  a^d  h  s  M  nd^ 
had  met  them  to  open  the  paths  of  peace,  to  establish  tha   f  endiv 
relation  that  eMsted  between  the  Indians  and  their  whiteLiTbo  ^ 
prevtous  to  the  war.     Some  passages  of  the  Governor's  speech  wL 
us  truly  eloquent  as  any  thing  that  will  be  found  amon/our  Shte 
records.     He  sa,d  :     "  The  council  fires  which  was  lighted  both  i 
Albany  and  Onondaga  by  our  ancestors  and   those  of  Ihe  SixNa 
t,ons,   wh,cn  burned  so  bright,  and  shone  with  so  friendly  a  I ^h,' 
over  our  common  country,  has  unhappily  been  almost  e.xting„i  h'  d 
by   the  late  war  w.th  Great  Britain.     I  now  gather  to.'ether  a  Thi« 
pace  the  remaining  brands,  add  fr.  h  fuel,  an'd  w  hX  true  ^W 

ttt ToT;  """  ""^  "'"™'"^'  '■™"*'>''''  -''-^''^  'ke  fire,  in  J 
that  no  future  events  may  ever  arise  to  extinguish  n  ■  but  that  von 
and  we,  and  the  offspring  of  us  both,  may  enjfy  its  beiign  i  fl  e'nce 

heletteisof  the  commissioners  of  Congress,   he  assured  them  that 
their  business  was  with  Jndian.  residing  out  of  any  Stlte    Z  h 
New  Yorlt  had  a  right  to  deal  with  those  residing. 'Z  hj;":;,:.' 

JJ^l  ?.!""  '"  *'  ^.'^'"•""■■■^  speech  was  made  by  Erant     He 
aid  that    It  meets  with  our  dispositions  and  feehngs  of  our  r^'inds  " 

tlrZ'Z  1  *^':^^P^""™  "'--  of  Congress  "and  New  York 
to  treat  with  the  Indians,  he  thought  it  strange  that  « there  shou  d 


He  thanked 
nd  Tusoaroras, 
•chase  of  their 

iscarora  chiefs 
!s.  The  letter 
commissioners, 
ce  with  all  the 
-  that  the  Gov- 
;  but  as  he  had 
™  the  20th  of 
two  councils, 
iil  at  Niagara, 

'arriors  of  the 
assured  them 
md  his  friends 
I  that  friendly 
lite  neighbors 
's  speech  was 
mg  our  State 
ghted  both  at 
the  Six  Na- 
endly  a  light 
extinguished 
?ether  at  this 
he  true  spirit 
fire,  in  hopes 
but  that  you 
gn  influence 
•eference   to 
;d  them  that 
te ;  but  that 
in  her  boun- 

Erant.  He 
our  minds." 
^ew  York 
here  should 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAJl's   PUKCIIASE. 


103 


be  two  bodies  to  manage  the  same  business."     Several  speeches 
followed,  Brant  and  Cornplanter  being  the  spokesmen  of  the   Indi- 
ans.    The  utmost  harmony  prevailed  ;  the  Indian  orators  treating 
all  subjects  adroitly,  manifesting  a  disposition  to  make  a  treaty,  but 
evidently  intending  to  stave  otf  any  direct  action,   until  they   met 
in  council   the  U.  S.  Commissioners.     To  a  proi)osition  from  Gov. 
Clinton,  that  the  State  of  New  York  would  look  for  a  cession  of 
lands  to  help  "  indemnify  them  for  the  expenses  and  sacrifices  of 
the  war ; "  they  replied,  admitting  the  justice  of  the  claim,  but  say- 
ing they  were  peace  ambassadors,  and  had  no  authority  to  dispose 
of  lands.     The  council   broke  up  after  distributing  presents,  and 
leaving  the   Indians  a  supply  of  provisions  for  subsistence  while 
waiting  to  meet  the  U.  S.  Commissioners. 

The  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  followed,  conducted  by   the  United 
States  Commissioners,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Richard  Butler,  and  Arthur 
Lee.     No  record  of  the  proceedings  exist   in  our  public  archives ; 
the  general  result  is  however  known.     Terms  of  peace  were  con- 
cluded ;  the  western  boundaries  of  the  Six  Nations  were  so  fixei 
as  to  enlarge  the  "  carrying  place"  on  the  Niagara  river  they  had 
previously  ceded  to  the  King  of  Great  Britian,  and   starting  from 
the  mouth  of  Bufialo  Creek,  was  to  be  a  line  running  due  south  to 
the  northern  boundary  of  Pennsylvania;  thence  westto  the  end  of 
said  boundary ;  thence  south  along  the  west  boundary  of  said  State 
to  the  river  Ohio.     The  treaty  was  eflected  with  considerable  ditTi- 
culty,  a  large  number  of  the  Indians  insisting  that  it  should  be  gen- 
eral, and  embrace  the  western  Indians,  so  that  all  questions  of  boun- 
daries  could  be  settled  at   once.     Brant  was   absent,   transactin^r 
some  business  with  the  Governor  of  Canada.     Had  he  been  present" 
it  is  doubtful  whether  any  treaty  would  have  been  concluded.     Red 
Jacket,  then  a  youth,  made  his  first  public  speecii,  and  as  Levasseur, 
(who  derived  his  information  from  La  Fayette,)  says :  —  "His  speech 
was  a  masterpiece,  and  every  warrior  who  heard  him,  was  carried 


NoTE.-La  Fayette  was  present  at  the  treaty  of  Port  Stanwix.  After  the  laDso  of 
forty  yearn,  the  (,rcum,us  Frenchman,  tlie  companion  of  Wasliingto.t  uu  the  s'neca 
orator,  affun  met  The  author  was  present  at  tlie  interview.  A  conconi^o  of  cit"i"ens 
hiwl  been  asseml.lec  Or  nearly  two  .lays,  awaitinf:  the  arrival  of  the  st™m  boa  from 
Dunku-k,  which  had  been  cliartcred  by  the  committee  of  Erie  county  to  come  La 
Faye  te  to  Buffi,  o,  and  among  them  was  Red  Jacket.  He  made,  a.sui.a1,  a  somcilm 
ostentatious  display  of  his  medal_a  gift  from  Washington  -  and  it  required  the  c- 
peml  a  tention  of  a  select  committee  to  keep  the  aged  cliief  from  aXd  ,.e  ce  _ 
a  "sin  that  so  easy  beset  him," -which  woiUd  have'^  marred  the  dignity  if'not  tlic 


104 


PHELrS   AND  GORIIAM's   PnECHASE. 


i't 


away  with  his  oloniipnrp  "     TT^    *        , 

away  the  hun.ing  r„„,i,  "fVl'""'',  '""'T'^  "S"'"^'  "''""« 
advocated  a  ro„o°va  Tt t'  '^t,"\,  "'  ""'•  """  ''°'J'> 
planter,  however,  nreva  le        Th  .,*"  """""'■'  "^  Corn- 

agreed  to  surrend,.  "n  o  he  ''"«"='-''"l".v.  Th.  Six  Nation, 
brought  to  the  ,r  v-11 1  r  T"'"'  """  ""■  "■''»'"  '■"'l  '-een 
in  be1,„lf  of  th  I  S  s"  Lr  '""''T-  "^''^  ""--"i-'oners. 
T..et  po.e.io„  oftelfnTSerrS  ^h'ief '^  ^""°"^  ''" 

advising  tlL  tl",t    he t  ,e  h  Id   hf "  ^""'"="  "'°'''  "='"»'  -"l 

infonned  ti.em  that  it  v        „  e    ,oST     '"  ""^^  '"  ^"''''"-■ 

™mo  of  their  lands  south  o"       U Taji,  "''a^rT  ''T"'  '"  ^'" 

sioners  were  ready  to  purchase      Am        '  T        '°'  "»  '^™'"i'- 

;io.;,  the  Go.ernoJ.s  sp^lt  ™  rf;",":  ^  ;"i;.,t^^,f;f  ""■ 

before  the  Kevo,uti:„t  aid  ■    ttZTFlT.   "'"'V'^  f  ""^-'^^ 
were  poor,  applied  to  us  lor  h,l      \    T  ''™'''"  "ben   Ihev 

'hey  are  .-iclfthey  dol  ° 4  :  li^l  .^°\T"°  ""f  ^^  *""  ™"- 
const,™™te  abilit; ;  especiallydid  "he ihief  I  I leT  ■""  °"^  ^^ 
Governor,  in  a  lieouent  allnsi™,  i„  i     !  ^  '"'''™  "P""  'bo 

to  keep  their  lands      D  „    "    H  , ,       ,         "'  '"^™''  '°  ""^  '"dians 
ceeded":  the  Indians  nr  U     "  rofi^  ll?''  ^^^^^  r""'  -- 

romance  of  the  i;itomlerl  iiifcrvioxr   ~Th'.  '■ —-— 

ipiiiiiiipiili 


gainst  ceding 
3t,  and  boldly 
cils  of  Corn- 
ploquence  of 

Six  Nations 

om  had  been 

)inmi.ssioners 

N'ations  the 

!  recognized 

had  made 

!v,   after  the 
ner,  in  June 
'ov.  Clinton 
rights,  and 
5  purchase, 
ared  to  sell 
0  cam  mis- 
s  delibera- 
the  minis- 
with  lands 
5  Mohawks 
vhen   ihoy 
;  but  now 
ras  one  of 
s  upon  the 
le  Indians 
'^hig  suc- 
lantityof 
ut  failincr 


orally,  were 
iroiiirli  wi(  Ji. 
t,'!ii.s-<  ill  lii-i 
''  '»  iiroiulcr 
'll^^ii'li,  if  i; 
leral  in  liis 
'«',  LaKav- 
'•I'.'lt"  8;i'i,! 

■MkoU  Til.. 

'as  enrich. 


HIELPS    Amy    GOPJIAM'S   PUECIIASE. 


105 

get  lice.  a.  .hey  were  o^a  loiv 7°'"^  '^ ^■™™''"'' «•"  "°-''' 
•hey  e.pro.cd't„e  A^l^  ^le  ?  ^I  "'h'^'IT-  ""^™°" 
overcome  their  cneraies  "  ^'      *  ''"■*  "'""""gli  lousy, 

^et^t:rrrattwr::t:r"^^ 

east  an,l  west  through  those  s^^"  I  '  "'""'  "'  "  '""  d'"™ 
nia  line,  &o.,  for  "^ich  t  M  7,  fl"""^,  °'  "-  P^-.vlva 
'hem  a  liberal  amount  of  gooS^ tril.'s  °'  1°  -'"""''  ™°"« 
announcing  the  c„ncIusion°to  sell  ,  t/"i  P""™"'-  '»  "-"-V 
■This  news  about  sellin.  „ur  ill  '^  '  \°  "''•''chopper  said  : - 
Six  Nations,  when  thev  h°  .r  „»  h  n    '"  "  S'''"'  ""'"^  "'  'he 

-e  hope  we  shall ,  o,  « ann  LdT  ""  '"''  V"""^'  "">  "«''=''°'-e 
How  'vas  th,  f.tt^rS  ,  ,  7°^^'/°""y°'''''''■™''«0•." 
^>atis,!  Little  duLltfT  "  ™P''  ''""''™'l''  <"P'»- 
gmdgingly  and  unw  lli  ttp  Ld  "th"™",  f':'''  """"^  ""« 
"Mened  out,  until  his  peo°pfe  ^1^1;  sh^  f  ",  "'''?'  '"'  ""'' 
sessions !  '  """^"y  *om  of  then-  broad  pos- 

llerc,  in  the  order  of  thm^  it  i, 
hindrances  that  were  int    "Id  ,1"""  "'f  ""^-^  '"  ™"«^  -o 
ary  me,asure,  for  the  See  o     eTr""'^'  ""'"^  ""^  P'"''™'"- 
lower  valley  of  the  MohavTater    !'«""',  T"'""'  """'  *= 
of  England  and  France  wJre  °  ?„  °       '"°"  ^ "  ^''°  ^''"8^ 

eareless  in  their  .ran     of  ,e,  l  f""'  Seogfaphers,   or  very 

'ed  what  they  n^^er  .osselTn'i"        "I""  ™^'''-     "^^'i-  S™"" 
other's  ri»hts  and  crelT?         "^^     ""^' '""°  °''<^'"i™  'o  each 

ny  a  tractof  -un,r;d:Lti:r;dr:i:,::nd':'rT' '"""'- 

degrees  of  latitude  north  and  S,„„l,  j"S'-""''e"endtng  several 
Paeitic  ocean,  east  and  ts,  'rcha*r  1  T^l ""  ^""°""  '»  "«' 
port  on  of  this  territory,  granted  by  0  Irs  I  tf^:"""'''"  °'  » 

the  Atia„„e,o,be  Pacific  ocean.    Charts  ri,„v,     '  "'I  '™" 

""^=  -  vor.  a,,d  Albany, .,.  .■ovinii^:;^  Vos::":!^ 


106 


PHELPS  AND    GOPJIAM's  PUECIIASE. 


i     ii 


ii        I 
1  -      ! 
It     ,  I 


the  present  State  of  New  Jersey.  The  tract  thus  granted  extended 
from  a  line  twenty  miles  east  of  the  Hudson  river,  westward,  rather 
in  lefinitsly,  and  from  the  Atlantic  ocean  north,  to  the  south  line  of 
Canada,  then  a  French  province. 

By  this  collision  of  description,  each   of  these  colonies,   (after- 
wards  States.)  laid  claim  to  the  jurisdiction  as  well  as  pre-emption 
right  of  the  same  land,  being  a  tract  sufficiently  large  to  form  several 
States.     The  State  of  New  York,  however,   in  1781,  and  Massa- 
chusetts, in  17S5,  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  their  rights,  either 
of  jurisdiction  or  proprietorship,  to  all  the  territory  lying  west  of  a 
meridian,  line  run  south  from  the  westerly  bend  of  Lake   Ontario. 
Although  the  nominal    amount  in  controversy,  by  these  acts,  was 
much  diminished,  it  still  left   some  nineteen  thousand  square    miles 
of  territory  in  dispute  ;  but  this  controversy  was  finally  settled  by  a 
convention   of    commissioners,    appointed  by  the  parties,  held   at 
Hartford,  Conn.,  on  t!ie  16th  day  of  December,  178G.     According- 
to  the  stipulations  entered  into  by   the  convention,  Massachusetts 
ceded  to  the  State  of  New  York,  all   her  claim  to  the  government, 
sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  of  all  Jhe  territory  lying  west  of  the 
present  east  line  of  the  Stale  of  New  York  ;  and  New  York  ceded 
to  Massachusetts  the  pre-emption  right,  or  fee  of  the  land,  subject 
to  the  title  of  natives,  of  all  that  part  of  the  State  of  ISlew  York 
lying  west  of  a  line,  beginning  at  a  point  in  the  north  line  of  Penn- 
sylvania, 82  .miles  north  of  the  north-east  corner  of  said  State,  and 
running  from  thence  due  north  through  Seneca  Lake,  to  Lake  On- 
tario ;  excepting   and  reserving  to  the  State  of  'New  York,  a   strip 
ot  land  east  of,  and  adjoining  the  eastern  bank  of  Niagara  river, 
one  mile  wide,  and  extending  its  whole  length.     The  land,  the  pre- 
emption right  of  which  was  thus  ceded,  amounted   to  about   six 
millions  of  acres. 

The  other  dilRculty  alluded  to,  arose  from  the  organization  and 
operations  of  two  joint  Lessee  Companies.  The  constitution  of  the 
state  forbade  the  purchase  of  the  fee  in  lands  of  the  Indians,  by 
mdividuals,  reserving  the  right  to  the  state  alone.  To  evade  this, 
and  come  in  possession  of  the  lands,  an  association  of  individuals 
•was  organized  in  the  winter  of  1787,  '8,  who  styled  themselves  the 
"  New  York  Genesee  Land  Company."  Tlie  company  was  com- 
posed of  some  eighty  or  ninety  individuals,  mostly  residing  upon  the 
Hudson;  many  of  whom  were  wealthy  and   influential.    The  prin- 


Pm?LPS  AWD   GORIIAm's   PCECnASE. 


107 


cipal  seat  of  the  company  was  at  Hudson.    Dr.  Caleb  Benton 
John   L,v„,g^„„,  and  Jared   Coffin  were   the  principal  manager"' 
At  the  same   time  a   branch   company  was  or.tani7eH    in  r,„!. 
called  the  ..Niagara  Genesee  Land' cL,p.a„;-°   TO    consheTlf 
John  Dntler,  Samnel  Street.  John  Powellf  JoLson  a      Z2  a  d 
Beruannn  Barton  ;  all  but  the  last  n.amed.  bein,  residents  of  S„da 
Ths  branch  organization  enabled  the  company  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  then  potent  influence  of  Col.   John   Butler  with   the   Sk 
Nation,,  and  the  innuence  of  his  .as,socia.es.     Benjamin  Barton  fhe 
father  of  the  late  B.mjamin  Barton  Jr.  of  Lewis,  „™  an  ac, 
ncmbcr  of  the  assocktion.     Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution 
he  had  engaged  m  the  Indian  tr.ade,  and  as  a  drover  from  New 

N,,igara.  By  this  means  he  had  become  well  acquainted  with  the 
S™e  as  was  adopted  by  them,  and  had  taken  while  a  youth  Hen  y 
OBail,  the  .son  of  Cornplanter,  and  placed  him  in  a  Loo    ^7 

to  r-Ne  :  YoTc    "  "'°  '"""""r  "■"^  "^''-=^' «'--  W°"^d 
o  the  New  -i  oik  Company,  several  who  had  fcr  a  lon<r  period  been 

ndian  traders.  Thus  organized,  by  such  appliances  a's  f,  .1  for 
™ded  negotiations  with  the  Indians,  the  company  i„  Nov^be  " 
1787  obtained  a  Lease  for  "  nine  hundred  and  ninety  nine  years  " 
of  all  the  lands  of  the  Six  Nations  in  the  state  of  New  Y'rl  'e^lt 
'r  ™"'  ■■—«»"-'.  'I'e  Fiviiege  of  hunting,  fishinT&c 
The  annual  rent  was  to  be  two  thousand  Spanish  milled  dollas-  Tnd 
a  bonus  of  830,000  was  also  promised  ' 

afl-IL       nlT      „  T'"""""""'-  "'■  ^Pe'intendent  of  Indian 

temc  'the  1         o      '  ■""  ?'  '""' '"  ""'  '"'«»"  """""T  'o  conn- 
teract  the  unlawful  proceed  ngs  of  the  Lessees     n„  i,-      .       u 

reported  that  he  had  fallen  in  ^ith  the  cleA  of'        I  .  "  '" 

60  miles  of  Tioga,  and  would  proceed  no  farth;,.     Th    "the  Set 
oa   were  exceedingly  di,,satislied  with  Livingston,  and    vould   „M 

That  near  IfiO  families  were  If  T.-r         u         ^".^^eating  them, 
of  P.,tfl .  ;n       III  ^-''''  '"''^^  ^  consid'.rable  number 

of  cattl..   n  order  to  form  a  settlement  on  tho.se.  lands-  bn*  were 
very  n.uch  at  a  ios.  as  the,  had  heard   that  the  state  tended 


/;  It 


108 


PHELPS  AND    GOEUAM's   PUKCHASE. 


s  n 


l-'f 


k .'' 


\rh     ir 


i      f 


that  no  settlement  should  be  made."  Governor  Clinton  issued  a 
proclamation  warning  purchasers  that  the  Lessee  title  would  be 
annulled,  and  sent  runners  to  all  the  Six  Nations  warning  them  of 
the  traud  that  had  been  practiced  against  them. 

It  was  a  formidable  organization,  embracing  men  of  wealth  and 
political  influence,  and  those  who,  if  their  own  plans  could  not  be 
consummated,  had  an  influence  with  the  Indians  that  would  enable 
them  to  throw  serious  obstacles  in  the  way  of  legal  negotiations  with 
them  lor  their  lands.     The  lease  consummated,  the  next  object  of  the 
association  was  to  procure  an  act  of  the  legislature  sanctionincr  the 
proceedings,  and  for  that  purpose,  an  attempt  was  made  to  intimidate 
by  threats  of  dismemberment,  and  the  formation  of  a  new  state' 
embracing  all  the  leased  territory.     But  the  wliole  matter  was  met 
with  energy  and  promptness  by  Gov.  George  Clinton,  who  urged 
upon  the  Legislature  measures  to  counteract  the  inte.  ded  mischief 
In  March,  1788,  an  act  was  passed  which  authorised  the  Governor 
to  disregard  all  contracts  made  with  the  Indians,  not  sanctioned  by 
the  state  as  null  and  void,  and  to  cause  all  persons  who  had  entered 
upon  Indian  lands  under  such  contracts,  to  be  driven  off"  by   force 
and  their  buildings  destroyed.     Governor  Clinton  ordered   William 
Colbraith,  then  Sheriff"  of  the  county  of  Herkimer,(which  then  em- 
braced all  of  the  present  county  of  Herkimer  and  all  west  of  it  to 
the  west  bounds  of  the  state,)  to  dispossess  intruders  and  burn  their 
dwelhncrs.     A  military  force  was  called  out,  ai-d  the  orders  strictly 
executed.     One  of   the  prominent  settlers,  and  a  co-operator  of  the 
Lessees,  was  taken   to  New  York  in  irons,  upon  a  charge   of  hinh 
treason.  " 

Thus  baffled,  the  managers  of  the  two  associations  determined  to 
retaliate  and  coerce  a  compromise,  if  they  failed  to  carry  out  their 
original  design,  by  meeting  the  State  upon  treaty  grounds,  where 
they  could  bring  a  stronger  lobby  than  they  could  command  for 
the  halls  of  legislation.     At  the  treaty,  held   in  Fort  Stanwix  in 
September,  1778,  with  the  Onondagas,  for  the  purchase  of  their 
lands  by  the  State,  Governor  Clinton  took  the  field  in  pci-son,  back- 
ed by  all  the  official  influence  he  could  command  ;  and  yet   he 
found  for  a  while,  extreme  difficulty  in  effecting  any  thing     Little 
opposition  from  the  Lessees  showed  itself  openly,  but  it  was  there 
with  Its  strongest  appliances.     In  after  years,  when  preferring  a 
claim  against  the  "  New  York  Genesee  Company,"  in  behalf  of  th« 


PIIELP3   AJID   GOEHAm's    PUECnASE.  109 

"  Ningara  Genesee  Compuny,"  a  prominent  individua.  among  the 
c  a^mants,  urged  that  the  Canada  company  had  kept  the  Indians 
back  from  the  treaties;  and  when  they  could  no  longer  do  so  had 
ononeocca.ion,  baffled  Governor  CHmon  for  nearlyfhree  :;et 

ZT'l'  TTl-  T'  ""'  ""'^^  '^'  ^'''''  ^'^^  P^^^^^^ed  itself  of 
the  lands  of  the  Six  Nations  east  of  the  pre-emption  line.  The  les- 
sees,  seeing  httle  hopes-of  accomplishing  their  designs,  finally  peti- 
tion  d  the  legislature  for  relief;  and  after  considerable  dday,  in 
179J,  an  act  mas  passed,  authorizing  the  commissioners  of  the  land 

£:   ?r  t'r  ^'^"'"^  ^"^  ^^^^^^  --^^  unappropriated 
lands  of  the  State,  a  tract  equal  to  ten  miles  square.     The  allot- 
ment was  finally  made  in  township  number  three,  of  the  "  Old  Mill- 
tary  tract."     Thus  terminated  a  magnificent  scheme,  so  far  as  the 
fetate  was  concerned,  which  contemplated  the  possession  of  a  vast 
domain,  and  perhaps,  as  has  been  alleged,  a  separate  State  organi- 
zation      It  mark,  an  important  era  in  the  early  history  of  our  State. 
The  influence  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Indians  from  Canada,  by 
which   the  extraordinary  lease  was  obtained,  was  stimulated  by 
the  prospect  of  individual  gain;  but  may  we  not  well  --nfer- with- 
out an  implication  of  the  many  respectable  individuals  who  com- 
posed the  association  in  this  State  to  that  extent -that  it  looked 
forward  to  future  events;  the  maintenance  of  British  dominion, 
which  was  afterwards  asserted  and  reluctantly  yielded.     It  was 
ong  after  th..,  before  the  potent  influence  which  the  Johnsons,  But- 
ler and  Brant  had  carried  with  them,  even  in  their  retreat  to  Cana- 
da, was  counteracted.     They  were  yet  constantly  inculcating  the 
Idea  among  the  Six  Nations,  that  they  were  under  British  dominion, 
he  Senecas  at  least.     What  could  better  have  promoted  this  pre- 
tension, than  such  a  scheme,  especially  if  it  contemplated  the  ex- 
treme  measure  of  a  dismemberment  of  this  State -such  as  was 

tions?  The  calculations  of  the  "New  York  Genesee  Company" 
may  have  been  circumscribed  by  the  boundaries  of  loss  and  ^ain  • 
that  of  their  associates  and  co-operators  may  have  taken  a  vvider' 
range,  and  embraced  national  interest,  to  which  it  was  wedded  by 
les  even  stronger  if  possible,  than  motives  of  gain  and  private 
emolument  As  late  as  November.  1793,  James  Vadsworth  and 
Oliver  Phelps,  received  a  circular,  signed  by  John  Livingston  and 
Caleb  Benton,  as  officers  of  a  convention  purporting  to  have  been' 


110 


PHEJJ^  AXD    GOKIIAll's    PURCHASE. 


rf 


<  I 


ir 


f'\. 


held  at  Geneva,  urging  the  people  to  hold  town  meetings  and  sign 
petitions  for  a  new  state  to  be  set  off  from  New  York,  and  to  em- 
brace the  counties  of  Otsego,  Tioga,  Herkimer  and  Ontario. 
^  Early  in  the  spring  of  1788,  another  council  with  the  Six  Na- 
tions was  contemplated  by  the  New  York  commissioners.     In  an- 
swer to  a  message  from  them,  requesting  the  Indians  to  fix  upon  a 
time,  some  of  the  chiefs  answered  in  a  writing,  that  it  must  be 
"  after  the  corn  is  hoed."     Massachusetts,  not  having  then  parted 
with    its   pre-emption   right  wes.  of  Senoca  Lake,  Gov.  Clinton 
wrote  to  Gov.  Hancock  to  secure   his  co-operation  in  counter- 
acting the  designs  of  the  lessees.     The  general  court  declared  the 
leases  "null  and  void  ;"  but  Gov^ernor  Hancock,  in  his  reply  to  the 
letter,  stated  that  Massachusetts,  on  account  of  the  "  embarrassed 
situation  of  the  Commonwealth,"  was  about  to  comply  with  the 
proposals  of  some  of  her  citizens,  for  the  purchase  of  the  pre-emp- 
tion  right. 

The  first  of  September  was  fixed  as  the  period  for  the  treaty,  and 
Fort  Schuyler  was  designated  as  tiie  place.  A  ctive  preparations 
for  it  were  going  on  through  the  summer,  under  the  general  super- 
vision of  John  Taylor,  who  had  the  zealous  co-operation  of  Gov. 
Clinton.  In  all  the  villages  of  the  Six  Nations,  the  lessees  had 
their  agents  and  runners,  or  Indian  traders  in  their  interest.  Even 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland  had  been  either  deceived  or  corrui)ted  by 
them,  and  had  played  a  part  inconsistent  with  his  profession,  and 
with  his  obligations  to  Massachusetts.  It  was  represented  to  Gov. 
Clinton  that,  in  'preaching  to  the  Indians,  he  had  advised  them  to 
lease  to  the  New  York  and  Canada  companies,  as  their  territory 


Rote.— After  the  arrangement  with  the  State,  there  was  a  lont,'  coiitroverHv  be- 
tween tJie  two  associations  in  settling  tlieir  affairs  :  in  tlic  course  of  wliich,  nnicli  of 
tlie  secret  machinery  of  botli  wtLS  developed.  An  old  adage  was  pretty  well  illustra- 
ted. It  no  wliere  appears  that  any  thing  was  paid  to  tlie  Indians  in  their  national  or 
conlederate  capacities ;  thougli  a  bonus  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  was  stii)ulatetl  to 
be  paid  in  addition  to  tlie  annual  rents.  The  Canada  company  refused  at  one  tiineto 
pay  an  installment  into  this  general  fund,  alleging  as  a  reason,  the  non-iiavment  of 
this  twenty  thousand  dollars  due  the  Indians.  But  yet,  it  appears  that  it  was  a  nretty 
expensive  operation  ;  the  chiefs  who  favored  the  scheme  and  the  agents  who  operated 
upon  them,  must  have  been  well  paid  ;  "presents  "  must  have  been  as  lavish  as  in  the 
palmiest  days  of  British  and  Indian  negotiations.  Remonstrances  that  were  i)resented 
to  the  Legislature  oi  this  State,  set  forth  that  "secret  and  unwarrantable  means  had 
been  employed  by  the  les.sees  in  making  their  arrangements  with  some  of  the  In- 
*  T"  it'on''  "leetingof  the  "New  York  Genesee  Company,"  at  Hudson,  in  Sep- 
tem  jcr,  1(89,  llie aggregate  expenditures,  as  liquidated,  liad  been  over  twelve  tho'i- 
sanil  pounds,  N.  L.  currency.  It  will  be  necessary  to  refer  to  this  subject  aLmiii,  ill 
connectwu  with  Indiau  treaUes  that  foUowcd,  and  Clmrles  Williamson. 


PIIELPS  AND  GOEHAm's   PURCHASE. 


Ill 


was  so  wide,  he  could  not  makeh 


is  voice  heard  to  its  full 


Gxtpnt  ' 

h   treaty  held  at  Kanadesaga.  when  the  Lease  was  procured,  he  had 
acted  efficiently  for  the  Lessees.     To  counteract  thosestronc  infl,, 
ences,  agents  and  runners  were  put  in  requisition  bfSf 
HurpeTcr'''  '""^  during  the  summer,  the  poor  Indians  had  but' 

The  preparations  for  the  embassy  to  the  Indian  country,  at  Al- 
bany and  New  York,  were  formidable  ones.  A  similar  expedition 
now  to  feanta  Fee,  or  Oregon,  would  be  attended  with  less  of  pre- 
hmmary  arrangements.  A  sloop  came  up  from  New  York  with  In- 
d.an  goods,  stores  for  the  expedition,  marquees  and  tents,  specie  for 
purcnase  money,  (which  was  obtained  with  much  trouble,)  those 
^  the  board  of  commissioners  and  their  associates,  who  resided  in 
iNew  Yoi-k,  and  many  who  were  going  to  attend  the  treaty  from 
motives  of  curiosity  ;  among  whom  was  Count  Monsbiers.  the  then 
French  minister,  and  his  sister. 

The  board  of  commissioners  and  their  retinue,  started  from  Al- 
bany  on  the  23d  of  August,  (the  goods  and  baggage  going  up  the 
Mohawk  in  batteaux  that  had  been  built  for  the  ;urpose,)  and  did 
not  arrive  at  Fort  Schuyler  until  the  28th. 

A  wild  romantic  scene  was  soon  presented.    The  veteran  soldier, 

tT  ?Tr'  P"'^'^  ^''  "^''■^"^^'  '-^"d  ^««  ««"^"<^'^  the  General 
ns  It  he  had  headed  a  military  instead  of  a  civil  expedition.    Arroncr 
his  associates   in  the  commission,  and   his  companions,  were  m'any 
ho  had  with  h.m  been  conspicuous   in  the  Revolution,  and  wer^ 
the  leading  men  of  the  then  young  State.     They  were  surrounded 
by  the  camp  fires  of  the   numerous  representatives  of  the  Six  Na 
tions,  amounting  to  thousand.s,  who  had  been  attracted  to  the  spot 
some  from  an  interest   hey  folt  in  the  negotiations,    but  far  the  lar-' 
ges   proportion   ot  them  had  been   attracted   from  their  scattered 
WiMerness  homes,  by  the  hopes  and  promises  of  feasts  and  carous- 
als.    Indian   traders  from   all  their  localities  in   New  York  and 
panada,  with  their  showy  goods  and  trinkets,  and  "firewater."  were 
upon  the  ground  with  the  mixed  objects  of  a  sale  of  their   .oods 
when  money  was  paid  to  the  Indians,  and  the  e.^pousal  either  of' 
^.e  State  interests  or  that  of  the  Lessees.     Some  of  the  prominent 
Lessees  from  Albany,  Hudson  and  Canada  had  preceded  the  Gov- 
ernor,  and  were  in  the  crowd,  secrelly  and  insidiouslv  nndnavorin-. 


i  ft 


ti       'i    -      ' 


f  M     ' 


-I 


I 
1-^ 


,f, 


i.f 


35'^- 


113 


PHELra  AND  GOEUAm's  PDIiCIIASE. 


to    nvnrt  the  ol^ects  of  .l,e  council.     Irritated  by  dl  he  had  heard 

pnnc  ,a,  John  L,v,„gs,on,  of  •■Livingston  Manor"  was  present 
-with  the  eoncunenee  of  his  associates.  Gov.  Chnton  "look  the 
r  spo„s,b,hty."  as  did  Gen.  .lackson  a.  Nov  Orleans,  and  orde  cd 

Ic^Jr  ,"=■  T''^'™  ™  "'-"h™-."  »"d  •Totietothed 
tance  of  forty  miles  from  Fort  Schuyler 

After  this,  Governor  Clinton  organised  a  species  of  court,  or 

hSnf  'r«"'°"'""  '"*■'■""•  '"■""■'"  "-aders,  runners  in  the 
merest  of  b„.h  State  and   Lessees,  took   afHdavits  of  all  that  had 

schene  ol  bnbery,  threats,  mtimidation  and  deception,  practiced 
upon  the  Indians.  Finding  that  , he  Seuecas  were  hod,,,  back 
from  he  treaty,  and  that  many  of  the  head  n,e„  of  the  CavuJas  and 

^I^jr  ?""'■  -'"-™-S'l-.  there  ,v.,s  a  counte' 
gathe„ng  at  Ivauadesaga,  messenge,-s  were  sent  there,  who  found 
Hu  Benton  s„,To„„Jed  by  Indians  and  his  agents,  dealing  out  liquet' 
and  goods,  anddehveringspeeches,  in  which  he  assured  the  Indian 
that  ,f  they  went  to  Fort  Schuyler  ,hc  Governor  of  New  York 
would  ether  cheat  them  out  of  .heir  lands,  or  failing  in  that,  wou  d 
fall  upon  them  w„h  an  armed  fo,ce.  Many  of  the  Indian  w^  c 
undeceived,  and  finally  induced  to  go  to  For.  Schuyle,-,  wi,  nrtey 
had  lecovered  from  a  state  of  beastly  intoxication  Ihev  had  been 
kept  ,„  by  Dr.  Benton  and  other  agents  of  the  Lessees."  Such  h  d 

wIrJsW  f?^''  '^"'  """">■  "'^  *^"''  ^^1"="  '^coming   sober 

we  esck  andu„.,blc  to  reach  For.  Schuyler,  and  a  Cayuga  chief, 
Sp    ce  Garner  d,od  on  the  road.     When  thcy  were  en'eamped  a 
S      vyace,  twlve  m,les  east  of  Seneca  Lake,  on  .he  eas.en,  .rail 
wen,  r  ■ "  '^J^r ''."■'■"'  ■■  a'  C-^l.ong,  in  .he  in.erest  of  .he  Lessee 
wen.  there,  and  by  mtimida.ions,  .he  use  of  rum,  and  pro.nises  ol" 
presen.s,  induced  .hem  .o  .urn  back  romisesol 

JrVir,™"'  ",",'"■  "'■  ^""""'^^  """  ""^  ^'"■"™'  Nations 
ot  tl  e  council.     Governor  Chnton  addressed  the  Ononda^as  inform 
tng  them  minutely  of  the  positions  in  which  .ho  Six  Na".  oVsto"; 
in  refei-ence  .0  .heir  lands;  .hat   they   were   theirs  .o  d  ",  o     o 
when  .hey  pleased,  bu.  .hat  to  protect  them  from  frauds,   hi  a" 
had  reserved  .0  itself  the  right  .„  purchase   whenever    hey  wee 


rnELPS  AND  GORHAm's   rUECIIASE.  113 

disposed  to  sell.     lie  told  them  that  the  acts  of  the  Lessees,   were 
he  acts  0    "disobedient  children  "  of  the  State,  and  that  thev  were 
a    cheat     and  at  the  same  time  informing  them  that  as  commis- 
sioners of  the  State,  he  and  his  associates  were  there  prepared  to 
purchase.     He  cautioned  them  to  keep  sober,  as  there  were   stran- 
gers present    "who will  laugh  at  us  if  while  this  business  is  in  a^i- 
tation,  any  of  us  should  be  found  disguised."     "After  the  business 
IS  completed,'    said   the  Governor.  "  wo   can  indulge  ourselves   in 
innocent  mu-th  and  friendship  together."     Eiack  Cap,  in  behalf  o^ 
the  Onondagas.  replied,  assuring  the  Governor  that  the  Onondar^as 
who  ly  disapproved  of  the  proceedings  with  the  Lessees,  had  made 
up  then-  nunds  to  sell  to  the  State,  but  wanted  a  little  farther  time 
1.0   a  k  among  themselves.     On  the  12th,  the  treaty  was  concluded 
and  the  deed  of  cession  of  the  lands  of  the  Onondagas,   some  res 
ervatums  excepted,  was  executed.     The  consideration  was  81000 
"1  liand    and  an   annuity  of  $500  forever.     After  the  trelty  wa! 
conc,,ae  ,  additional  provisions  were  distributed,  presents  of 'go  d 
made  and  congratulatory  speeches  interchanged.     "  As  the  business 
on  wluc    we  had  met.  said  the  Governor,  is  now  hapnilv  accom     sh 
ed.  we  shall  cover  up  the  council  fire  at  this  time  i!;d  Uake  a  dH  k 
andsmoke  our  pyes  together,  and  devote  the  remainder  of  the  day 
to  decent  mirth.  J 

It  should  be  observed,  that  this  council  was  called  for  the  double 
purpose  of  perpetuating  friendship  with  the  Six  Nations,  ndpu 
chasing  ands.  Though  New  York  had  ceded  the  p  e-emron 
ngh  to  the  lands  of  the  Senecas.  to  Massachusetts,  still'  t^^r 
s.rab  e  t  at  the  Senecas  should  be  present.  Most  of  their  chiel 
and  head  n-.en  were  kept  away,  but  about  eighty  young   Seneca 

the  old  Foit.  The  governor  addressed  them,  distributed  amon. 
hem  some  provisions  and  liquor,  and  desired  them  to  go  back  to 
their  nation  and  report  all  they  had  seen,  and  warn  their  peop  e 
nganist  having  any  thing  to  do  with  the  Lessees.  A  young  Seneca 
warrior  in  his  reply  said  :-"  We  had  to  struggle  hard ^  break 
through  he  opposition  that  was  made  to  ourcomh^down,  by  some 
of  your  disobedient  children.     We  will  now  tell  ^^u   how  ^hin^s 


really  are  amonjj  us 


The  voice  of  the  birds,*  and  proud,  strong 


^V.gu.nnnor«,  and  falsehoods,  were  caUed  by  the  Senecas.  "tZZ^Z^^^^, 


>i  ■ 


114 


PIIELPS  AND   GORHAm's    PURCHASE. 


1-4 
f  ■, 


llC'? 


.i 


w 


!•#  ' 


words  uttered  by  some  of  our  own  people  at  Kanadesaga,  overcome 
tlie  sachems  and  turned  them  back,  after  they  had  twice  promised 
to  come  down  with  us." 

Negotiations  with  the  Oneidas  followed  :  — Gov.  Clinton  made  a 
speech  to  them  to  the  same  purport  of  the  one  he  liad  delivered  to 
the  Onondagas.     This  was  replied  toby  "One-yan-ha,  alias  Beach 
Tree,  commonly  called  the  "  Quarter  Master."  who  said  an  answer 
to  the   speech  should  be  made  after  his  people  had   counselled  to- 
gether.    The  next   day,  just  as  the  council  had    assembled,  word 
came  that  a  young  warrior  was  found  dead  in   Wood   Creek.     It 
was  concluded  after  som.e  investigation,  that  he  had  been  drowned  ac- 
cidentally, in  a  state  of  intoxication.     Tiie  commissioners  insisted 
upon  going  on  with  the  treaty,  but  the  Indians  demanded  a  postpone- 
ment for  funeral  observances.     At  the  burial,  A-gwel-en-ton-gwas, 
alias,  Domine  Peter,  or  Good  Peter,  made  a  pathetic  harrangue! 
eloqueu.  in  some  of  its   passages.     It  was  a  temperance,  but   not 
a  total  abstinence  discourse. 

The  funeral  over,  the  business  of  the  council  was  resumed.  Good 
Peter  replied  to  the  speech  of  the  Govemor:  — He  reminded  him 
of  a  remark  made  by  him  at  Fort  Herkimer  in  1785,  in  substance, 
that  he  should  not  ask  them  for  any  more  lands.  The  chief  recapitula- 
ted  in  a  long  speech,  with  surprising  accuracy,  every  point  in  the 
Governor's  speech,  and  observed  that  if  any  thing  had  been  omitted, 
it  was  because  he  had  not  "the  advantage  of  "the  use  of  letters." 
He  then  made  an  apology,  that  he  was  li^tigued,  and  wished  to  sit 
down  and  rest ;  and  that  in  the  meantime,  according  to  ancient 


Note.— The  backwoods  srnntnal  and  temporal  adviser,  insisted  that   his  people 

must  abide  by  the  resrdufi.m  of  tludr  chief,  widcli  forbid  anv of  tliein  askin-  the  Gov? 

emor  or  connms.sioner.s  for  rum,  but  only  to  take  it  ^^hvu  it%vas  offered  and  measured 

out  to  them.     "We  are  n,,t  fit "  said   he,  "to  prescribe  as  ro  this  .-Mtick..     Some  who 

re  p-eat  drinkers   have  often  given   in  botli    women  and  eiiildren  in   their  list    ad 

nvn  tor  the  whole  company  ,is  warri(,r,.,  and  tliereby  inc.vased  the  quantity  beyo  d 
all  reasonable  bounds.  Let  the  Governor  therefore  determine,  if  he  Les  fit^to -ie  a 
glass  mthemorn.n-  and  at  noon,  aiul  then  at  night ;  and  if  anv  remain  aftei-eaclt 
one  IS  sen-ed,  let  it  be  taken  off  fhe  ground.     Thi.^  was  the  ancient  custom  at  AlW 

n  '.  T  *;r'"f^',V'-«-  ^^i"'"  ■•!  «'-^>^'t  ■"""^■^■''  of  Indians  were  a,.^embled  on 
th.  hill  above  the  city.  The  rum  was  brought  there  and  each  one  drank  a  -la^- .oik 
V  as  satisfied.     No  trie    ndian  who  had  the  spirit  of  a   man,  was  eve      no  vn  at  th 

ay  t()  run  to  a  commissioner  and  demand  a  bottle  of  rum,  on  the  ground  that  he  wis 
m'suc  ."r\""'  .-.nother  too,  for  tlie   .s.me  .eason,  which  is  the  practice  now-a-day 
nc  such  great  men  wer  j  known  in  ancient  li;  p])v  times  "  ^ 

I  Good   IVler's  temperance  e.xliortation,  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Scotch  divine  • - 

dri   dSmS"'n"''  «"H«''-.  ""'» '^  little  on  g.anging  to  bed;  but  dilina  bo  "drau,; 


,  overcome 
promised 

on  made  a 
elivered  to 
lias  Beach 
an  answer 
[nselled  to- 
)led,  word 
Creek.  It 
■owned  ac- 
rs  insisted 
L  postpone- 
-ton-gwas, 
larrangue, 
i,  but   not 

?d.  Good 
nded  liim 
substance, 
■ecapitula- 
)int  in  the 
n  omitted, 
f  letters." 
bed  to  sit 
o  ancient 


his  people 
lis:  the  Gov- 
k1  iiicasured 

■Some  wlio 
fir  list,  and 
itjty  beyond 
•  lit  to  give  a 

I  after  each 

II  at  Albany 
v-eiiibled  oil 

a  i(liis.<  and 
own  at  that 
that  he  was 
ow-a-days  ; 

1  divine :  — 
•f  a  niorniri, 
i  be  "drum. 


PHELPS  AND  aOEIIAM's    PUECHASE. 


115 


custom,  anoth^^r  speaker  would  arise  and  raise  the  spirit  of  their  de- 
ceased sachem,  the  Grasshopper.  But  before  he  sat  down,  he  in- 
formed the  Governor,  that  the  man  bearing  the  name  of  Oe-dat-segh- 
ta,  is  the  first  name  know  in  their  national  council,  and  had  long 
been  publised  throughout  the  confederacy ;  that  his  friend,  the  Grass- 
hopper, was  the  counsellor  for  the  tribe,  to  whom  that  name  be- 
longed, and  that  therefore,  they  replaced  the  Grasshopper  with  this 
lad,  whom  you  are  to  call  Kan-y-a-dal-i-go  ;  presentiiig  the  young 
lad  to  the  Governor  and  Commissioners ;  and  that  until  he  arrives 
at  an  age  to  qualify  him  to  transact  business  personally,  in  council, 
their  friend,  Hans  Jurio,  is  to  bear  the  name  of  0-jis-tal-a-be,  alias 
Grasshopper,  and  to  be  counsellor  for  this  young  man  and  his  clan, 
until  that  period. 

The  Governor  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  disclaimed  any  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  State  to  purchase  their  lands;  bu',  strenuously 
urged  upon  them  that  the  State  would  not  tolerate  th  purchase  or 
leasing  by  individuals.  He  told  them  that  when  they  chose  to  sell 
the  State  would  buy  more  for  their  good  than  anything  else,  as  the 
State  then  had  more  land  than  it  could  occupy  with  people. 

Good  Peter  followed,  said  the  Governor's  speech  was  excellent, 
and  to  their  minds.  "  We  comprehend  every  word  of  your  speech, 
it  is  true  indeed  ;  for  we  see  you  possessed  of  an  extensive  territo- 
ry, and  but  here  and  there  a  smoke."  "  But,"  said  he,  "  we,  too, 
have  disorderly  people  in  our  nation  ;  you  have  a  keg  here,  and 
they  have  their  eyes  upon  it,  and  nothing  can  divert  them  from  the 
pursuit  of  it.  While  there  is  any  part  of  it  left,  they  will  have  their 
ey^^  upon  it  and  seek  after  it,  till  they  die  by  it ;  and  if  one  dies, 
there  is  another  who  will  not  be  deterred  by  it,  will  still  continue  to 
seek  after  it.  It  is  just  so  with  your  people.  As  long  as  any  spot 
of  our  excellent  land  remains,  they  will  covet  it,  and  will  never 
rest  till  they  possess  it."  He  said  it  would  take  him  a  long  time  to 
tell  the  Governor  "  all  his  thoughts  and  contemplations  ;  they  were 
extensive  ;  my  mind  is  perplexed  and  pained,  it  labors  hard."  In  a 
short  digression,  he  spoke  of  the  Tree  of  Peace,  and  expressed  his 
fears  that,  "  by-and-by,  some  twig  of  this  beautiful  tree  will  be 
broken  off.  The  wind  seems  always  to  blow,  and  shake  this  belov- 
ed tree."  Before  sitting  down.  Good  Peter  observed  that  they  had 
all  agreed  to  place  the  business  of  the  council,  on  their  part,  in  the 
hands  of  two  of  their  people,  Col.  Louis  and  Peter  Ot-se-quette, 


1 


IIG 

who 


PHELPS   AND  GORHAjfa   PURCnASE, 


ap. 


'  would  be  their  "  mouth  and  their  ears."  *    There  was,  a 
pointed,  as  their  advisers,  a  committee  of  principal  chiefs. 

The  negotiation  went  on  for  days ;  speeches  were  interchanged  • 
propositions  were  made  and  rejected,  until  finally  a  deed  of  ces'^ion 
was  agreed  upon  and  executed  by  the  chiefs.     It  conveyed  all  their 
lands,  making  reservations  for  their  own  residence  around  the  Onei- 
da castle,  or  principal  village,  and  a  number  of  other  sma-.er  ones 
for  their  own  people,  and  such  whites  as  had  been  their  interpret- 
ers, favorite  traders,  or  belonged  to  them  by  adoption.     The  con 
sideration  was  $2,000   in  money,  $2,000  in  clothing  and  other 
goods,  $1,000  m  provisions,  $500  in  money  for  the  erection  of  a 
saw-mill  and  grist-mill  on  their  reservation,  and  an  annuity  of  "six 
hundred  dollars  in  silver,"  for  ever.     Congratulatory  addresses  fol 
lowed  ;  the  Governor  making  to  the  Oneidas  a  parting  a<ldress,  re- 
plete with  good  instruction  and  flxtherly  kindness;  the  Onei.las  re- 
plying, assuring  him  of  the  satisfaction  of  their  people  with  all  that 
had  taken  place;   and  thanking  the  Governor  and  his  associate 
commissioners  for  the  fairness  of  their  speeches  and  their  conduct 
It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  record  of  diplomacy  between  civilize  ' 
nations  more  replete  throughout  with  dignity,  decorum  and  ability, 
than  is  that  of  this  protracted  treaty. 

After  dispatching  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland  (who  had  been  present 
throughout  the  treaty,  anrl  materially  aided  the  commissioners- 
thus  making  full  amends  for  the  mischief  he  had  helped  to  produce 
in  connection  with  the  long  lease,)  to  the  Cayugas  and  Senecas 
charged  with  the  mission  of  informing  them  of  all  that  had  trans- 
pired, the  Governor  and  his  retinue  set  out  on  their  return  to  Al- 
bany.    The  council  had  continued  for  twenty-five  days. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  commissioners  was  convened  at  Albany 
December  15,  1788.  Governor  Clinton  read  a  letter  from  Peter 
Ryckman  and  Seth  Reed,  who  were  then  residents  at  Kanadesaga  ; 
Reed  at  the  Old  Castle,  and  Ryckman  upon  the  Lake  shore.     The 


C.,].  Loms  was  a  half  blood,  FroMch  a.ul  Oneida.    IIo  had  held  a  co.nmisfliou  un 
iZnJl-  ^•^'."/r';/"/''r  .I^'^^'^'I"fi""-    I'"t^''-  Ot-.se-q„ott,e,  in  a  speech  1,"  "ado^",  th^ 
rZTl'  «'{"'^'"^tl/«l»%lj"«t  returned  from  Franee, whero  ho  had'bcen  take      nd edu- 
cated by  La  Fayette.    He  .aid  that  ^vhon  he  arrive.l  in  France,  he  "was  nake      .m 
the  Marquis  clad  liun,  receiving  and  tre.-itin-  nini  with  great  kindness  ''  that  f,     a 

^.hditr^rfr'  ""^^  ",'V'^"-  '^"'^'^'^  *'<■  l<"'>wl'><l.e^lo.-ed  i.,  .n    us     ,  I     he 
felt  distressed  at  the  miserable  situation  of  his  countrymen  ;"   that  after  fo  r  y oars^ 

;'^^See  SS:!:^!^^ '''  ''''''-' ''''  '^'"'^^'^^^^  -^'  reformi,i,^thL^'"^ 


IS,  also,  ap- 

'fl 

rchanged ; 

of  cession 

!H  all  their 

the  Onei- 

lauer  ones 

interpret- 

The  con 

and  other 

!tion  of  a 

ty  of  "  six 

resses  fol 

dress,  re- 

leidas  re- 

[h  all  that 

associate 

■  conduct. 

1  civilize ' 

id  ability, 

n  present 

issioners ; 
>  produce 
Senecas, 
ad  trans- 
rn  to  Al- 

;  Albany, 
>m  Peter 
idesaga  ; 
•e.     ^[le 


iissiou  un- 
Kulo  in  the 
II  and  t'du- 
inkcd,  and 
tliat  for  a 
mind,  he 
iiur  years' 
tliciu. 


PHELPS    AND    GORHAM's    PURCHASE. 


117 


letter  was  forwarded  by  "  Mr.  Lee  and  Mr.  Noble,"  who  had  been 
residing  for  the  summer  at  Kanadesaga.     The  writers  say  to  the 
Governor,  tiiat  the  bearers  of  the  letter  will  detail  to  him  all  that 
has  transpired  in  their  locality  ;  and  add,  that  if  required,  they  can 
induce  the  Cayugas  and  Senecas  to  attend  a  council.     The  Rev. 
Mr.  Kirkiand  gave,  in  writing,  an  account  of  his  mission.     He 
stated  that  on  arriving  at  Kanadesaga,  he  ascertained  that  to  keep 
the  Cayugas  back  from  the  treaty  at  Fort  Schuyler,  two  of  the 
principal  lessees  and  their  agents,  had  "  kept  them  in  a  continued 
state  of  intoxication  ibr  three  weeks;"  that  "Dr.  B.  and  Col.  M. 
had  between  twenty  and  thirty  riflemen  in  arms  for  twenty-four 
hours ;  and  gave  out  severe  threats  against  P.  Ryckman  and  Col. 
Heed,  for  being  enemies  to  their  party,  and  friends  to  the  govern- 
ment, in  persuading  the   Indians   to   attend  the  treaty  at   Fort 
Schuyler."     Mr.  Kirkiand  stated  that  he  had  been  as  far  as  Nia- 
gara, and  seen  Col.  Butler  ;  and  that  at  the  Seneca  village,  on  Buf- 
falo Creek,  he  had  seen  Shen-dy-ough-gwat-tCj  the  "  second  man 
of  influence  among   the  Senecas;"   and  Farmer's  Brother,  alias 
'•  Ogh-ne-wi-ge-was ;"  and  that  they  had  become  disposed  to  treat 
with  the  State.     Before  the  Board  adjourned,  it  was  agreed  to  ad- 
dress a  letter  to  Reed  and  Ryckman,  asking  them  to  name  a  day  on 
which  they  could  procure  the   attendance   of  the   Cayugas   and 
Senecas,  at  Albany.     Reed  and  Ryckman,  on  tho  icuc^ytion  of  the 
letter,  despatched  James  Manning  Reed  with  an  answer,  saying 
that  they  would  be  at  Albany,  with  the  Indians,  on  the  23d  ot 
January ;  and  adding,  that  the  lessees  kept  the  Indians  "  so  continu- 
ally intoxicated  with  liquor,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  do  any 
thing  with  them." 

It  was  not  until  the  11th  of  Febuary  however,  that  Mr.  Ryck- 
man was  enabled  to  collect  a  sufficient  number  of  Indians,  and  reach 
Albany.  Several  days  were  spent  in  some  preliminary  proceedings, 
and  in  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  delegations  that  were  on  the  way. 
On  the  14th,  James  Bryan  and  Benjamin  Birdsall,  two  of  the 
Lessees  appeared  before  the  commissioners  and  delivered  up  the 
"long  leases"  that  had  occasioned  so  much  trouble.     On  the  19th 


Note.— Gov.  Clinton  and  many  of  the  commissioners  resided  in  New  York.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  then  slow  lassage  down  tlie  Hudson,  they  resolved  at  Albany  to 
charter  a  sloop,  and  tlius  be  enabled  to  settle  their  accounts  uud  arrange  their  papers 
on  their  way  down  the  rirer. 


!   n 


118 


rnELPs  AND  gorham's  purchase. 


the  council  was  opened  with  the  Cayucras,   many  Senecas,   Onon- 
dagas   and  Oneidas,   being  present. '  Good  Peter  in  behalf  of  the 
Cayugas,  made  a  speech.     He   said  his  brothers,  the  Cayugas  and 
Senecas  had  "  requested  him  to  be  their  mouth."     As  upon  another 
occasion  his  speech  abounded  in  some  of  the  finest  figures  of  speech 
to  be  found  in  any  preserved  specimens  of  Indian   eloquer.  ■       In 
allusion  to  the  conduct  of  the  Lessees,  and  a  long  series  ofprcjedent 
difficulties  the  Indians  had  had   with  the   whites,   he  observed  :  — 
"  Let  us  notwithstanding,  possess  our   minds  in  peace ;  we  can  see 
but  a  small  depth  into  the  heart  of  man ;  we  can  only  discover  what 
comes  from  his   tongue."     Speaking  of  the  relations  that  used   to 
exist  between  his  people  and  the  old  colony  of  New  York,  he   said, 
they  "used  to  kindle  a  council  fire,  the  smoke  of  which  reached  the' 
heavens,  and  around  which  they  sat   and  talked  of  peace."     He 
said  in  reference  to  the  blessings  of  peace,   and  the  settled  state  of 
things  that  was  promised  by  fixing  the  Indians  upon  their  Reserva- 
tions, under  the  protection  of  the  state  :  — "Our  little  ones  can  now 
go  with  leisure  to  look  for  fish  in  the  streams,  and  our  warriors  to 
hunt   for    wild   beasts   in   the   woods."     Present   at   the   council, 
was  a  considerable   number  of  their  women,   ^vhom   Good   Peter 
called  "Governesses,"  and  gave  the  reasons  why  they  were  there.— 
"The  Rights  of  women,"   found  in  him  an  able  advocate  :  — "Our 
ancestors  considered  it  a  great   tran.^gression  to  reject  the  counsel 
of  the  , women,  particularly  the  Governesses;  thev  considered  them 
the   mistresses   of  the    soil.     They    said,   who 'brings   us    forth? 
Who  cultivates  our  lands  ?  Who  kindles  our  fires,   and  boils   our 
pots,  but  the  women  ?  Our   women  say  let  not  the  tradition   of  the 
lathers,  with  respect  to  women,  be  disiegarded  ;  let  them  not  be  des- 
pised  ;  God  is  their  maker." 

Several  other  speeches  intervening,  the  Governor  answered  the 
speech  of  Good  Peter;  — He  reviewed  the  bargain  the  Indians  had 
made  with  the  Lessees,  and  told  them  that  if  carried  out  it  would 
be  to  their  ruin;  explained  the  laws  of  the  state,  and  their  tendency 
to  protect  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  suflicient  (juantity  of  land  for 
their  use ;  and  to  guard  them  against  peculation  and  fraud.  In  re- 
plying  to  that  part  of  Good  Peter's  speech  in  reference  to  the 
women  and  their  rights,  the  venerable  Governor  was  in  a  vein  of 
gallantry,  elociucntly  conceding  the  immunities  that  belonged  to 
the    "  mothers  of  mankind."    He  told  them  they  siiould  have  re- 


Mirt 


as,   Onon- 
lalf  of  the 
^'ugas  and 
3n  another 
I  of  speech 
ier,r       In 
prcjedent 
served  :  — 
.'e  can  see 
over  what 
t  used   to 
:,  he   said, 
ached  the 
ce."    He 
d  state  of 
Reserva- 
5  can  now 
arriors  to 
!   council, 
'od   Peter 
e  there. — ■ 
:  —  "  Our 
le  counsel 
Jred  them 
IS    forth  ? 
hoils   our 
m   of  the 
t  be  dcs- 

/cred  the 
lians  had 
it  would 
;endency 
"land  for 
In  re- 
}  to  the 
vein  of 
>nged  to 
lave  re- 


PIIELPS   AND    GOEHAm's   PUKCIIASE,  119 

servations  "  large  enough  however  prolific  they  might  be ;  even  if 
they  ^should  increase  their  nation  to  its  ancient  stao  and  num- 
bers."  He  apologised  to  the  dusky  sisterhood  by  saying  that  he 
"was  advanced  in  years,  unaccustomed  to  address  their  sex  in  pub- 
lic ;"  and  therefore  they  "  must  excuse  the  imperfections  of  his 
speech." 

Other  speeches,  and  days  of  negotiation  followed.  On  the  25th 
of  February,  all  the  preliminaries  being  settled,  the  Cayugas  ceded 
to  the  state  all  of  their  lands,  excepting  a  large  reservation  of  100 
square  miles.  The  consideration  was  8500  in  hand,  .$1,G38  in  June 
following,  and  an  annuity  of  8500  for  ever. 

In  a  congratulatory  address,  after  the  treaty  was  concluded.  Gov. 
Clinton  recapitulated  all  of  its  terms,  and  observed  :  —  "Brothers 
and  sisters !  when  you  reflect  that  you  hod  parted  with  the  whole  of 
your  country,  (in  allusion  to  the  long  lease,)  without  reservin<-  a 
spot  to  lay  down,  or  kindle  a  fire  on  ;  and  that  you  had  disposed^'of 
your  lands  to  people  whom  you  had  no  means  to  compel  to  pay 
what  they  had  promised,  you  will  be  persuaded  that  vour  brothers 
and  sisters  whom  you  have  Mt  at  home,  and  your  and^their  children 
will  have  reason  to  rejoice  at  the  covenant  you  have  now  made' 
which  not  only  saves  you  from  impending  ruin,  but  restores  you  to 
peace  and  security." 

The  three  treaties,  that  had  thus  been  concluded,  had  made  the 
state  the  owners  of  the  soil  of  the  Military  Tract,  or  the  principal 
amount  of  territory  now  included  in  the  counties  of  Cayuga,  Onon- 
daga, Seneca,  Tompkins,  Cortland,  and  parts  of  Osw.-o  ant?  Wayne 
Other  cessions  followed  until  the  large  reservations  were  either 
ceded  entirely  away,  or  reduced  to  their  present  narrow  limits. 

The  deed  of  cession  of  the  Cayugas  stipulated  that  the  state 
should  convey  to  their  "  adopte.i  child,"  Peter  Rvckman,  "  whom 
they   desire  shall  reside  near   them  and  assist  them,"  a  tract  on  the 


iin;iti.r,.,n..M(  tl,..  ,v,t,„,f  „..,.,  : i  ,  '..■?",  *^"S  '.'!   *-"  "^^'''    J?.V  wnlc,  or  some  jilier 


..wiuTslup,  as  i,  was  art.r  v   '    ■  4'^vn  ,'  ,\l  "i  '  l"'"-^'',"l'f'""   I'ne.  but   their 

.^u.UL-  promises  on  tlie  nart   of  Hv,:!.-,..:,  '^'^^        ""^  Vr.ArMy  had  rctcrouoc  U< 


Bumu  promises  on  tlie  part   <>f  iiyckmau. 


t 


¥ 


120 


PIIELPS   AND    GORIIAM's   PUECIIASE. 


west  side  of  Seneca  Lake,  which  should  contain  sixteen  thousand 
acres,  the  location  being  designated. 

Soon  after  the  treaty  of  Albany,  the  superintendency  of  Indian 
affairs  principally  devolved  upon  John  Taylor,  as  the  agent  of  the 
board  of  commissioners.     Although  the  treaty  had  seemed   amica- 
ble and  satisfactory,  a  pretty  strong  faction  of  all  three  of  the  na- 
tions treated  with,  had  kept  back,  and  became  instruments  for  the 
use  of  designing  whites.     Although   the   Lessees  had  surrendered 
heir  leases    they  did   not  cease,  tiirough  their  agents  and   Indian 
traders  in  their  interest  to  make  trouble,  by  creating  dissatisfaction 
among  tlie  Indians ;  probably,  with  the  hopes  of  coercing  the  State 
to  grant  them  remuneration.     Neither  Brant,  Red  Jacket,  Farmer's 
Brother,  and  in  fact  but  fe^y  of  the  influential  chiefs  had  attended 
the    reaties.     Hnn-assed  for  a  long  period,  a  bone  of  contention, 
first  between  the  French  and  the  English,  then  between  the   Enc- 
ish  and  colonists  of  New  York  during  the  Revolution,  and  lastl^, 
between  the  State  of  New  York  and  the  Lessees,  the  Six  Nations 
had  become  cut  up  into  contending  factions,   and  their  old   land 
marks  of  government  and  laws,   the  ancient  well  defined  immuni- 
ties of  then-  chiefs,  obliterated.     Dissatisfaction,  following  the  trea- 
ties,  found  ready  and  willing  promoters  in  the  persons  of  the  cov- 
ment  ofhcers  of  Canada,  and  the  loyalists  who  had   sought  reflige 
there,  dunng  the  border  wars  of  the  Revolution.     When  the  first  at 
tempt  was  made  to  survey  the  lands,  a  message  was  received  by  Gov 
Clinton,  from  some  of  the  malcontents,  threatening  resistance  but 
an  answer  Irom  the  Governor,  stating  the  consequence  of  such  re- 
sistance,  intimidated  them.     At  an  Indian  council  at  Niagara.  Col 
Butler  said  the  Oneidas  were  "a  poor  despicable  set  of  Indians, 
who  had  sold  all  their  country  to  the  Governor  of  New  York,  and 
had  dealt  tre'ticherously  with  their  old  friends." 

When  the  period  approached  for  paying  the  first  annuitv,  the 
Onondagas  through  an  agent,  represented  to  Gov.  Clinton;  that 
hey  had  '•  received  four  strings  of  wampum  from  the  Senecas,  for- 
biddmg  their  going  to  Fort  Stanwix  to  receive  the  money ;  an<l  in- 
forming  them  that  the  Governor  of  Quebec,  wanted  their  lands  • 
Sir  John,  (.Johnson,  it  is  presumed,)  wanted  it ;  Col.  Butler  wants' 
the  Cayuga  s  lands  ;  and  the  commanding  officer  of  Fort  Niagara 
wants  the  Seneca's  lands."  The  agent  in  behalf  of  the  Govei^or 
admonished  them  to  "keep  their  minds  in  peace."  assured  them  of 


inj 


riiELPs  AXD  gorham's  pueciiase. 


121 


tliousand 

of  Indian 
;ent  of  the 
ed  'imica- 
of  the  Ha- 
lts for  the 
arrendered 
nd  Indian 
latisfaction 
;  the  State 
,  Farmer's 
1  attended 
!ontention, 
the  Eng. 
and  lastly, 
s  Nations 

old  land 
1  immuni- 
l  the  trea- 

the  p,ov- 
^ht  refuge 
le  first  at- 
d  by  Gov. 
:ance,  but 
r  such  re- 
gara,  Col. 
f  Indians, 
Yovk,  and 

luity,  the 
ton,  that 
ecas,  for- 
;  and  in- 
sir  lands ; 
31'  wants 
Niagara 
!overnor, 
them  of 


the  Governor's  protection;    and   told  them  the   Lessees  were   the 
cause  of  all  their  trouble. 

The  Cayugas  sent  a  message  to  the  Governor,  informing  him 
that  they  were  "  threatened  with  destruction,  even  with  total  exter- 
mniation.     The  voice  comes  from  the  west ;  its  sound  is   terrible ; 
it  bespeaks  our  death.     Our  brothers  the  Cayugas,  and  Onondagas 
are  to  share  the  same  fate."     They  stated   that  the  cause  of  com- 
plaint was  that  they  had   "  sold  their  lands  without  consulting  the 
western  tribes.     This  has  awakened  up  their  resentment  to  such  a 
degree,  that  they  determined  in  full  council,  at  Buffalo  creek,   that 
we  shall  be  deprived  of  our  respective  reserves,  with  our  lives  in 
the  bargain.     This  determination  of  the  western  tribes,  our  Gov- 
ernor may  depend  upon.     It  has  been  communicated  to  the  super- 
intendent of  Indian  aOliirs  at  Quebec,  who  as  we  are  told,  makes  no 
objections  to  their  wicked  intentions,  hut  rather  countenances  them." 
They  appealed  to  the  Governor  to  fulfill  his  promises  of  protection. 
Replies  were   made,  in  which  the  Indians  were  told  they  should 
be  protected.     As  one  source  of  complaint  was,  that  some  Cayugas 
who  resided  at  Bufialo  creek,  had  not  been   paid  their  share  of  The 
purchase  money.     The  Governor  advised  that   they  should  make  a 
iau-  distribution ;  and   warned   them  against  the  Lessees,  and  all 
other  malign  influences. 

Among  the  mischief  makers,  was  a  Mr.  Peter  Penet,  a  shrewd, 
artful  Frenchman,  who  had  been  established  among  the  Oneidas 
as  a  trader ;  and  whom  Gov.  Clinton  had  at  first  favored  and  em- 
ployed  in  Indian  negotiations.  But  ingratiating  himself  in  the  good 
will  of  the  natives,  he  became  ambif'ous,  represented  himself  as 
the  ambassador  of  France,  as  the  iriend  of  La  Fayette,  charged  by 
liim  with  looking  to  the  interest  of  the  Indians  ;  and  finally,  got  the 


^OTK.— Iho  pnrt  tlint  tlio  S<>n(>rns  m>ro  jicrsuadcd  to  tnko  in  promotinrf  thrso  om- 
luiTjwsnu.nts  wii.  o.l,.,nni,'ly  inconsiHtciit.  'I'liuy  1,;;  I  sold  a  part  of  thfir  lands  to  Mr 
J  lK'Ii)s  tlic  lidl  bctorc,  without  oon8idtin;,'otluT nations,  to  sav  nothini,'  of  their  havin-r 
ronswiti'd  to  tho  "loase"  which  was  afar  worso  harsrain  than  thoso  nia<lo  hy  tlic 
^^tato  Jiut  tlio  mam  wonioters  of  tho  tronblus,  wore  tho  Lossets  and  the  British 
ai,'onts  ;  tlic  latter  ot  whom,  wore  sourod  by  tho  result  of  Iho  Uevolulion,  and  were  vet 
looknii,'  torw.an  to  ISntish  re-possession  of  all  Westei'n,  and  a  part  of  Middle  New 
\ork.  Ill  all  this  matter  Ihoeomluet  of  Brant,  did  not  eorrespon-l  with  his  Pvneral 
reputation  tor  fairness  ami  honesty.  He  helped  t..  fan  tho  flames  of  discontent  while 
nt  the  same  time  ho  was  almost  upon  )iis  own  hooks,  tryinj,'  to  sell  to  th(^  Stnto  the 
remnant  of  the  Mohawk's  lands.  Interferiiifr  between'  the  Sl^ato  and  the  Indiana 
ho  ijot  some  dissatisfied  chiefs  to  join  him  m  an  insolent  letter  to  the  Governor' 
which  was  replied  U<  wiiha  wiod  deal  of  severity  of  laii''iia!'o. 
8  ^  a    o 


Mil 


•' '  IJi 


\ 


h    I 


122 


PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAll's   PUECHASE. 


promises  of  large  land  cessions.     Thwarted  mainly  in  his  designs, 
he  became  mischievous,  and  caused  much  trouble.  ' 

A  mere  skeleton  has   thus  been  given  of  the   events  connected 
with  the  extinguishment  of  Indian  titles,  and  the  measures  prelimi- 
nary to  the  advancement  of  settlement  westward,  after  the  Revo- 
lution.    It  was  only  after  a  hard  struggle,  much  of  perplexity  and 
embarrassment,  that  the  object  was  accomplished.     For  the  honor 
of  our  whole  country,  it  could  be   wished,  that  all  Indian  negotia- 
tions and  treaties,  had  been  attended  with  as  little  of  wrong,  had 
been   conducted  as  fairly  as  were  those   under  the  auspices  and 
general  direction  of  George  Clinton.     No  where   has  the  veteran 
warrior  and  statesman,   left  better  proof  of  his  sterling  integrity 
and  ability,  than  is  furnished  by  the  records  of  those  treaties.     In 
no  case  did  he  allow  the  Indians  to  be  deceived,  but  stated  to  them 
from  time  to  time,  with  unwearied  patience,  the  true  conditions  of 
the  bargains  they  were  consummating.     The  policy  he  aimed  at  was 
to  open  all  of  the  beautiful  domain  of  western  New  York,  for  sale 
and  settlement  —  to  prepare  the  way  for  inevitable  destiny  — and 
at  the  same  time  secure  the  Indians  in  their  possessions ;  give  them 
liberal  reservations;  and  extend  over  them  as  a  protection,   the 
strong  arms  of  the  State. 

The  treaties  for  lands,  found  the  Six  Nations  in  a  miserable  con- 
dition. They  had  warred  on  -the  side  of  a  losing  party,  for  long 
years,  the  field  and  the  chase  had  been  neglected  ;  they  were  suffer^ 
ing  for  food  and  raiment.  Half  famished,  they  flocked  to  the 
treaties,  and  were  fed  and  clothed.  One  item  of  expense  charged 
in  the  accounts  of  the  tr.aty  at  Albany  in  1789,  was  for  horses  p'^aid 
for,  that  the  Indians  had  killed  and  eaten,  on  their  way  down.  For 
several  years,  in  addition  to  the  amount  of  provisions  distributed  to 
them  at  the  treaties,  boat  loads  of  corn  were  distributed  amoncr  them 
by  the  Stale.*  ° 

In  tracing  the  f)rogress  of  settlement  westward,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  give  a  brief  account  of  the  disposition  the  State  made  of  lands 
acquired  of  the  Six  Nations,  bordering  upon  the  Genesee  Country. 
They  constituted  what  is  known  as  the  Military  Tract.     To  protect 


Ihe  yoars  1789,  '90,  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  period  of  m-eat  srarcitv  Tlie 
U'cord  of  lepslatiou  shows  that  large  anioimts  of  provisions  were  paid  for  "by  the 
hUite,  avid  distributed,  not  only  among  the  Indians,  but  among  the  white  inhabitant* 


(. 


is  designs, 

connected 
3  prelimi- 
he  Revo- 
2xity  and 
the  honor 

negotia- 
'ong,  had 
^ices  and 
!  veteran 

integrity 
aties.  In 
i  to  them 
iitions  of 
cd  at  was 
i,  for  sale 
ly  —  and 
five  them 
tion,   the 

able  con- 
,  for  long 
re  suffer- 
d  to  the 
charged 
>rses  paid 
vn.  For 
ibuted  to 
»ng  them 

e  ncccs- 

of  lands 

[Country. 

)  protect 


•ity.  Tlie 
for  by  tlie 
iiLabitaiiUs 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's  PUECIIASE.  123 

the  frontiers  of  this  State  from  the  incursions  of  the  British  and  their 
Indian  allies,  the  State  of  New  York,  thrown  upon  its  own  resour- 
ces, in  1779  and  'fcO,  enlisted  two  regiments  to  serve  three  years, 
unless  sooner  discharged.     They  were  to  be  paid  and  clothed  at 
the  expense  of  the  United  States  ;  but  the  Statt  pledged  to  them  a 
liberal  bounty  in  land.     To  redeem  this  pledge,  as  soon  as  Indian 
titles  were  extinguished,  the   surveyor  General  was  instructed  to 
survey  these   bounty  lands  and   prepare  them  for  the  location  of 
warrants.     The  survey  was  completed  in  1790.     It  embraced  about 
two  million  eight  hundred  thousand  acres,  in  six  hundred  acre  lots. 
The  tract  comprised  all  the  territory  within  the  present  boundaries 
of  Onondaga,  Cayuga,  Seneca  and  Cortland,  and  a  part  of  Oswego, 
Wayne  and  Tompkins.     A  large  district  of  country  adjoining  on 
the  east,  was  thus  put  in  the  way  of  being  settled,  about  the   same 
period  that  sales  and  settlement  commenced  west  of  the  pre-emp- 
tion line,  though  it  did  not  progress  as  rapidly.     Land  titles  wore  in 
dispute,  and  emigrants  chose  to  push  on  farther,  where  titles  were 
indisputable.     Speculation   and  fraud  commenced  as  soon  as   the 
patents  were  issued,  a  majority  of  those  who  it  was  intended   the 
bounty  of  the  State  should  benefit,  sold  their  right  for  a  trifle,*  and 
some  were  defrauded  out  of  the   whole.     By  the  f.me  that  settle- 
ment commenced,  there  were  few  lots,  the  title  to  which,   was  not 
contested.     In  addition  to  other  questions  of  title,  the  officers'  and 
soldiers'  wives,  held  in  a  large  majority  of  cases,  the  right  of  dower. 
Land  titles  upon  the  whole  military  tract,  were  not  finally  settled 
until  about  1800,  when  a  committee  appointed  by  the   Legislature, 
one  of  whom  was  the  late  Gen.  Vincent  Matthews,  accomplished 
the  work. 

In  1784,  Hugh  White  and  his  family  progressed  beyond  the  set- 
tlements on  the  Mohawk,  and  located  at  what  is  now  Whitestown. 
In  the  same  year,  James  Dean  located  upon  a  tract  given  him  by 
the  Indians,  in  consequence  of  some  services  rendered  them  as  an 
interpreter,  near  the  present  village  of  Pome.     In  1787,  Joseph 


NoTE.--TnaIutto-frornMr.  Moriss  to  Mr,  Col-iuhoim.  dated  in  Juno  1791,  he  .avs 

^.R  1  n7    '*'"^"'?;l\*'''^f  'i'^'f"'''  "'■  "^1^''  J''"J  "^  *»"•  ""lit'^ry  tract  ha  1  ri  Jn 

YorS   ,f  -^-    '   n.  "'"*  "  ■'''''  "^"^"P"'  ^■'"^•''  '"^ »""!  '^""S''t  of  the  State  of  New 

lork  ,n    <86  in  Otsego  county,  which  by  a  fortunate  use  of  some  public  so  uritiel 

cost  him  but  6d  per  acre,  had  rinen  U,  10s  per  acre,  New  York  currency.  "''' 

*  "Many  patents  for  GOO  ficrcs  woresohl  it  nricda  in  crvr.  ;.>=(„., .»       i  •  i 

dolIara-L  Juude,  an  English  JounS        ^  '  ""'^^"''^  "^  *°^  "^  "'^ht 


JKk, 


124 


PHELPS  AI05   GORIUM's  PUECHASE. 


I   . 


\AV 


■s    i 


Blackmer,  who  was  afterwards  a  pioneer  in  Wheatland,  Monroe 
count)',  advanced  and  settled  a  short  distance  west  of  Judge  Dean. 
In  May,  1788,  Asa  Danforth,  with  his   family,  accompanied   by 
Comfort  Tyler,  progressed  far  on  beyond  the  bounds  of  civilization, 
locating  at  Onondaga  Hollow.     There  being  then  no  road,  they 
came  by  water,  landing  at  the  mouth  uf  Onondaga  Creek.     The 
very  earliest  pioneers  of   all  this  region,  speak  of  "  Major  Dan- 
forth "  and  the  comforts  of  his  log  tavern,  as  compared  with  their 
camps  in  the  wilderness.     Another  name  has  been  introduced,  that 
should  not  be  passed  over  by  the  mere  mention  of  it.     Comfort 
Tyler  was  conspicuously  identified  in  all  early  years  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  western  portion  of  this  State.     He  was  teaching  a 
school  upon  the  Mohawk  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  and  also 
engaged  in  the  business  of  a  surveyor.     He  was  with  Gen.  James 
Clinton,  in  the  establishment  of  the  boundary  line  between  this 
State  and  Pennsylvania.    He  felled  the  first  tree,  (with  reference  to 
improvement,)  assisted  in  the  manufacture  of  the  first  salt,  *  (other 
than  Indian  manufacture,)  and  built  the  first  turnpike  in  Onondaga 
county.     He  also  constructed  the  first  "  stump  mortar,"  or  hand- 
mill,  of  which  the  reader  will  be  told  more  in  the  course  of  our  nar- 
rative.    He  filled  many  important  offices  in  Onondaga  county,  and 
was  one  of  the  original  projectors  of  the  Cayuga  bridge.     He  was 
the  friend  of  the  early  pioneers ;   and  many  in  all  this  region,  will 
remember  his  good  offices.     The  Indians,  who  were  his  first  neigh- 
bors, respected  him,  and  his  memory  is  now  held  in  reverence  by 
their  descendents.     His  Indian  name  was  •'  To-whan-ta-gua "  — 
meaning  that  he  could  do  two  things  at  once ;  or  be,  at  the  same 
time,  a  gentleman  and  a  laboring  man.     While  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  in  1799,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Aaron  Burr.     A 
charter  having  been  procured  for  building  the  bridge.  Col.  Rurr  and 
Gen.  Swartout  subscribed  for  the  whole  of  the  stock  ;  and  at  that 
time.  Col.  Burr  had  other   business   connections   in  this 


region. 


ea 


for  new  sot'ilcrs  in 
says,  that  ".sixtooii 


rylcv  ami  Daiifoilli,  l,„th  eiignj:',  i  in  making  a  little  wilt 
early  vearB.  A  letter  puhlished  in  a  J'hl.-i.lelijhia  iianer,  in  17[)3, 
bushels  ol  salt  are  in:inufiieture,l  .lailv  at  'A>1,  Dani'erth'.s  works."  It  i.^  n.ention«rin 
the  history  ot  Onondaga,  tliat  Col.  Daniortli  commenced  the  business  of  salt  boilina 
by  caiTymg  a  five  pail  inm  kettle  IVoni  Ononda-a  Hollow  lo  the  Salt  Sprin-s  iipoiihis 
lieaci  J.est  this  sliould  be  looked  upon  as  incredible  by  (he  younger  class  of  read- 
ers, .lie  tact  inay  be  mentioned,  that  it  was  a  very  comnuni  practice  of  the  pioneers  to 
carry  tluur  live  puil  kettles  into  the  wood.s  for  sugar-mukiug  iu  thia  way. 


P 


PIIELrS  AND  GOr.irAll's  PUECnASE. 


125 


"  Thus  commenced  the  intercourse  of  Aaron  Burr  with  the  people 
of  Wes  .ern  New  York,  many  of  whom,"  with  Col.  Tyler,  "were 
drawn  into  the  great  south-west  expedition."  Col.  Tyler  and  Israel 
Smith  were  commissaries  of  the  expedition ;  went  upon  the  Ohio 
river,  purchased  provisions,  and  shipped  them  to  Natches.  Coh 
Tyler  was  arrested  and  indicted,  but  never  tried.  With  fortune 
impaired  by  all  this,  in  a  few  years  after,  Col.  Tyler  removed  to 
Montezuma,  and  became  identified  in  all  early  enterprises  and  im- 
provement at  that  point.  In  the  war  of  1812,  he  acted  as  Assistant 
Commissary  General  to  the  northern  army.  He  was  an  early 
promoter  of  the  canal  policy,  and  his  memory  should  be  closely 
associated  with  all  that  relates  to  the  early  history  of  the  Erie 
Canal.     He  died  at  Montezuma,  in  1827, 

There  followed  Danforth  and  Tyler,  in  the  progress  of  settle- 
ment westward,  John  L.  Hardenburgh,  whose  location  was  called, 
in  early  years,  « Ilardenburgh's  Corners,"  now  the  city  of  Auburn! 
In  1789,  James  Bennett  and  John  Harris,  settled  on  either  side  of 
Cayuga  Lake,  and  established  a  ferry.  This  was  about  the  extent 
of  settlement  west  of  the  lower  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  when  set- 
tlements in  the  Genesee  country  began  to  be  founded.  *  The  ven- 
erable Joshua  Fairbanks,  of  Lewiston,  who  with  his  then  young 
wife,  (who  is  also  living,)  came  through  from  Albany  to  Geneva  in 
the  winter  of  1789,  '90;  were  sheltered  the  first  night  in  the  "un- 
finished log  house"  of  Joseph  Blackmer,  who  had  become  a 
neighbor  of  Judge  Dean ;   and  the  next  night  at  Col.  Danforth's  ; 


Note. --For  tlio  pnur-piil  farts  in  the  above  brief  notice  of  one  whose  history 
would. iiake  a.1  inteivstin-  volume,  tlie  author  is  indebted  to  tlie  "History  of  Onon- 
aagii.  1  le  counection,  in  ail  this  reirjon,  of  prominent  individuals  with  Col.  Buit 
m  liiYouth-western  .sdieme,  was  tar  more  extensive  than  hius  ^a'nerallybeeu  supposed! 
It  en.braced  names  here    the  mention  of  whieh  would -„  far  to  favor  the  c<,nclusion 

W  p  1  i'""  '""' ''^^';^  "■'"''V''",^"^"'''"  '"'''"  Pro'l'^'i'ig,  that  the  scheme,  as  imparted 
by  Col  I.urrtohis  followers,  had  nothinjr  in  it  of  domestic  treason.  There  wire  no 
better  Inends  to  their  country,  or  more  ardent  devotees  to  its  interests,  than  were  many 
inen  ot  western  ^  cw  \  ork,  wlu.  were  enlisted  in  tliis  scheme.  In  after  years,  when 
u.  finnhar  cnnveivation  with  an  informant  of  the  author,  (n  resident  of  western 
iNew  loik,)  Ool.  ,urr  fipoke  even  with  enthusiasm  of  his  associates  here  — namino- 
them,  and  saym-  that  anionjj;  tlicm,  were  men  whom  he  would  choose  to  lead  armies'! 
o len-a-i.  ni  any  u-h  achievement  that  rcpiired  talents  and  ener-y  of  cliaracter.  At 
tliciiskot  e.Mendni-  this  note  to  an  unreasonable  len-th,  the  author  will  add  tho 

^?r!^  1  ri!'""V/f""'"-'  ''f'  *''"^^'"-'  "'^'I'«andchart,s,  by  which  the  British  fleet 
api..oached^ew  Orleans  m  the  war  of  181:2,  were  those  jirepared  in  w.-stern  New 
ioif-.  I>y  a  then  resident  here,  tor  the  south-western  expedition  of  Col.  liurr.  The 
cucumstance  was  accidental;  the  facts  in  uo  way  implicating  the  author  or  maker  of 
the  maps. 

*  Other  than  the  settlement  of  Jerusalem. 


12G 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAm's   PURCHASE. 


>h 


ill' 


there  being  no  intermediate  settler.  They  camped  out  the  third 
night ;  and  the  fourth,  staid  with  John  Harris  on  the  Cayuga  Lake 
The  parents  of  Gen.  Parkhurst  Whitney,  of  Niagara  Falls,  came 
through  to  Seneca  Lake,  in  February,  1790,  "  camping  out ''  three 
nights  west  of  Rome.  It  is  mentioned,  in  connection  with  some 
account  of  the  early  advent  of  Major  Danforth,  in  May,  1788,  that 
his  wife  saw  no  white  woman  in  the  first  eight  months!  These  in- 
cidents  are  cited,  to  remind  tne  younger  class  of  readers  that  the 
pioneers  of  this  region  not  only  came  to  a  wilderness,  but  had  a 
long  and  dreary  one  to  pass  through  before  arriving  at  their  desti- 
nation. 

I     The  first  name  we  find  for  all  New  York  west  of  Albany    was 
that  bestowed  by  the  Dutch  in  1638 :  —  "  Terra  Incognita,"  or  "  un- 
known land."     It  was  next  Albany  county  ;  in  1772  Tryon  county 
(named  from  the  then  English  Governor,)  was  set  off,  embracing  all 
of  the  territory  in  this  state  west  of  a  line  drawn  north  and   south 
that  would  pass  through   the  centre  of  Schoharie  county.     Imme- 
diately after  the  Revolution  the  name  was  changed  to  Montgomery. 
All  this  region  was  in  Montgomery  county  when  settlement  com- 
menced.    In  1788,  all  the   region  west  of  Utica  was  the  town   of 
Whitestown.     The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  "barn  of 
Captain  Daniel  White,  iu  said  District,  in  April,  1789 ;  Jedediah  San- 
ger, was  elected  Supervisor.     At  the  third  town  meeting,  in  1791, 
Trueworthy   Cook,   of  Pompey,   and   Jeremiah   Gould   of  Salina,' 
Onondaga  county,  and  James  Wadsworth  of  Geneseo,  were  chosen 
path  masters.     Accordingly,  it  may  be  noted  that  Mr.   Wadsworth 
was  the  first  path  master  west  of  Cayuga  Lake.     It  could  have  been 
httle  more  than  the  supervision  of  Indian  trails  ;  but  the  "warning" 
must  have  been  an  onerous  task.     Mr.  Wadsworth   had  the   year 
previous,  done  something  at  road  making,  which  probably  suggested 
the  idea  Jiat  he  would  make  a  good  path   master.*     At   the   first 
general  election  for  Whitestown,  the  polls  were  opened   at  Cayu<Ta 
Ferry,  adjourned  to  Onondaga,  and  closed  at  Whitestown.     Herki- 
mer county  was  taken  from  Montgomery  in  1791,  and  included  all 
wcsu  of  the  present  county  of  Montgomery. 


The  first  road  attempted  to  be  made  in  tliis  country,  was  in  1790,  under  the  di- 
rection of  tl>e  \VadHWorth8.  from  the  setthnumt  at  VVhitestown  to  Canaidai-la 
through  a  country  Uien  very  Uttle  explored,  and  then  quite  a  wiJderness  ''-So-v 


PHELP3  AND  GORIIAM  S  PURCHASE. 


127 


CHAPTER  III 


THE     GKNESEE     COUNTRY    AT    THE    PERIOD     WHEN    SETTLEMENT     COM- 
MENCED   ITS  POSITION  IN  REFERENCE  TO  CONTIGUOUb  TE'ttRITORY 

CONDITION  OF  THE  COUNTRY  GENERALLY  AFTER  THE    REVOLUTION. 


At  Geneva,  (then  called  Kanadesaga)  there  was  a  cluster  of 
buildings,  occupied  by  Indian  traders,  and  a  few  settlers  who  had 
come  in  under  the  auspices  of  the  Lessee  Company.  Jemima 
Wilkinson,  with  her  small  colony,  was  upon  her  first  location  upon 
the  west  bank  of  Seneca  Lake,  upon  the  Indian  Trail  through  the 
valley  of  the  Susquehannah,  and  across  Western  New  York  to 
Upper  Canada  ;  the  primitive  highway  of  all  this  region  ;  one  or  two 
white  families  had  settled  at  Catherine's  Town,  at  the  head  of  Sen- 
eca Lake,  A  wide  region  of  wilderness,  separated  the  most  north- 
ern and  western  settlements  of  Pennsylvania  from  all  this  region. 
All  that  portion  of  Ohio  bordering  upon  the  Lake,  had,  of  our  race, 
but  the  small  trading  establishment  at  Sandusky,  and  the  military 
and  trading  posts  upon  the  Maumee.  Michigan  was  a  wilderness, 
save  the  French  village  and  the  British  garrison  at  Detroit,  and  a 
few  French  settlers  upon  the  Detroit  River  and  the  River  Raisin. 
In  fact,  all  that  is  now  included  in  the  geographical  designation  — 
the  Great  West  —  was  Indian  territory,  and  had  but  Indian  occu- 
pancy, witii  similar  exceptions,  to  those  made  in  reference  to  Mich- 
igan. In  what  is  now  known  as  Canada  West,  there  had  been  the 
British  occupancy,  of  a  post  opposite  Buffalo,  early  known  as  Fort 
Erie,  and  a  trading  station  at  Niagara,  since  the  expulsion  of  the 
French,  in  1759.  Settlement,  in  its  proper  sense,  had  its  commence- 
ment in  Canada  West  during  the  Revolution  ;  was  the  offspring  of 
one  of  its  emergencies.  Those  in  the  then  colonies  who  adhered  to 
tiie  King,  ffed  there  for  refuge :  for  the  protection  oflered  bv  British 
dominion  and  armed  occupancy.     The  termination  of  the  strugglei 


128 


riIELP3  AND  GORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


;lll 


i.    !», 


f  f 


V  i 

If'*  5 1' 


in  favor  of  the  colonies,  and  the  encourngoinent  afibrdcd  by  the 
colonial  authorities,  gave  an  impetus  to  this  emigration  ;  yet  at  the 
period  of  the  first  commencement  of  settlement  in  Western  New 
York,  settlement  in  Canada  West  was  confined  to  Kingston  and  its 
^neighborhood,  Niagara,  Queenston,  Chippewa,  along  the"hanks  of  the 
Niagara  Iliver,  with  a  few  small  settlements  in  the  immediate  inte- 
nor.  Upon  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  there  were  a  kw  British 
armed  vessels,  and  three  or  four  schooners  were  emploved  in  the 
commerce,  which  was  confined  wholly  to  the  fur  trade,  and  the 
supplyn-,g  of  British  garrisons. 

Within  the  Genesee  country,  other  than  the  small  settlement  at 
Geneva,  and  the  Friend's  settlement,  which  has  been  before  men- 
tioned, there  were  two  or  three  Indian  traders  upon  the  Genesee 
River,  a  few  white  families  who  were  squatters,  upon  the  flats ;  one 
or  two  white  families  at  Lewiston;  one  at  Schlosser ;  ane<n'o,with 
a  squaw  wife,  at  Tonawanda  ;  an  Indian  interpreter,  and  two  or 
three  tra.lers  at  the  mouth  of  Bufililo  creek,  and  a  negro  Indian 
trader  at  the  mouth  of  Cattaragus  creek.  Fort  Niagara  was  a 
British  garrison.     All  else  was  Seneca  Indian  occupancy. 

In  all  that  relates  to  other  than  the  natural  productions  of  the 
soil,  there  was  but  the  cultivation,  in  a  rude  way,  of  a  few  acros  of 
flats,  and  intervals,  on  the  river  and  creeks,  wherever  the  Indians 
were  loca'.ed ;  the  productions  principallv  confined  to  corn,  beans 
and  squashes.  In  the  way  of  cultivated  fruit,  there  was  in  several 
localities,  a  few  apple  trees,  the  seeds  of  which  had  been  planted 
by  the  Jesuit  Missionaries ;  and  they  vere  almost  the  only  relic 
lelt  of  their  early,  and  long  continued  occupancy.  At  Fort  Niag- 
ara and  Schlosser,  there  were  ordinary  English  gardens. 

The  streams  upon  an  average,  were  twice  as  large  as  now ;  the 
clearing  of  the  land,  and  consequent  absorption  of  the  water,  having 
diminished  one  half,  and  perhaps  more,  the  quantity  of  water  then 
carried  off  through  their  channels.  The  primitive  forests  — other 
than  those  that  were  deemed  of  second  growth —  that  are  standing 
now,  have  undergone  but  little  change,  that  of  ordinary  deca>" 
growth,  and  re-production,  but  there  are  large  groves  of  secund 
growth,  now  consisting  of  good  sized  forest  trees,  that  were  sixty 
years  ago  but  small  saplings.  The  aged  Senecas  point  out  in  many 
instances,  swamps  that  are  now  thickly  wooded,  that  they  have 
known  as  open  marshes,  with  but  here  and  there  a  copse  of  under- 


PIIEirS  AND  GORHA^^l's   PURCHASE. 


129 


wood.  The  origin  of  many  marshes,  especially  upon  the  small 
streams,  maybe  distinctly  traced  to  the  beaver;  th.^  erection  of 
their  dams,  and  the  consequent  Hooding  of  the  lands,  having  des- 
troyed the  timber.  As  the  l)eaver  gradually  disappeared,  the  dams 
wore  away,  the  water  flowed  oiT,  and  forest  trees  began  to  grow. 

And  here  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  remark,  that  a  very  com- 
mon error  exists   in  reference  to  the  adaptodness  of  certain   kinds 
of  forest  trees  to  a  wet  soil.     We  find  the  soft  maple,  black  ash,  a 
species  of  ehn,  the  fir,  the  spruce,  the  tamarack,   the  alder,  and 
several  other  varieties  of  trees  and  shrubs  <Trowing  in  wet  soils, 
and  then  draw  the  inference   that  wet  soils  are  their  natural  local- 
ities.    Should  we  not  rather  infer,  that  all  this  is   accidental,  or 
rather,  to  be  traced  to  other  causes,  than  that  of  peculiar  adaptation  ? 
Take  the  case  of  land  that  has  been  flooded  by  the  beaver  :  —  the 
water  has  receded,  and  the  open  ground  is  prepared  for  the  recep- 
tion of  such  seeds  as  the   wands,  the  floods,  the   birds  and   fowls, 
bring  to  it.     It  will  be  found  that  the  seeds  of  those  trees   which 
predominate  in  the  swamps,  are  those  best  adapted  to  the  modes  of 
transmission.     The  practical  bearing   of  these  remarks,   has  refer- 
ence to  the  transplanting  of  trees   from  wet  grounds.     Wherever 
the  ash,  the  fir,  spruce,  tamarack,  high  bush  cranberry,  soft  maple, 
&c.  have  been  transplanted  upon  up  lands,  and  properly  cared  for, 
they  furnish  evidence  that  it  was  a  casualty,  not  a  peculiar  adapta- 
tion, that  placed  them  where  found,  generally  stinted  and  unhealthy. 
But  little  was  known  in  the  colonies   of  New  York,  and  New 
England  of  Western  New  York,  previous  to  the  Revolution.    During 
the  twenty-four  years  it  had  been  in  the  possession  of  the  English, 
there  had  been  a  communication  kept   up  by  water,   via  Oswego 
and  Niagara,  to  the  western  posts  ;  and  a  few  traders  from  the  east 
visited  the  Scnecas.     The  expeditions  of  Prideux   and  Bradstreet 
were  composed  partly  of  citizens  of  New  England  and  New  York, 
but  they  saw  nothing  of  the  interior  of  all  this  region.     A  few 
years  previous  to  the  Revolution,  in   17G5,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Kirk- 
land,  whose  name  will  appear  in  connexion  with  Indian  treaties,  in 
subsequent  pages,   extended  his    missionary  labors  to   the    Indian 
village  of   Kanadesaga,  where   he  sojourned  for  several  months, 
making  excursions  to  the  Genesee  River,  Tonawanda  and  Buflalo 
Creeks,     lie  was  the  first  protestant  missionary  among  the  Senecas, 
and  with  the  exception  of  Indian  traders,  probably  gave  the  people 


130 


PTIELPS  AND  GORHAM's  PUKCIIASE. 


of  New  England,  the  first  account  of  ,he  Genesee  country  *    But 
the  campaign  of  Gen.  Sullivan,  in  1779.  more  than  all  else  perhaps 
served  to  create  an  interest  in  this  region.     The  route  of  the  army 
a  ter  entcnng  the  Genesee  country,  was  one  to  give  thorn  a  thvora- 
ble  impression  of  it.     They  saw  the  fine  region  along  the  west  shore 
ot   tt.e  feencca  Lake  ;  and  passing  through  what  arc  now  the  towns 
ot  beneca,  Phelps,  Gorham.Canandaigua,  Bristol,  Bloomneld,Rich- 
niond.  Livonia,  Conesus,  they  passed  up  an.l  down  the  flats  of  the' 
Genesee  and  the  Canasoraga.     To  eyes  that  had  rested  only  upon 
the  rugged  scenery  of  New  England,  its  mountains  and  rockv  hill 
sides  Its  sterile  soil  and  stinted  herbage,  the  march  must  have  af- 
forded a  constant  succession  of  beautiful  landscapes;  and  what  was 
ot  greater  interest  to  them,  practical  working  men  as  they  were 
was  the  nch  easily  cultivated  soil,  that  at  every  step  caused  them 
to  look  forward  to  the  period  when  they  could  make  to  it  a  second 
advent  — a   peaceful  one  — with  the  implements   of  agriculture 
rather  than  the  weapons  of  war.     Returning  to  the  firesides  of 
Easter.1  New  York,  and  New  England,  they  relieved  the  dark  pic- 
ture of  retaliatory   warfare -the   route,   the   flight,  smoulderinrr 
cabins,  pillage  and  spoliations- with  the  lighter  shades -descrip. 
tions  of  the  Lakes  and  Rivers,  the  rolling  up-lands  and  rich  valleys 
-the  Canaan   of  the  wilderness,  they  had  seen.     But  it  was  a  far 
off  land,  farther  off  than  would  seem  to  us  now,  our  remote  posses- 
sions upon  the  Pacific  ;  associated  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of 
New  England,  with  all  the   horrors  of  a  warfare  they  had  known 
upon  their  own  extreme  borders  ;  the  Revolution  was  not  consum- 


The  younfr  missionary  hrid  flrnt  seen  some  of  the  young  mm  of  the  Six  Nations 
^t  thenusMon  school  of  tlie  Rev.  Mr.  Wheeh.ck  in  Lci-num,  Connecticut  where  hey 
were  hi.s  lellow  .s  udents,  muon- whom  ^vas  Jo.s-.ph  ]!ra,.,.  Takin- a  ,1  ew  intoS 
n.  the  jspintual  welfare  of  their  people,  he  -,ot  introduce,!  t<.  then,  as     n  is   o  a rv  ,3 

he  eacla.  the  in.han  sett  en,ent  at  the  toot  of  SenJca  Lake,  or  rather  at  the  Sen'eca 
mt  1  ",''^""«,;^-^'^^  f:^'"";'  'y  tl'c  dM  .achem  of  the  village,  and  invitcl  to  re- 
inaii      hut  a,io  her   chief  ot  the  Pa-an  party  of  the   villa-e,  so  ,n  made  him   ,  ,ich 

^  '/"f  '"  u''  '^"'''",'^T''  ^''  I"''  '•>■  "^''"^i"-  ^'i"'  "*'  witchcrai't-of  lo  '  tjVe 
ca.,se  of  the  sudden  deatl;  (d  one  of  their  peoph'.  He  was  tried  and  ac,,uitle.l  t Im.u  d 

Cnur*  u/*'";^,^-'",*''^''''''*'^^''''^-  ^'"^'"'  ^-^"•'>'  ""''  grandfather  of  Mrs.' oiSe 
Wosnu  r.       Afier  this   he  wiis  uninterrupted  ;.,  ].m  inis,sionary  lal.oiu     Mr.  KirklancPs 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  5. 


rilELPS  AND   (IORIIAm's   PURCHASE. 


131 


ry.*    But 
e  perhaps, 
the  army, 
a  favora- 
vest  shore 
the  towns 
eld,  Ilicli- 
ts  ot'  tho 
inly  upon 
ocky  hill 
t  have  af- 
what  was 
ey  were, 
sod  them 
a  second 
riculture, 
)sides  of 
dark  pic- 
)uldering 
-descrip. 
1  valleys 
vas  a  far 
3  posse  s- 
jople  of 
I  known 
consum- 


s  Nations, 
hurc  they 
p  intort'st 
sioiiiiiy  of 
iiovi.sioii.s, 
k  Ijoii^hs, 
lie  iSciiocii 
tf<l  to  ru- 
liiiii  iimch 
l'i'iii|^  tJif 
1  throii^rli 
k,  by  th(* 
s.  Ocorpp 
^irklaiid'H 
jvolutioii, 


mated  ;  long  years  it  must  be,  as  they  thought,  if  ever,  before  the 
goodly  land,  of  which  they  had  thus  had  glimpses,  could  become 
the  abode  of  civilization.  The  consummation  was  not  speedy,  but  it 
come  far  sooner  than  in  that  dark  hour,  they  allowed  themselves  to 
anticipate.  In  less  than  four  years  after  Sullivan's  expedition,  the 
war  of  the  Revolution  was  ended  by  a  treaty  of  peace ;  but  almost 
ten  years  elapsed  before  tlie  conflicting  claims  of  Massachusetts 
and  New  York  were  settled,  and  Indian  titles  had  been  extinguish- 
ed, so  as  to  admit  of  the  ccmmencement  of  settlement. 

The  tide  of  emigation  to  the  Genesee  county,  was  destined  to 
come  principally  from  New  England.  A  brief  space,  therefore, 
may  be  appropriately  occupied  in  a  sketch  of  the  condition  of  the 
citizens  of  that  region,  after  the  Revolution,  in  the  vortex  of  which 
they  had  been  placed ;  aad  in  this,  the  author  has  been  assisted  by 
the  venerable  Gen.  Micah  Brooks,  whose  retentive  memory  goes 
back  to  the  period,  and  well  informs  us  in  reference  to  the  men 
wlio  were  the  foremost  Pioneers  of  the  Genesee  country.  The 
sketch  is  given  as  it  came  from  his  hands :  — 

"  It  was  my  lot  to  have  my  birth  under  the  Colonial  Government. 
In  childhood,  I  saw  our  fathers  go  to  the  field  of  battle,  and  our 
mothers  to  the  harvest  field  to  gather  the  scanty  crops.  Food  and 
clothing  for  the  army  was  but  in  part  provided ;  and  at  the  end  of 
the  war,  the  soldiers,  who  had  suflered  almost  beyond  endurance, 
were  discharged  without  pay ;  the  patriots,  who  had  supplied  food 
and  clothing  for  the  army,  had  been  paid  in  Government  paper, 
which  had  become  worthless ;  the  great  portion  of  laborers  drawn 
from  the  farms  and  the  workshops,  had  reduced  the  country  to 
poverty;  and  commerce  was  nearly  annihilated.  The  fisheries 
abandoned,  the  labor  and  capital  of  the  people  diverted  into  other 
channels,  and  the  acts  of  peace  had  not  returned  to  give  any  sur- 
plus for  exportation.  A  national  debt  justly  due,  of  8100,000,000, 
and  the  Continental  Congress  no  power  to  collect  duties  on  imports, 
or  to  compel  the  States  to  raise  their  quotas.  The  end  of  the  war 
brought  no  internal  peace.  In  1785,  Congress  attempted  to  make 
commercial  treaties  with  England,  France,  Spain  and  Portugal ; 
each  refused ;  assigning  as  a  reason,  that  under  the  Confederacy, 
Congress  had  no  power  to  bind  the  States.  Spain  closed  the  Mis- 
sissippi against  our  trade,  and  we  were  expelled  from  the  Mediter- 
ranean  by  Barbary  pirates ;  and  we  were  without  the  means  to 


:j3gtt^ 


132 


PTIELPS   AND   GOKIIAm's    PUECIIASE. 


%h  them,  or  money  to  buy  their  peace.  The  attempt  of  the 
States  to  extend  their  commerce  was  abortive  ;  salt  rose  to  .^5  and 
$8  pe  bushel ;  and  packing  meat  for  exportation  ceased.  Ma^.a- 
cmsetts  proh,bUed  the  exportation  of  American  products  in  BHtish 
bottoms;  and  some  of  the  States  imposed  a  countervailing  d  y 
wh  T  tonnage.  Pennsylvania  imposed  a  duty  on  foreign  goods 
while  New  Jersey  admitted  them  free  of  duty 

tnbuton  of  property: -those  equally  friendly  to  the  British  had 
secretly  traded  with  the  enemy,  and  supplied  them  with  fr::,;^  v  . 
sions  whde  the.r  troops  were  quartered  in  various  parts  of  the 
coun  ry;  thus  filling  their  pockets  with  British  gold.     At  the  close 

cmntrv'')'  \  "'  'T""'  of  British  goods  were  sent  into  the 
coun  p  absorhng  nnuch  of  its  precious  metals;  tcndm.  to  render 
us  stdl  dependent  on  British  favor.  While  all  those  whose  time  and 
property  had  been  devoted  to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  inde  ^d- 

^ess  and  rum  on  a  great  portion  of  our  most   worlliy  citizens 
Time  was  required  by  those  who  had  lost  their  time  and  property." 
toree,tabhsh  themselves  in  their  former  occupations;  vet.  som 
of   he  States  resorted  to  vigorous  taxation,  which  crealed  diseoT 

t  me  sir  1 /'"'"""  '^'^  '''''  ''''  general  pressure,  at  this 
time,  seemed  to  create  a  universal  attempt  of  all  ci,  ditors  to  en- 
force  in  the  coui-ts  of  law  all  their  demands  before  they  should 
be  put  at  hazard  by  the  sweeping  taxation,  which  was  e'videmly 


cominfT. 


in"-' 


''i 


It  may  be  well  to  call  to  mind  the  condition  of  the  country,  as  to 
L^  and  government.     At  the  period  of  the  Declaration  o    Inde- 

people  took  the  power  into  their  hands  to  conduct  the  afi'airs  of  the 

^  ont'tf  ^'°^    '  ?  "'"''  ^"^^''^■^  assemblies,  attempted  to  ear- 

ly out  the  recommendations  of  the  American  Congress;  and  that 

theaim^.  The  citizens  of  a  town  would  form  themselves  into 
ch  sses ;  each  class  to  lurnish  a  man,  equipped  for  service.  The  towns 
pun  si  ed  treason,  arrested  and  expelled  tories.  levied  taxes,  and 
cordiay  co-operated  in  all  tlie  leading  measures  of  that  day,  so  fur 
as  related  to  our  National  Independence. 
"In  1786,  '7,  a  boy,  I  saw  the  Revolutionary  fathers  in  their 


PIIELPS   AXD    GOI'JIAm's    PURCHASE. 


133 


priinarv 


assemblies.    The  scene  was  solemn  and  portentous !    Thcv 
toun.1  their  common  country  without  a  constitution  and  .-overn- 
ment  and  without  a  union.     The  supposed  oppressive  m.as'ures  of 
an  adjommg  State  had  so  alarmed  the  people  of  a  portion  of  it, 
hat  open  resistance  was  made  for  self-protection,  and  the  protec 
tion  ot  property      An  army,  in  resistance  to  a  proceeding  of  the 
courts  of  aw  in  Massachusetts,  had  been  raised,  and  had  taken  the 
tick  .     Coh  P.   a  man  of  gigantic  stature,  and  a  soldier  of  the  Rev- 
olution, with  his  associates  in  arms,  entered  the  court-house  at 
Northampton,  silenced  the  court;  and  in  a  voice  of  thunder,  order, 
ed  It  out,  closing  the  doors,  and  using  the  court-house  as  his  castle. 
In  the  county  of  Berkshire,  a  General,  with  three  hundred  volun- 
eers  had  talu.n  the  field,  in  open  resistance  to  State  authority  ;  and 

ZVr     f  ,  ?  "'■""'  ^^'^  ^^^"  '^''^'  ^'^^^  ^J^«  ---"tion  of 
fetate  laws  had  been  suspended.     Other  sections  of  our  countrv 

were  in  a  state  of  insurrection,  and  no  prospect  of  relief  from  any 

source  of  mediatorial  power  then  existing.     The  appalling  scenes 

that  followed,  filled  the  American  people  with  fear  and  dread.    The 

distress  that  existed,  might  be  an  apology  for  the  resistance  of  the 

laws  which  was  afterwards  regretted  by  those  who  partook  in  it,  a 

number  o    whom  I  saw  who  had  left  their  homes  Jd  wandered  as 

fugitives  to  evade  the  punishment  that  the  law  would  inflict  on 

"A  new  field  was  now  opened  to  exhibit  the  powers,  genius  and 
energies  of  the  American  people.  They  soon  .hscovered  what  was 
essentinl  to  their  security  and  prosperity;  and  in  their  deliberations, 
moved  and  adopted  an  ordinance,  or  constitution,  which  they  de- 
clared to  be  .m  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish  jus- 
tice, ensure  domestic  tranquility,  and  provide  for  the  general  de- 
fence;  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of 
liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity;'  and,  although  defects  and 

^Z  :i;r  r '"^ '''"-'  '^''''' '-'  '^  ^  '^^^  ^^-  --^^- 

At  .the  time  the  new  constitution  went  into  effect,  a  new  class 
of  laborers  appeared.  These  sturdy  boys,  who  were  taught  in 
business  labits  during  the  war,  had  grown  to  mnnhood,  and  with 
redoubled  energy,  repaired  the  depredations  which  contending 
anniesad  spread.  And  many  of  those  soldiers  who  composed' 
bulhvan  s  army,  and  wiio  had  penetrated  the  western  wilds  of  this 


i 


lU 

State,  to  chr 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAm's   PUECIIASE. 
the  savarres 


lastise  me  savages  tor  cruel....,  ........^^  ^..  ,.,^.,^   „,^.,,^^ 

and  relations;  those  who  had  viewed  the  beauties  of  the  Genesee 
and  the  rich  table  lands  of  Western  New  York,  resolved  to  leaW 
the  sterile  soil,  the  worn  and  exhausted  lands  of  New  En-land  and 
with  their  families,  under  the  guidance  and  protection  of  a  kind 
1  rovidence,  gathered  their  small  substance,  pioneered  the  way 
through  a  long  wilderness,  to  the  land  of  promise  -  the  Genesee 
country. 

In  170G,  in  common  with  the  sons  of  New  England,  I  had  a 
strong  disposition  to  explore  the  regions  of  the  west,  and  avail  my- 
selt  If  possible,  of  a  more  productive  soil,  where  a  more  bountiful 
reward  would  relieve  the  toil  of  labor.     I  traversed  the  Mohawk, 
the  Susquehannah,  the  Seneca  and  the  Genesee.     I  saw  the  scatter- 
ed Pioneers  of  the  wilderness  in  their  lonely  cabins,  cheered  by 
the  hope  and  promise  of  a  generous  reward,  for  all  the  temporary 
privations  they  then  suffered.     Their  hearts  were  clieered  with  the 
sight  of  a  stranger,  and  they  greeted  him  with  a  welcome.     I  found 
in  most  of  the  pioneer  Realities,  that  three-fourths  of  the  he    Is  of 
families  had  been  soldiers  of  the  Revolution.     Schooled  in  the  prin- 
ciples that  had  achieved  that  glorious  work,  they  only  appreciated 
the  responsibilities  they  had  assumed,  in  becommg  founders  of  new 
settlements,  and  the  proprietors  of  local,  religious,  educational  and 
moral  institutions.     These  Pioneers   inherited  the  principles   and 
firmness  of  their  foreflithers ;   and   whatever   in  reason  and   pro- 
priety they  desired   to  accomplish,  their  energy  and  perseverance 
carried  into  effect.     They  subdued  the   forest,  opened  avenues  of 
intercourse,  built  houses  and  temples  for  worship,  with  a  rapidity 
unknown  in  former  ages.     For  intelligence  and  useful  acciuirements 
they  were  not  out  done  in  any  age ;  and  were  well  skilled  in  all  the 
practical  duties  of  life.     In  seven  or  eight  vears  from  the  first  en- 
trance of  a  settler,  a  number  of  towns  in  Ontario  county,  were  fur- 
nished with  well  chosen  public  libraries." 


PHELPS  AND  GOETIAm's    PURCHASE. 


135 


CHAPTER  IV. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's  PURCHASE  OP  MASSACHUSETTS  —OLIVER  PHELPS, 

HIS  ADVENT    TO  THE  OENESEE  COUNTRY,  AND  HIS  TREATY 

WITH    THE    SENECAS:  NATHANIEL    GORHAM. 


Oliver  Phelps  was  a  native  of  Windsor,  Connecticut.     Soon 
after  he  became  of  age,  the  resistance  to  British  oppression  com. 
menced  in  the   colony  of  Massachusetts,  and  he  became  an  active 
partisan,  participating  in  the  revolutionary  spirit,  with  all  the  zeal 
of  youth  and  ardent  patriotism.     He  was  among  the  men  of  New 
England,  who  gathered  at  Lexington,  and  helped  to  make  that  early 
demonstration   of  intended   separation   and  independence.     Soon 
after,  without  the  influence  of  wealth  or  familv  distinction  — with 
nothing  to  recommend  him  but  uncommon  energy  of  character,  and  a 
reputation  he  had  won   for  himself— though  1jut  a  youth,  he   was 
enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety. 
When  the  troops  of  Connecticut  were   first  organized,  and  had 
taken  the  field,  he  entered  the  service  of  a  contractor  of  the  army, 
and  soon  after  had  an  appointment  in  the  commissary  department,' 
the  duties  of  which  he  continued  to  discharge  until  the  close  of  the 
Revolution. 

On  the  return  of  peace,  he  settled  in  SufField,  Massachusetts. 
He  held  in  succession,  the  offices  of  member  of  Assembly,  Sena- 
tor, and  a  member  of  the  Governor's  council.  Robert  Morris 
having  been  at  the  head  of  financial  aflhirs  during  the  Revolution, 
Mr.  Ph. '  'S  had  made  his  acquaintance,  and  for  a  few  rears  after 
its  close,  business  relations  brought  them  frecjuently  together.  Maj. 
Adam  Hoops,  who  had  been  the  aid  of  Gen.  Sullivan,  in  his  expe- 
dition to  the  Genesee  country,  was  a  resident  of  Philadelphia,  and 
an  intimate  ac(iuaintance  of  JVIr.  Morris.  It  was  during  interviews 
with  them,  that  Mr.  Phelps  Vv  as  confirmed  in  a  iuvorabie  opinion  of 


13G 


ruELrs  AND  goeiia:h's  pueciiase. 


Ihis  region,  and  the  inducements  it  held  out  to  enterprise,  which  had 
been  acquired  by  the  representations  of  his  New  England  nei^di- 
bors,  who  had  been  in  Sullivan's  expedition.  ° 

_  Soon  after  Massachusetts   became  possessed  of  the  pre-emption 
right  by  deed  of  cession  from  New  York,  he  resolved  upon  being 
niterestad  in  the  purchase  of  one  million  of  acres ;  and  for  this 
purpose  associated  liimself  with  Judge  Sullivan,  Messrs.  Skinner 
and  Chapin,  William   Walker,  and  several  of  Jiis  friends  in  Berk- 
shire.    Before  they   had  matured  their  plans  however,  Nathaniel 
Gorham  had  made  proposals  to  the  Legislature  for  the  purchase  of 
a  portmn  of  the  Genesee  lands.     Mr.  Phelps  had  a  conference  with 
Mr.  Gorham,  and  to  prevent   coming   in   collision,   they  mutually 
agreed,  that  Mr.  (lorham  should  merge  himself  with  the  association, 
and  consider  his  proposition  as  made  for  their  common  benefit.    He 
had  proposed  the  purchase  of  one  million  of  acres,  at  one  and  six- 
pence currency  per  acre,  payable  in  the  "public  paper  of  the  com- 
monwealth."    The  House  of  Representatives  acceded  to  the  propo- 
sition,  but  the  Senate  non-concurred.     In  a  letter  to  one  of  the 
associates,  announcing  the  result,  Mr.  Phelps  observes :  —  "  We 
found  such  opposition  in  the  Senate,  and  so  many  person's  ears  and 
eyes  wide  open,  propagating  great  stories  about  the  value  of  those 
lands,  that  we  thought  best  to  postpone  the  affair  until   the  next 
session."     This  was  at  the  session  of  1787. 

The  elTect  of  Mr.  Gorham's  offer  was  to  bring  competitors  into 
the  field,  and  others  had  resolved  upon  making  proposals  before  the 
legislature  again  convened  in  April,  17SS.  Another  compromise 
was  made  which  admitted  new  partners,  and  embraced  all  who 
had  any  intention  of  purchase,  in  one  association,  of  which  Messrs. 
Phelps  and  Gorham  were  constituted  the  representatives.  They 
made  proposals  for  all  the  lands  embraced  in  the  cession  of  Massa- 
chusetts.  which  were  acceded  to ;  the  stipulated  consideration  being 
«ilOO,000,  payable  in  the  public  paper  of  Massachusetts;  the   price 


XoTE.-rn  niMitiou  tolho  knowlcl-o  Mr.  riR.lp.s  had  acqiiiiwl  ,.f  \hc  amuU-v  as 
alM,vo_m(li.at.;cl,  K,).m;  early  rapluror  },;„|  jrivm  liiii.a  wriltoii  a<-c,mii(  (,f  ii  iVoiuw/iioh 


•   6 


PHELPS   AND    GORIIAM's   PURCUASE. 


137 


vhich  had 
lid  neioh- 


e-emption 
pon  being 
d  for  tliis 
I.  Skinner 

in  Berk- 
Vathaniel 
rchase  of 
?nce  with 

mutually 
sociation, 
lefit.  He 
!  and  six- 
the  com- 
he  propo- 
ne of  the 
:  — "We 

ears  and 

of  those 
tlie  next 

itors  into 
cfore  the 
n  promise 

all  who 
i  Messrs. 
;     They 

Massa- 
on  being 
le   price 


counli-y  n.s 
iiiiiiwfiich 
ijil>lc  trees 
itsaiid  in- 
cut  Hiver. 
'  suiiiiner, 
uiiulu  k'i'i 


of  which  being  much  depressed,  it  was  selling  at  a  high  rate  of 
discount. 

So  much  accomplisiied,  the  share  holders  held  a  meeting,  appoint- 
ed Gen.  Israel  Chapiri  to  go  out  and  explore  the  country;  Mr. 
Phelps  the  general  agent,  whose  first  duty  was  to  hold  a  treaty  with 
the  Indians,  and  purchase  the  fee  or  right  of  soil ;  Mr.  Gorham  as  an 
agent  to  confer  with  the  authorities  of  New  Yor.k,  in  reference  to 
running  the  boundary  or  pre-emption  line ;  and  Mr.  William  Walk- 
er,  as  the  local  agent  of  surveys  and  sales. 

The  Lessees  and  their  "long  lease,"  was  an  obstacle  duly  con- 
sidered by  the  purchasers,  for  they  were  aware  of  the   exertions 
I  they  were  making  to  thwart  the  commissioners  of  New  York,  and 

had  no  reason  to  anticipate  any  thing  less  from  them,   in  their  own 
case.     Massachusetts  had  joined  New  York,  in  declaring  the  leases 
illegal  and  void,  but  the  association  were  well   advised  that   they 
could  not  succeed  in  a  treaty  with  the  Senecas,  against  the  powerful 
influences  the  Lessees  could  command,  through  their  connection 
with  Butler,  Brant,  Street,  and  their  associates  in  Canada,  and  the 
Indian  traders   and  interpreters  in  their  interest.     A  compromise 
was  resolved  upon  as  tlie  cheapest  and  surest  means  of  success. 
Proceeding  to  Hudson,  Mr.  Phelps  met  some  of  the  principal  Les- 
sees, and  compromised  with  them  upon  te-ms  of  which  there  are 
no  records,  but  there  is  evidence  which  lead;-  to  the  conclusion,  that 
they   were  to   become   shareholders   with  him  and  his  associates. 
The  Lessees  on  their  part,  contracted  to  hold  another  treaty  with 
the  Indians  at  Kanadesaga,  surrender  their  lease  of  all  the  lands 
west  of  the  Massachusetts  pre-emption  line,   and  procure   for  the 
same,   a  deed  of  cession,   Phelps   &  Gorham,   for  themselves  and 
associates,  to  be  the  grantees. 

Mr.  Phelps  returned  to  New  England  and  made  preparations  for 
attending  the  treaty  at  Kanadesaga,  which  was  to  be  convened  and 
carried  on  under  the  general  supervision  of  John  Livingston,  the 
principal  agent  of  the  Lessees.  In  all  confidence  that  the  arrange- 
ment would  be  consummated,  Mr.  Pheli)s  started  upon  his  advent  to 
the  Genesee  country  with  a  retinue  of  agents,  surveyors,  and  assis- 
tants, prepared  to  take  possession  of  the  country  and  commence 
operations.  Arriving  at  Schenectady  on  the  8th  of  May,  the  party 
put  their  baggage  on  board  of  batteaux  and  arranged  to  go  on  horse- 
back to  Fort  Stanwix,  as  far  as  there  was  any  road,  and  from  there 
9 


uaiUu 


138 


rnEiPs  AND  gorham's  puechase. 


embark  in  their  batteaux.  Mr.  Phelps  wrote  from  Schenectidv 
hat  they  were  Hkely  to  be  delayed  there  by  the  non-arralof  M^ 
Livmgston  ;  that  he  had  met  many  unfavorable  rumors,  the  purport 
of  one  of  whicn  was  that  the  Indians  had  refused  to  treat  wUh 
Livings  on    and   that  they  had  "  taken  up  and  whipped   seve  al 

?nl  b  H  .  """'"'l  I"  ^"'-  Wadsworth,  of  Hartford,  that  Livings- 

ton had  arrived  with  his  provisions  and  goods  for  the  treaty,  that 
all  W.1S  on  board  of  batteaux,  and  the  expedition  was  about  to  move 
on,  but  he  adds  that  an  Oneida  Indian  had  just  arrived  from  the 
westwith  theinformauon  that  Brant  has  "got  the  Indians  colLted 
at  iJufialo  creek,  and  is  persuading  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet,  and  if 
possi  le  not  to  treat  with  us."  He  expresses  his  fears  that  the  treaty 
wi  Ifai! ,  and  adds  h.s  regrets,  as  he  thinks  it  will  "  keep  back  settle- 
ment  a  whole  year. 

Mr  Phelps  dkl  not   arrive  at   Kanadesaga.  (Geneva,)   until  the 
fi..tof  June.     On  the4thhe  wrote  to  one  of  his  associates,  Samue 
Fowler,  informing  him  that  the  Indians  had  not  collected,  that  Ent- 
er and  Brant  had  collected  them  at  Buffalo  creek  and  persuaded 
hem  not  to  treat  with  Livingston.     But  inasmuch  as   Livings  on 
had  sent  out  runners  and  interpreters,  he  is  in  hopes  they  wilf  ye 
e  collected     "  I  am  well  pleased,"  he  says,  "  with  what  /have  seen 
of  the  country.     This  place  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  Seneca  Lake 
on  a  beautiful  hill  which  overlooks  the  country  around  it,  and  .ive^ 
afine  pro^,ectof  the  whole   lake,  which  is  about   forty  miles  in 
length.     Here  w^e  propose  building  the   city,  as  there  is  a  water 
carnage  from  this  to  Schenectady;  with  only  two  carryin-.  places 
of  one  mile  each.     I  design  to  set  out  to-morrow  to  view  the  Genesee 

After  waiting  at  Kanadesaga  until  the  17th  of  June,  Mr.  Phelns 
made  up  his  mind  that  the  Lessees  would  be  unable  to  fulfil   their 

urn  IZT-  T    "'?™';^  ^''"  '^''"^'  ^^'-  Livingston,  that  he  should 
1.1  oceed  independent  of  them  or  their  lease,  to  treat  with  the  Indians. 

FroMoh  Indian  trnder  at  cCl  on'  X  Sc  W  ^n3n t"'  ^""""^'i'"'  ^^'-''"'•■^^'^1'.  fl>« 
tJiai,  a„v  one  m.in  Im-l  since  th^.lVvM  of  ,  .  i' A  hmico  tlion  among  tlioSonocas 

es..c.n,ially  aidod  the   I "   cVs  ^^^^^^^^  ^"'^T'  ""'l  ■J""eaire.     Ho  had 

alniost  bo  said,   niisslona  io.  att^lt  ncri^?^       .  J    'i    "T'  7^?':i''*t^^'-H,   and  it  'may 
generally  payable  iu  land,  in  S  a  bcTobd^ini::"'  '"'  '^  I-^*^'" -^  it  .ni 


PHELFS  AND  GORIIAm's  PURCHASE.  139 

He  had  by  this  time  discovered  that  there  was  a  "  screw  loose" 
between  the"  Nevv  York  Genesee  Company"  and  the  "Niagara 
Genesee  Company  and  that  they  were  pulling  in  different  directions. 
Infen-mg  that  the  balance  of  power  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Nia<.. 
ara  Company,  Mr.  Phelps  taking  the  Indian  trail,  proceeded  to  Niag- 
ara, where  he  met  Butler,  Brant  and  Street.  He  secured  their 
co-operation,  and  they  agreed  to  procure  a  gathering  of  the  Indians 
at  Buffalo  creek  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  treaty  with  him.  Mr 
Phelps,  rejomed  his  friends  at  Kanadesaga  where  he  remained  until 
a  deputation  of  chiefs  waited  upon  hi,n  to  conduct  him  to  the  coun- 
cil fire  they  had  lighted  at  Buffalo  creek,*  where  he  and  his  party 
arrived  on  the  4th  of  July.  ^  v^nj 

Negotiations  were  commenced.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland  was 
present,  appointed  by  a  law  of  Massachusetts  to  superintend  the 
treaty  and  see  that  no  injustice  was  done  to  the  Indians,  and  his 
assistant,  superintendent,  Elisha  Lee,  Esq.  of  Boston.  The  ii  tef- 
preters  were  James  Deane  and  Joseph  Smith.  William  Johnstone, 
Mr.  Kirkland  and  several  others.  Besides  these,  there  were  also 
pi-eseru,  John  Butler,  Joseph  Brant,  Samuel  Street,  the  officers  of 
Fort  Niagara.  Ihe  Lessees,  following  up  Mr.  Phelps,  were  repre- 
sented  by  John  Livingston,  Caleb  Benton  and  Ezekiel  Gilbert. 
Chiefs  of  the   Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  the   Mohawks  were  also 

On  the  opening  of  the  council,  Mr.  Phelps  produced  the  commis 
sion  given  him  by  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts :  f  had  h  TnTer.' 
preted;  and  made  a  speech,  explaining  the  object  of  the  treaty 
the  right  he  had  purchased  of  Massachusetts,  &c.     Most  of  the' 

weie  fcrr  selling  a  portion  of  their  lands.     They,  however   stood 

upon  mdung  the  Genesee  river  the  eastern  boundary  of  their  ces- 
s,oi>  and  they  stoutly  resisted  innovation  west  of  it  for  seve  II 
days :  but  finally  yielded,  and  fixed  the  western  boundary  as    t  w" 


treaty,  he  said  :  -  ■'•  TIkmi  1,  IJi  h-  a  ul  T]^  "f  «''"KMvmn,irm  rdor.nc."  to  Mr.  Phelp's 

took  M.  Phelps  by  the  HaHa,Kff:^u;\jt?::;u!i;f^j^?\3^ 


baud.    Wlieu  he  opened  hisniiud 


p  a  pai'vi,  \vitha  seal  to  it,  an  biy 


tu  us,  we  took  it  hard." 


my 


140 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAM's  PURCnASE. 


afterwards  cstubhshed.     Mr.  Phelps,  in  a  statement  he  made  of  the 
transacuons,  says    "the  council  was  conducted  in  a  friendK  and 
amica  le  manner.''     The  negotiation  then  turned  upon  the  pr  ce  to 
he  paid  ;  and  Mr.  Phelps  and  the  Indians  failing  to  i.,ee    ley  mu 
tually  appo  nted  John  Butler,  Joseph  Brant,  Elilha  L^ee  as   eferees' 

thous  u)d  dollars  and  an  annuity  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  ;ver. 
Ihe  Indians  had  consented  to  take  for  the  quantity  of  land  they 

o  what  the  Lessees  had  agreed  to  pay  for  their  whole  country,  and 
tins  was  the  basis  upon  which  the  price  was  fixed 

The  lands  thus  ceded,  constituted  what  is  now  known  as  Phelp's 

P  em:t"h.f:"'^";  '^  ''''''•''  ^-"d-y- the  Massachusetts' 
pre-emption  hne ;  and  its  western  boundary,  a  line  "  becrinnin.^  in 
the  northern  line  of  Pennsylvania,  due  south  of  the  corned-  o   noi 

asciaga  Cieek;  thence  north  on  said  meridian  line  to  the  corner 
or  point,  at  the  confluence  aforesaid  ;  thence  northwardly  alon'the 
waters  o  the  Genesee  river,  to  a  point  two  miles  north  of  Can^ 
wagus  VI  age ;  thence  running  due  west  twelve  miles ;  thence  run- 
mng  northwardly,  so  as  to  be  twelve  miles  distant  from  the  w  s te  n 

ounds  of  said  river  to  the   shores   of  Lake  Ontario."     With 
these  boundaries,  were  contained,  by  estimation,  2,G00,000  acres 
Soon  after  arriving  at  Buffalo  Creek,  Mr.   Phelps  saw  that  tiie 

delir  \':dlT-';"'^^''T^  ''-  n.^^^o.sL.t  ,east,  cal 

delay-and  he,  therefore,  made  a  compromise,  stipulatincr  the  con 

eyance  to  them  of  the  four  townships  named  in  another    onne 

agents  well  for  a  forbearance  in  the  work  of  mischief,  in  n-liich 
ey  were  so  persevering.     Their  release  of  so  much  as  wa    b 
eluded  in  his  purchase,  was  interpreted  to  the  Indians 

The  Niagara  Genesee  Company,  Butler  and  his  associates,  in  ad- 
dition to  heu-  interests  in  common  with  all  the  Lessees,  had  an  n- 
dependent  claim  for  convening  the  Indians ;  and  by  their  influ  nc 


tliucxtonBion  of  Lis  T)uiA.u"'b"vo ml  tl  r  P'-««""^«l.  that  Mr.  PJiolps,  i„  ,„41 
the  Falls ;  and  i„  all  Jrr.l  a  ]  ty^,  "iS  ^^T'f  'ri\  '^'''^'  "^'  l'""*'''"^  '^  "^  ^t 
diansand  the  white  Kt^tlers  ■ilri.m.iw  f  J"'  ^'^'^  "'"'""^  benefit  of  the  In- 
Ebeucer  Allan, „pou  cond!ticS\K^S  ^'Z.  ^H!!^,. '!^  ?--  "-  ^f}^  -re .{I 


I  fci't'Ct  a  saw-mill  iuid  giist-mili. 


lade  of  the 
iendly  and 
lie  price  to 
,  they  mu- 
is  referees, 
hased,  five 
s  for  ever, 
'land  they 
proportion 
untry,  and 

as  Phelp's 
sachusetts' 
ginning  in 
?r  or  point 
I  tlie  Can- 
he  corner, 
along  the 
of  Cana- 
ence  run- 
e  western 
Within 
)  acres. 

that  the 
1st,  cause 
J  the  con- 
•  connec- 
iimediate 
in  ^vhich 
i  was  in- 

es,  in  ad- 
ad  an  in- 
nfluence, 


•  .  TLo  au- 
I,  in  'irgiiijr 
?  a  niiH  nt 
of  t}io  In- 
UO  acres  to 
I 


niELrs  AND  goeuam's  purchase.  141 

in  fact,  enablinp  Mr.  Phelps  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  This  was, 
probably,  arranged  by  a  promise  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Phelps,  to  give 
them  an  interest  in  common  with  himself  and  associates.  * 

Mr.  Phelps,  before  leaving  the  country,  set  surveyors  to  work, 
under  the  direction  of  Col.  Hugh  Maxwell,  to  divide  the  newly  ac- 
quired country  into  townships ;  and,  having  fixed  upon  Canandai- 
gua  as  the  primitive  locality,  the  focus  of  intended  enterprise,  re- 
turned to  Suffield.  All  retired  as  winter  approached,  and  left 'the 
whole  region  in  possession  of  its  ancient  owners.f  Arrived  at  home, 
Mr.  Phelps  reported,  by  letter  to  his  principal  associates,  the  result 
of  his  embassy.  "  You  may  rely  upon  it,"  says  he  "  that  it  is  a  good 
country ;  I  have  purchased  all  that  the  Indians  will  sell  at  pre- 
sent ;  and,  perhaps,  as  much  as  it  would  be  profitable  for  us  to  buy 
at  this  time."  Mr.  Walker,  after  having  remained  in  the  country 
until  nearly  the  setting  in  of  winter,  returned  and  was  present  at  a 
meeting  of  the  associates  in  January.  He  reported  that  he  had 
sold  and  contracted  about  thirty  townships.  At  this  meetincr,  a 
division  of  the  land  took  place ;  a  large  proportion  of  the  shares 
werebut  small  ones,  the  largest  portion  of  the  lands  fallincr  into  the 


.iiHl  othom,"  (the   Niagara  Lessee  Commnl^  fiV  I       I'n"'*  *?°''"''     ^"^"""^l  ^^'"^''^ 

Lis  purchase.     Canaudmirwas  his^afxt  c^^^^^^^^^  ""''''  '^^  '''""''^  ^^  «^  ''^'^ 

«ist  tliat  if  w-i'j  'It  P.,.,n,„i„;      "^^'.  pi^ooaoiy,  tail  mto  tlio  liaiids  of  tlioae  who  w  11  in- 

crv,  the  tomahawk  ami  so  5„f  Ci' "^  "ii^!^  eloquently  invoking  the  war 
whole  storv  is  «|)(.ilo,l  hv  ulTlth  tl'  ^-'i^'  "'  «  '''•"tlior  opposing?  him.     The 

Hoanof  Do.r^ ' '     ,i  M,  ■pi,  ,     ..'""^'l,^  °*"  assertion,  that  lie  and  "Billy,  and  the 
wai^no  i  Ition  tT  hrSVnrt,i-;'v'r^^^  'T^  '''  Buffalo Cr/e'k.    There 

The  idea  ,/  a  land  tre'i  v  of  m7  PI         '^  •'?,*  A''''  l"']'-  '  ''^*  °"°  afterwards  appeared. 

came  due.  '-- ^'^  ■"•■;  ^^'"f  ^ir.  liidpa' payments  be- 


f 


142 


PHELPS  AND  GORDAm's  PtJEOHASE. 


hands  of  Phelps  and  Gorham  and  a  few  associates.     The  most  of 
the  early  sales  of  townships,  was  to  those  who  held  shares  * 
Early  m  the  spring  of  1789.  under  the  general  auspicies  of  Mr 

siariea  out  to  the  new  Genospp  rnnt^t^'1r  t^  „  . 

.,  ,  ,  vjLULsce  countiy  to  commence  a  sett  ement 

.hegenorn  ,le.a,l.of  which  will  he  found  in  another  c„„„e"  on 
LnC?  air  '"=,*?'  T'""''"""^  y^^'^'  »"e™a.ingbe: 
close  of  178!.,  he  had  joinlly,  wid,  John  Taylor,  ,an  agent  of  the 
State  contraeted  with  Ephraim  Blackmer.  who  has  before  been 
named,  for  the  eut.ing  out  of  a  road,  two  rods  wide  from  Fort  Stln" 
w,x  to  Seneca  La  „.  While  in  the  Genesee  eountry  this  jw  in 
he  absence  o,  any  ocal  laws,  he  entered  into  a  written  compact  with 

Zlr7         "'  of  ^«->'"=»'  character,  each  parly  promising 
to  punish  olfences  committed  by  their  own  people 

legislature  n,  780,  Messrs.  Phelps  and  Gorham,  and  their  associates 
found  themselves  unable  to  fulfil  the  eng.agements  they  had  m  de 
for  the  payment  of  the  purchase  money.     They  had   predicated 

pa"r:  "m  "  "^  ™"''"""'"-  "■"'  '"^y  ^-^  P-hase'  e  pub le 
paper  of  Massachusetts,  at  its  then  market  value,  which  was  bm 

about  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar.     I„  ,he  interval,  before  p  y  da^  ar 

r,ved,  the  prospect  of  success  in  the  formation  of  a  Federal  'overn 

ment,  and  a  consequent  funding  „f  ,he  debts  of  the  S  tires   [h; 

paper  they  had  stipulated  to  make  payment  in,  had  nearly  a  pa  va  !e 

in  market.    Thus  situated,  and  having  failed  to  exLJuish    h! 

nattve  right  to  the  whole,  they  memorfalized  the  legiZ  e  1 

P  tint  ont  r  b'f  '  °"'="""""  ™  ■■^'■^■■™-  '"  -h' '  ^-ined 
payu  g  onlj  for  what  was  mcluded  in  their  Indian  treaty.     The 

legislature  the  more  readily  perhaps,  acceded  to  their  request  inas 
much  as  they  were  pretty  sure  of  finding  a  purchaser  foi  wto  re." 
mained,  m  the  person  of  Robert  Morris 
New  difficulties  however,  soon  presented  themselves.    The  Indi. 

M    Phelos  tr^l-^'Ti'  ""'™'-^-"'^  -.isfied  with  the  Let 
Mr.  Phelps,  became  divided  upon  the  subject;   the  mischievous 

.'» ,.™.  they  p.i,,  for  ji»d„.;rri?/;pL:Esi'''""''"'''''"' »"'' 


PHELl'S    AM)    GORIIAm's   PURCHASE. 


148 


traders  and  some  interpreters  among  them,  promoted  the  trouble, 
and  in  that  then  retreat  of  disturbed  spirits,  and  liaters  of  every 
thing  that  was  American  — the  refugees  of  the  Revolution,  and 
British  officers  and  agents  —  Fort  Niagara  and  its  precincts  —  there 
were  disturbers  other  than  those  that  had  been  compromised  with. 
The  Indian  chief  Cornplanter,  was  the  principal  representative  of 
the  malcontents. 

In  August,  1790,  JMr.  Phelps  being  in  the  Genesee  country,  wrote 
to  the  elder  Mr.  Gorham  in  Boston,  and  after  giving  a  somewhat  dis- 
couraging account  of  the  almoft  universal  prevalence  of  disease 
among  tlie  new  settlers,*  informs  him  that  the  Indians  had  been  at 
Canandaigua,  and  refused  to  receive  any  farther  payments,  alledg- 
ing  that  the  amount  of  purchase  money,  aside  from  the  annuity, 
was  to  have  been  ten,  instead  of  five  thousand  dollars.  He  adds, 
that  some  recent  murders  of  Indians  committed  at  Tioga,  by  whites, 
had  helped  to  exasperate  them ;  that  he  was  about  to  set  out  to  -'isit 
their  principal  villages  to  appeasa  them  ;  and  that  if  he  did  not  suc- 
ceed, he  feared  they  would  retaliate  by  a  general  attack  upon  the 
whites. 

At  an  Indian  council  by  Mr.  Pickering  at  Tioga,  in  November, 
Red  Jacket  and  Farmer's  Brother  made  speeches,  in  which  they 
both  claimed  that  the  sum  to  be  paid  by  Mr.  Phelps,  was  ten  instead 
of  five  thousand  dollars ;  alledged  that  they  had  been  cheated ; 
that  their  "  heads  had  been  confused  "  by  treaties  with  the  "thirteen 
Fires,"  with  "  Fires  kindled  by  the  Governor  of  New  York,"  and 
by  "  Livingston."  Speaking  of  the  payment  from  Mr.  Phelps,  Red 
Jacket  said :  —  "  When  we  went  to  Canandaigua  to  meet  Mr.  Phelps, 
expecting  to  receive  ten  thousand  dollars,  we  were  to  have  but  five 
thousand.  When  we  discovered  the  fraud,  we  had  a  mind  to  apply 
to  Congress,  to  see  if  the  matter  could  not  be  rectified.  For  when 
we  took  the  money  and  shared  it,  every  one  here  knows,  that  we 
had  but  about  one  dollar  a  piece.  All  our  lands  came  to,  was  but 
the  worth  of  a  few  hogsheads  of  tobacco.  Gentlemen  who  stand 
by,  do  not  think  hard  of  us  for  what  has  been  said.  At  the  time 
of  the  treaty,  twenty  broaches  would  not  buy  half  a  loaf  of  bread ; 


*  He  says:  —  "  Wo  have  suft'erod  mucli  for  tlio  want  of  a  physician  ;  Atwater  has 
not  yet  arrived  ;  wc  liave  Udw  a  sditlenian  frotii  I'ciiiisylvaniii  .attending;  on  tlic  sick, 
who  seems  to  undei-staiid  liis  business.  Tlie  t\vo  Wad'swortlis,  wlio  came  from  Dur- 
ham, liave  lieeii  very  sieli,  are  now  recovering,',  but  are  low  spirited  ;  they  like  the 
country  but  tlieir  sicKuesshas  discourawd  tliem." 


144 


PHELPS  AND   GOBUyvM'a  PURCHASE. 


80  that  when  we  returned  home,  there  was  not  a  bridit  spot  of 
silver  about  us." 

In  December,  Cornplanter,  attended  by  other  Seneca  chiefs,  met 
1  resident  Washington  at  Philadelphia,  and  delivered  to  him  a  speech, 
m  which  he  represented  that  the  treaty  at  Bulllilo  creek,  had  been 
Iraudulently  conducted;  that  Mr.  Phelps  represented  himself  as 
the  agent  of  the  "  thirteen  Fires,"  that  he  told  them  that  the  coun- 
try had  been  ceded  to  the  thirteen  Fires  by  the  British  King;  that 
It  he  could  not  make  a  bargain  with  the  Indians,  he  could  take 
their  lands  by  force;  and  that  generallv,  it  was  by  threats  and  de- 
ceptions he  had  obtained  the  Indian  lands.  He  added  that  Mr 
Street,  whom  they  supposed  their  friend,  "until  they  saw  him 
whispering  with  Phelps."  had  been  bribed  by  the  promise  of  a 
large  tract  of  land.  The  President  heard  the  complaints,  promised 
an  investigation  of  the  matter,  and  to  see  the  Indians  redressed  if 
they  had  suffered  wrong. 

Soon  after  all  this,  Mr.  Phelps  addre-ed  the  President,  giving  a 
detailed  history  of  the  treaty,  denying  the  allegations  of  Cornplan- 
ter, and  asserting  that  he  caused  the  Indians  at  the  treaty  to  be 
well  informed  of  his  errand,  their  rights  to  their  lands ;  that  he  used 
no  threats,  or  coercion  to  accomplish  his  object,  and  that  the  sum 
he  was  to  advance  to  the  Indians,  was  but  five  thousand  dollars. 
He  accompanied  his  statement,  by  dejiositions  from  the  Rev  Mr 
Kirkland,  James  Dean,  Judge  Hollenbeck,  and  others,  ^\•ho  were 
present  at  the  treaty,  in  substance,  to  the  effect  that  the  treaty  was 
conducted  honorably,  and  fairly,  and  that  Cornplanter  was  mista- 
ken as  to  the  amount  of  the  purchase  money. 

In  February,  '01,  Joseph  Brant  addressed  a  long  letter  to  the  su- 
perintendent of  Indian  affairs  for  the  northern  district  of  the  United 


Jjn^^^H  !'t^"f^   "•'  ''r'  ^if  ^""''^',"''^'  •>•""  '<'I™^'  '"•"  ""t  of  pain.    A  ot  u.\]K 
que  eat  ol  t]it.  fatal  root,  and  hI«  -,  with  his  fathers  in  i)oacc>  "     Tliis  w.«    m  . 

iienn'o'^noTe.  ■'"'"''"'■' '  "'  ''"  ^''''  ''  -^^  <'-th,-  .here  one  diHappearsild  i 


rilELPS  AND  GORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


145 


States,  in  which  he  attacks  Cornplantor  with  severity ;  alleging 
that  "  influenced  by  bribes  and  other  selfish  views,  he  prevailed  on 
the  chiefs  who  were  sent  to  cover  up  the  council  fire  at  Kanadesaga, 
kindled  by  John  Livingston,  to  lease  the  whole  of  the  Five  Nation's 
country,  for  a  consideration  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  an  an- 
nual rent  of  two  thousand ;  and  it  was  wiili  the  utmost  difiiculty, 
that  the  Five  Nations  were  able  to  move  that  lease,  from  off  a  por- 
tion of  the  country."  He  recapitulates  the  bargain  made  by  Mr. 
Phelps,  agreeing  with  other  witnesses.  He  says  that  the  Lessees 
wore  only  released  from  the  payment  of  five  thousand  of  the  twenty 
thousand  they  had  agreed  to  pay  for  the  whole  country,  and  a  pro 
rata  amount  of  their  stipulated  annual  rent.*  Thi^  was  to  show, 
that  the  bargain  with  Mr.  Phelps,  was  abetter  one  even  than  Cor'.- 
planter  had  jn-omoted  with  the  Lessees. 

When  Mr.  Pickering  held  his  council  at  Newtown,  in  July,  '91,  he 
examined  several  Cayuga  and  Onondaga  chiefs,  who  stated  that 
Cornplanter's  allegations  were  untrue ;  and  some  of  the  principal 
Seneca  chiefs,  stated  to  him  that  all  was  fair  on  Mr.  Phelps'  part, 
in  reference  to  the  treat  v. 

But  all  this  did  not  entirely  quell  the  dissatisfaction,  and  the  al- 
ledged  wrong  was  mixed  up  with  other  elements,  to  render  the 
earliest  relations  of  Pioneers  of  the  Genesee  country  and  the  Indi- 
ans,  equivocal ;  in  a  condition  to  keep  up  alarm  and  apprehensions 
of  evil.  If  the  Senecas  themselves  were  mainly  disposed  to  be 
friendly,  their  jealousies  and' resentments  were  kept  alive,  by  the 
western  Indians,  and  their  British  prompters,  and  British  agents  at 
Niagara.  DCP  See  Mr.  Phelps'  speech  to  the  Indians.  Appendix, 
No.  6.  tt       ■> 

The  whole  history  of  the  early  Indian  treaties  in  this  State,  is  a 
complex  one;  there  was  a  disjointed  state  of  things  existing  among 
our  own  people  ;  the  treaties  began  without  any  clear  and  definite 
understanding,  of  what  were  the  respective  rights  of  the  State  and 
the  general  government.  The  Indians,  after  they  had  heard  of 
"one  big  fire  being  lighted  for  all  the  thirteen  States,"  could  not  un- 
derstand why  they  should  be  invited  to  attend  "  so  many  little  fires," 


i,roJil'orrhvn.?T'^  ''•'"■'^^•^  ^°.  *•"''';  ^'>=^*  ^''°  poor  Indians  never  realized  the  sura 
fl  r^?vn.  Z  \  If''  ""^'"V^"'.  t^*^  *«'•'»  "f  l^'il-es  to  some  of  their  chiefs  ;  and  iu 

tii.it  torm  hut  a  small  portioti  nf  [t     A,,,!  -,.,,f  fi,,.  r^i-.-u-  ir,  -r,-,  f  „,.>  .    i        X. 

realized  a  large  amount  for  their  meg/'aong  klle.""  '  ^"''"  ""^  """'^''■' 


HI 


hi 


■■i    hi 


m  Hi 


146 


PHELPS   AND  GOBIIAm's   PUECIIASE. 


or  councils.  The  almost  interminable  mischief,  the  Lessee  move- 
ment, was  thrust  in  to  add  to  embarrassment.  The  close  of  the 
Revolution  had  left  them  with  distracted  councils,  cut  up  into  fac- 
tions themselves.  No  wonder  that  when  they  were  pulled  and 
hauled  about  from  one  treaty  to  another,  beset  by  State  commis- 
sioners. Lessee  companies,  speculators  and  "  their  old  friends  at 
Niagara,"  they  should  on  several  occasions  have  complained  that 
their  "  heads  were  confused." 

But  the  crowning  curse,  the  source  of  nearly  all  other  evils  that 
beset  them,  and  nearly  all  that  embarrassed  our  early  relations  and 
intercourse  with  their  race,  was  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors.     In 
the  absence  of  them,  the  advent  of  our  race  to  this  continent,  would 
have  been  a  blessing  to  theirs,  instead  of  what  it  has  proved  to  be, 
the  cause  of  their  ruin,  and  gradual  extermination.     No  where  in  a 
long  career  of  discover}-,  of  enterprize  and  extension  of  empire, 
have  Europeans  found  natives  of  the  soil,  with  as   many  of  the 
noblest  attributes  of  humanity ;  moral  and  ph}'sical  elements,  which, 
if  they  could  not  have  been  blended  with  ours,  could  have  main- 
tained a  separate  existence,  and  been  fostered  by  the  proximity  of 
civilization  and  the  arts.     Every  where,  when  first  approached  by 
our  race,  they  welcomed  it,  and  made  demonstrations  of  friendship 
and  peace.     Savage,  as  they  were  called,  savage  as  ihf     may  have 
been  in  their  assaults  and  wars  upon  each  other,  then    •  no  act  of 
theirs  recorded  in  our  histories,  of  early  colonization,  of  wrong  or 
outrage,  that  was  not  provoked  by  assaults,  treachery  or  deception  — 
breaches  of  the  hospitalities  they  had  extended  to  the  strangers. 
Whatever  of  savage  character  they  may  have  possessed,  so  far  as 
our  race  was  concerned,  it  was  dormant  until  aroused  to  action 
by  assaults  or  treachery  of  intruders  upon  their  soil,  whom  they  had 
met  and  treated  as  friends. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  trouble ;  the  cupidity  of  our  race 
perpetuated  it  by  the  introduction  of  "fire  water,"  which,  vitiating 
their  appetites,  cost  them  their  native  independence  of  character, 
made  them  dependents  upon  the  trader  and  the  agents  of  rival 
governments ;  mixed  them  up  with  factious  and  contending  aspir- 
ants to  dominion ;  and  from  time  to  time,  impelled  them  to  the 
fields  of  blood  and  slaughter,  or  to  the  stealthy  assault  with  the  tom- 
ahawk and  scalping  knife.  For  the  ruin  of  his  race,  the  red  man 
has  a  fearful  account  against  us,  bince  we  assumed  tlie  responsibiiit 


litv 


PiiELPs  Amy  gorham's  purchase. 


147 


s 

i 


of  intercourse  with  it,  as  a  separate  and  independent  people  •  but 
as  ni  another  instance,  where  another  race  is  concerned,  we  may 
plead  with  truth  and  justice,  that  we  were  inheritors  of  the  curse 
and  that  our  predecessors  are  chargeable  with  having  fixed  the  plague 
spot  and  stain  up6n  us,  indelibly,  long  before  the  responsibility  de- 
volved  upon  us. 

From  the  hour  that  Henry  Hudson  toled  the  Indians  on  board  of 
his  vessel,  on  the  river  that  bears  his  name,  and  gave  them  the  first 
taste  of  spirituous   liquors,  the  whole  history  of  British  intercourse 
with  them  IS  marked  by  the  use  of  this  accursed  agent  as  a  princi- 
pal  means  of  success.     The  example  of  Hudson  was  followed   up 
by  al  the  Dutch  and  English  traders  upon  the  Mohawk,  and  when 
bir  Wilham  Johnson  had  settled  as  a  British  agent  in  the  Mohawk 
valley,  he  had  unfortunately  learned  the  potent  influence  of  spirit- 
uous liquors  in  Indian  traffic  and  negotiation.     He  is  probably  the 
first  that  made  use  of  them  at  Indian  councils ;  thus  settincr  a  vicious 
example  that  has  been  perpetuated.     The  earl    French  traders  upon 
the  St  Lawrence,    and  in  all  this  region,  commenced  the  traffic  not 
until  after  they  had  ascertained  that  they  could  in  no  way  compete 
with  the  English  traders  than  by  using  the  same  means.     The  early 
Jesuit  Missionaries  checked  them  in  their  work  of  evil,  but    'he 
English  trader  was  left  unrestrained,  even  encouraged  by  English 
colonial  authority.     The  Senecas,  especially,  naturally  inclined  to 
the  French.     There  was  something  in  the  French  character  that  was 
congenial  to  (heir  natural   preferences  ;  the   two  races   met   and 
flowed  into  each  other,  (if  the  expression  is  admissable,)  like  kindred 
or  easily  assimilating  elements  ;  with  the  English  it  was  difTerent ' 
there  was  a  natural  repugnance,  it  may  almost  be  said  ;  the  blowze' 
turgid  Englishman,  and  the  Seneca  who  possessed  generous  and  even 
romantic   and  poetic  elements,  were  in  caste  and  inclination  anti- 
podes.    It  was  with  his  keg  of  rum,  that  the  Englishman  could  alone 
succeed ;  and  with  a  morbid,  sordid  perseverance,  he  plied  it  in  trade 
as  well  as  diplomacy.     It  was  rum  that  first  enabled  the  Englishman 


tl,S'n"-'':^;::i*'i^^!!:^T!*.°^th«,  f-nch  Fmnciscan  and  Jesuit  Mi^ionaries  ia 
li( 

OWl 

casks.  Thoy  l)c.('anic,  in  somo  instances,* mail vi'H'in'('M(I.-nv..iM.r  f.  «un.>.-e-""tK>  tr.'ffir' 
liu  nist  tciiiiKTuiu'c  essay  tluMvmi.i  eversaw  other  than  ilie  ra'ecei)tq  of  tl,..  lii  In 
>vaswnttunm  this  region  by  a  Jesuit  Missionary,  andpubliiei  iii  K   ^"^'^^'' 


r.oTL.-i<rom  tlio  hrst  advent  of  the  French  Franciscar.  and  Jesuit  Mis-sionarios  in 
US  region,  tliey  were  the  detonnined  opposers  of  the  introduction  of  Si'oia 
T" ,',',"*"""   ^''^  ^r^'fi^-     ^  '^^  .^^""''1  ^''PP"-'-'^'^  i'  i"  tlH'  trading  houses  ^ot'th"k 


148 


PIIELPS  AND  GOEHAM's   PUECHASE. 


'l      ,t! 


!'  !' 


to  get  a  foothold  upon  the  Hudson,  upon  the  Mohawk,  along  the 
shores  of  Lake  Ontario ;  in  the  absence  of  its  use,  bold  as  the  asser- 
tion may  appear,  he  would  not  have  succeeeded  in  putting  an  end  to 
French  dominion  in  America. 

At  a  later  period,  when  the  storm  of  the  Revolution  was  gather- 
ing, the  English  resorted  to  the  old  weapon  they  had  used  against 
the  French,  to  use  against  the  colonies.     The  Indians  had  undoubt- 
edly resolved  upon  neutrality  ;  unsophisticated,  unlearned  in  all  the 
grievances  of  oppressed   colonies,  in  the  intricacies  of  taxation, 
representation,  and  the  immunities  under  other  structures  of  gov- 
ernment than  their  own,  they  could  not  understand  why  the  bonds 
of  kindred  should  be  sundered ;  why  those  they  had  just  seen  fight- 
ing side  by  side  against  the  French  should  be  arrayed  against  each 
other  so  suddenly.     The  aspect  of  the  quarrel  was  not  suited   to 
their  tastes  or  inclinations,  and  they  resolved  upon  standing  aloof; 
the  Senecas  at  least.     Invited  to  Oswego,  by  the  English  refugees 
from  the  Mohawk,  kept  intoxicated  for  days  and  weeks,  promised 
there  that  the  accursed  "fii^  water"  of  England's  King,  should  be 
as  free  to  them  "  as  the  waters  of  Lake  Ontario,"  their  good  inten- 
tions were  changed,  and  their  tomahawks  and  scalping  knives  were 
turned  against  the  border  settlers ;  a  series  of  events  ensued,  the 
rev"  nv  of  which  creates  a  shudder,  and  a  wonder  that  the  offences 
were  so  easily  forgiven;  that  we  had  not  taken  their  country  after 
subduing  it  with  our  arms,  instead  of  treating  for  it.     But  well  and 
humanely  cHd  the  Father  of  his  Country  consider  how  they  had  been 
wiled  to  the  unfortunate  choice  of  friends  which  they  made.     Eng- 
lish  rum  was  not  only  freely  dealt  out  at  Oswego,  during  the  Revo- 
lution, but  at  Fort  Niagara,  where  it  paid  for  the  reeking  scalp,  and 
helped  to  arouse  the  fiercest  passions  of  Indian  allies,   and  send 
them  back  upon  their  bloody  track. 

When  peace  came,  and  our  State  authorities  began  to  cultivate 
an  acquaintance  with  the  Indians,  they  found  thein  deserted  by 
their  late  Britisli  employers,  with  nothing  to  show  for  the  sanguine 
aid  they  had  given  them,  but  appetites  vitiated  by  the  English  rum 
cask,  and  a  moral  and  physical  degeneracy,  the  progress  of  which 
could  not  have  been  arrested;  and  lingering  yet  among  them,  in  all 
their  principal  localities,  was  the  English  or  tory  trader,  prolonging 
his  destructive  traffic.  It  was  American,  New  York  legislation, 
that  made  the  first  statutes  against  the  traffic  of  spirituous  liquors 


I 


PHELPS    AND    GORHAM's    PUROnASE. 


149 


among  the  Indians.  It  was  American  legislation,  after  the  incubus 
of  British  dominion  was  shaken  off,  that  first  checked  the  slave 
trade.  Two  enormous  offences  have  been  committed  against  two 
races,  both  of  which  had  been  alike  perpetuated  under  English  do- 
minion. 


Eng- 


Mr.  Phelps,  although  his  residence  in  ail  the  earliest  years  of  set- 
tlement, was  still  in  Massachusetts,  spent  most  of  his  time  in  Can- 
andaigua,  and  was  the  active  and  liberal  patron  and  helper  in  all 
the  public  enterprises  of  the  region  where  he  had  been  the  pioneer. 
Of  ardent  temperament,  ambitious  in  all  that  related  to  the  pros- 
perity of  the  new  country,  the  Pioneer  settlers  found  in  him  a  friend ; 
and  when  disease,  privation,  Indian  alarms,  created  despondency, 
he  had  for  them  words  of  encouragement,  and  prophecies  of  a  "  bet- 
ter time."  He  was  useful  to  a  degree  that  no  one  can  realize  who 
has  not  seen  how  much  one  man  can  do  in  helping  to  smooth  the 
always  rugged  paths  of  backwoods  life. 

A  considerable  shareholder  in  the  original  purchase  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  Indians,  he  eventually  became  a  principal  owner, 
by  purchase  of  shares,  reversions  and  other  means.     In  a  few  years 
after  the  settlement  of  the  Genesee  country  was  fairly  under  way, 
he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  successful  and  wealthy  of  all 
the  many  founders  of  new  settlements  of  that  period.     In  1795,  he 
regarded  himself  as  worth  a  million  of  dollars.     There  are  no  busi- 
ness enterprises  which,  if  successful,  are  better  calculated  to  lead  to 
excess  and  rash  venture,  than  that  of  speculation  in  lands.     A 
mania  of  land  speculation,  as  will  be  seen  in  another  connection, 
commenced  along  in  '95  and  '6,  and  extended  through  all  the  then 
settled  parts  of  the  Union.     Philadelphia  was  the  principal  focus, 
its  leading  capitalists,  among  whom  was  Mr.  Morris,  were  the  prin- 
cipal operators.     Among  the  devices  of  the  times,  was  a  gigantic 
"  American  Land  Company."     Elected  to  Congress,  Mr.   Phelps, 
elated  with  his  success  in  the  Genesee  country,  was  thrown  into 
the  vortex  of  rash  adventure,  and  became  deeply  involved,  as  all 
were  who   made   any  considerable  ventures  at  that  unfortunate 
period.     One  of  his  ventures  was  in  connection  with  the  "Georgia 
L.'ind  Company  ;"  with  the  fate  of  which,  most  reader;,  will  be 
familiar.    Liabilities  abroad  made  him  a  large  borrower,  and  obliged 


150 


PIIELPS  AND    GOEHAM's    PtJrvCllASE. 


.    ■I'- 


I 


him  to  execute  mortgages  upon  his  Genesee  lands.  In  all  this,  the 
titles  of  purchasers  under  him  became  involved,  which  created  dis- 
trust and  excitement  among  a  portion  of  the  settlers,  and  broucrht 
upon  him  a  good  deal  of  censure.  His  reverses,  and  the  app!-e- 
hensions,  perhaps,  that  others  were  to  be  involved  in  them,  previncr 
upon  a  sensitive  mind,  his  health  gradually  declined,  and  he  died  in 
1809  aged  GO  years.  In  1802,  he  had  removed  to  Canandaic^ua  ; 
and  from  the  commencement  of  his  reverses  up  to  the  period  o^fhis 
death  had  been  struggling  to  extricate  himself,  and  others  involved 
with  him,  from  embarrassment.  In  allusion  to  all  this,  an  inscrip- 
tion  upon  his  tomb-stone  contains  the  following  sentence  :  — 

i2^l7^^:^T"''' 'Ti   Irr"^'''  "■^'^"°*  ^^^^^^  ^-^^"'--^  success;  but  tl.e 
irmts  ot  tJioso  viHues,  \nll  be  felt  by  society." 

The  State  of  Connecticut  having  been  a  principal  creditor  of 
Mr  Phelps,  and  holding  a  large  mortgage  upon  his  lands,  the  Hon. 
Gideon  Granger  became  its  agent,  and  ultimately  the  settlement  of 
the  estate  devolved  upon  him.     When  he  entered  upon  the  task,  he 
was  assisted  in  some  of  its  preliminary  investigations  by  the  late 
Jessee  Havvley,  Esq.,  who,  in  a  memorandum  which  the  author  has 
m  his  possession,  remarks  that  the  estate  was  involved   in  "  com- 
plexity  perplexity  and  confusion."     The  superior  business  facul- 
ties ot   Mr.  Granger,  however,  made  "crooked  things  straicrht  •" 
debts  were  cancelled,  land  titles  cleared  from  incumbrances^;  no 
purchasers  under  Mr.  Phelps,  it  is  believed,  ultimately  suffered  loss  ; 
and  a  considerable  estate  was  saved  to  his  heirs.     Amoncr  the  sur- 
viving  early  Pioneers,  it  is  common  now  to  hear  expressiolis  of  re- 
spect for  the  memory  of  Oliver  Phelps,  and  regrets,  that  the  last 
years  ot  his  active  and  enterprising  life  was  so  clouded  by  misfor- 
lortune.     Jesse  Havvley  wrote  that  he  was  "the  Cecrops  of  the 
Genesee  country.    Its  inhabitants  owe  a  mausoleum  to  his  memo- 
ry,  in  gratitude  for  his  having  pioneered  for  them  the  wilderness  of 
this  Canaan  of  the  west." 

Mr.  Phelps  was  first  judge  of  Ontario,  on  the  primitive  or-aniza- 
tion  of  Its  courts;  and  was  an  early  Representative  in  Con-ress 
Irom  the  then  western  district  of  this  State.  " 

He  left  a  son  and  daughter.  His  son,  Oliver  Leicester  Phelps 
was  educated  at  Yale  College,  married  a  grand-daughter  of  Rorrer 
Sherman,  and  became  a  resident  of  Paris,  France.  Returnin<T°to 
this  country,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  he  became  the  ocrupant 


h 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM's  PUECHASE.         151 

of  the  old  Phelps'  mansion  at  Canandaigua ;  was  atone  period  Ma]. 
General  of  the  22d  Division  of  New  York  Infantry.     He  died  in 
1813.     His  surviving  sons  are :  —  Judge  Oliver  Phelps,  of  Canan- 
daigua, who  resides  at  the  old  homestead,  a  worthy  representative 
of  his  honored  ancestor ;  William  H.  Phelps,  of  Canandaigua ;  and 
Francis  Phelps,   an  inmate   of  the  Infirmary   at  Brattleborou^h 
Vermont.     The  daughter  of  Oliver  Phelps    became  the  wife  °ot' 
Amasa  Jackson,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  is  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Canandaigua.     A  daughter  of  hers,  is  the  wife  of  Gen. 
John  A.  Granger;  and  another,  is  the  wife  of  Alexander  II.  Howell 
a  son  of  the  Hon.  N.  W.  Howell.     The  wife  of  Oliver  Phelps,  who 
was  the  daughter  of  Zachariah  Seymour,  died  in  1826,  acred  74 
years.  ° 


I 


upant 


Nathaniel  Gorham,  the  elder,  who  was  the  associate  of  Mr. 
Phelps,  was  never  a  resident  upon  the  Purchase.  He  resided  in 
Charlestown,  Mass.  His  son,  Nathaniel  Gorham,  jr..  his  local  repre- 
sentative, came  to  Canandaigua  in  1789,  and  was  of  course  one  of 
the  earliest  pioneers.  He  was  an  early  Supervisor  of  Canandaigua, 
a.  Judge  of  the  county  courts,  and  the  President  of  the  Ontario 
Bank,  from  its  first  organization,  until  his  death.  He  died  in  1826, 
aged  62  years.  His  surviving  sons  are :  —  Nathaniel  Gorham,  mer- 
chant,  of  Canandaigua ;  William  Gorham,  of  Canandaigua  ;  and 
David  Gorham,  of  Exeter,  New  Hampshire.  Mrs.  Dr.  A.  G.  Bris- 
tol, of  Rochester,  is  a  daughter ;  and  an  unmarried  daughter  resides 
at  the  old  homestead  at  Canandaigua.  The  mother  died  in  1818, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  83  years. 

And  in  this  connection,  lest  he  should  be  omitted  in  a  work  like 
this  — as  he  should  not  be  — some  mention  should  be  made  of  the 
venerable  William  Wood,  who,  if  not  a  pioneer  himself,  is  especial- 
ly the  friend  of  the  pioneers ;  and  among  his  other  good  works, 
takes  a  lively  interest  in  perpetuating  theii-  memories.  Mr.  Wood 
IS  a  veteran  bachelor,  the  brother  of  the  late  Mrs.  Nathaniel  Gor- 
ham. His  native  place  is  Charlestown,  Massachusetts.  At  one 
period  of  his  life,  he  was  an  importing  merchant  !n  the  city  of  Bos- 
ton; after  that,  a  cotton  dealer  in 'New  Orleans,  where  he  was 
known  for  his  deeds  of  philanthropy  and  benevolence.  Becomino' 
a  resident  of  Canandaigua,  "by  quiet  unostentatious  charities,  by 


m 


;.  II' 


' 


H 


152 


PHELrS  AND   GORIIAM's   PURCHASE. 


being  "  present  in  every  good  work, "  he  has  well  entitled  himself  to 
be  called  the  Howard  of  his  local  region.  The  public  edifices  of 
Canandaigua,  the  rural  church-yard,  the  streets  and  side-walks,  the 
public  libraries,  bear  testimonials  of  his  public  spirit.  If  no  other 
good  work  is  in  hand,  he  will  carry  apples,  books,  and  other  accept- 
able presents,  to  the  inmates  of  the  jail,  and  cheer  them  by  kind 
words.  In  cities  and  villages  of  this  country  and  in  England,  he 
has  established  libraries  and  literary  institutions,  principally  for  the 
benefit  of  mechanics,  apprentices  and  clerks.  Well  may  it  be  said; 
that  the  world  would  be  better,  the  picture  of  humanity  would  have 
in  it  more  of  lighter  coloring,  if  there  were  more  like  William 
Wood.  But,  principally,  it  has  been  intended  to  notice  him  in  con- 
nection with  a  Gallery  of  Portraits  —  mostly  of  Pioneers  of  the 
Genesee  country  —  that  he  is  collecting  and  suspending  in  their 
well-chosen  and  appropriate  place,  the  court-house  at  Canandaigua. 
It  contains  already  the  portraits  of — 


Oliver  Phelps, 
Peter  B.  Porter. 
Philip  Church, 
Wm.  Wadsworth, 
MicAH  Brooks, 
Vincent  Mathews, 
Abner  Barlow, 
Walter  Hubbell, 
John  C.  Spencer, 
Mobes  Atwateh, 


Augustus  Porter, 
John  Greig, 
James  Wadsworth, 
Red  Jacket, 
Nathaniel  Rochester, 
Jasper  Parrish, 
Judge  Fitziiugh, 
Ambrose  Spencer, 
William  Williams, 

N.  W.  HOWELI,. 


And  a  correspondent  adds;  —  "William  Wood,  the  noblest  Ro- 
man of  them  all." 


PIIELPS   AND   GOEHAm's    PURCHASE. 


153 


CHAPTER  V 


JEMFMA    WlLKlNSO.V. 


rp 


even  the  Indian  trealie,  ft,- 1!  ''":"'=,'^™''^'=<'  ■"'""fy,  preceding 
=.i.u.ed  in  ea,.,;  Z^t  Z^'^T^^  l^^^-^''^  »- 
account  of  them  it  mnv  ,v.ii  i  ,  '^''S'on;  some 

"ork  of  this  ch";cter  '  ™''"°"''  ""'  '^^  '°'"^»<'  '-  '»  ^ 

Ft/e'ri  ■" "r'^'i;':?;''-'''''  ",t  ™  ^^-"^^  ■'^  ^^  f""»-,.s,  «  ne 

En:itr;:;rv,"r^^^^^^^^ 

recovty.  si  rwt;,afw:„T  I  """';"""■"'  ""''  """■  "'-■• 
'■•aetedi;  .in^ostoHif  J;,r;  Iti^S'-- .;-  ^^^'^'■''  """  ""• 
iilness,  lici-  friemk  Iv,^  ,  °  , ,  l'""«"  °'-  I"  the  extremity  of  her 
herdeatllw    "  asst  !ffi'      'i''  '""""^ '""  ''«' ^'J"  '""''"ess 

K-ehng  byits  side,  ^ade tt     /t  „ra,t  X  P  "'  'T';  """ 

she  was  l^Z^^J^:"'fT''""''  ^'"^  ''''^''^'  J^-^cefonvar3 

ci^nsidfi  XroTsres'T f  "^'  """  '-^""'■""^'  """  ™'*  " 
Sood  New  EnJ   d  tmeT    T°    "'''""'''■''"^■'''  ■'°'"^'  "^  "'="> 

York,  and  spent  sevcnll!  f  ^'''  ^"^-''^"^'  ^^^'^^^'^^'^  ^^^^"^^ 

_^       ^Pent  sevcial  years  ni  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia 

f .vZlt  '!■  'f '-'''•^'  '""•  "'^^■"  "™<'""'  "f  ho ! !  .    c    :  


I},t .  f ' 


154 


PHELPS  AOTD    GOEnAirS   PURCHASE. 


ih^i 


r  i; 


and  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  accompanied  by  most  of  her  follow- 
ers ;  and  she  had  proselytes  wherever  she  went.  Her  authority 
over  them  was  absolute.  Upon  one  occasion,  at  New  Milford,  in 
Connecticut,  she  proclaimed  a  fast  for  thirty  days  on  bread  and 
water.  Most  of  them  strictly  obeyed;  some  of  them  becoming 
almost  what  Calvin  Edson  was  in  later  years.  After  remaining  in 
New  England  and  Pennsylvania  about  twenty  years,  she  came  to 
Western  New  York  ;  she  was  then  near  forty  years  of  age.  The 
author  has  a  copy  of  the  "  New  Haven  Gazette  and  Connecticut 
Magazine,"  of  date,  ]March  1787,  that  has  a  letter  in  it  from  a 
Phihidelphia  correspondent,  written  at  the  time  "  The  Friend,"  and 
her  followers  were  in  Philadelphin,  on  their  way  to  this  region. 
Her  personal  ajipearance  is  thus  described :  — "  She  is  about  the 
middle  size  of  woman,  not  genteel  in  her  person,  rather  awkward  in 
her  carriage ;  her  com])lexion  good,  her  eyes  remarkably  black  and 
brilliant,  her  hair  black  and  waving  with  beautiful  ringlets  upon  her 
neck  and  shoulders ;  her  features  are  regular,  and  the  whole  of  her 
face  thought  by  many  to  be  perfectly  beautiful.  As  she  is  not  to  be 
supposed  of  either  sex,  so  this  neutrality  is  manifest  in  her  personal 
appearance: — She  wears  no  cap,  letting  her  hair  hang  down  as 
has  been  described.  She  wears  her  neckcloth  like  a  man ;  her  chemise 
is  buttoned  around  the  neck  and  wrists.  Her  outside  garment  is  a 
robe,  under  which  it  is  said  she  wears  an  expensive  dress,  the  fash- 
ion of  which  is  made  to  correspond  neither  with  that  of  a  man  nor 
woman.  Her  understanding  is  not  deficient,  except  touching  iier 
religious  fanatacism.  She  is  very  illiterate,  yet  her  memory  is  very 
'.;reat ;  artful  in  discovering  many  circumstances  which  fall  out 
among  her  disciples.  On  all  occasions  she  requires  the  most  extra- 
ordinary attentions  that  can  be  bestowed  upon  her;  one  or  more 
of  her  disciples  usually  attend  upon  her,  and  perform  the  most 
menial  service.  Her  pronunciation  is  after  the  peculiar  dialect  of 
the  most  illiterate  of  the  country  people  of  New  England.  Her 
preaching  has  very  little  connexion,  and  is  very  lengthy ;  at  times 
cold  and  languid,  but  occasionally  lively,  zealous  and  animated." 

Enlarging  upon  the  account  she  first  gave  of  her  rising  from  a 
bed  of  sickness  —  dead  in  the  flesh  —  she  assumed  that  there  was 
nncc  such  a  person  as  Jemima  Wilkinson,  but  that  "  ^\\e  died  and 
went  to  lieaven ;  after  which  the  Divine  Spirit  re-animated  that 
same  bodv,  and  it  arose  from  the  dead  ;  now  this  divme  inhabitant 


rilELPS    AND    GORnA:\['s   PURCHASE.  1^5 

is  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  the  friend  to  all  mankind,  and  gives  his 
name  to  the  body  to  which  he  is  united,  and  therefore,  body  and 
spirit  conjointly,  is  the  "Universal  Friend."  She  assumed  to  have 
two  "w^nesses,"  corresponding  in  all  respects  to  those  prophccled 
m  Rev  Chap  xi,  from  3d  to  13th  verse.  These  were  James  Par- 
ker and  Sarah  Richards. 

But  the  reader  will  be  principally  interested  in  the  advent  of  this 
singular  personage  and  her  followers  to  the  Genesee  country  •  _ 
Previous  to  1780,  they  were  living  in  detached  localities.     In  that 
year,  they  met  in  Connecticut,  and  resolved  upon  finding  some  "fer- 
tile  unsettled  region,  far  from  towns  and  cities,  where  the  '  Univer- 
sal Friend"  and  her  followers,  might  live  undisturbed  in  peace  and 
plenty,  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  peculiar  religion.'      They  delega- 
ted three  of  their  number,  Abraham   Dayton,  Richard  Smith  and 
Thom.s  Hathaway  to  look  for  such  a  location.     They  went  to 
1  hiladelphia  and  traversed  on  horseback  the  interior  of  Pennsylva- 
ma      Passing  through  the  valley  of  Wyoming,  they  came  across  a 
backv/oodsman  by  the  name  of  Spalding,  who  furnished  them  with 
a  glimpse  of  the  region  around  Seneca  Lake,  and  gave  them  direc- 
tions hovv  to  find  it.     Following  his  directions,  they  went  up  the 
river,  and  falling  upon  the  track  of  Sullivan's  army,  reached  the 
loot  of  Seneca  Lake,  and  from  thence  proceeded  to  Cashon<T  creek 
where  they  found  two  French  traders,  (De  Bartzch  and  Poudrv )' 
who  told  them  that  they  had  travelled  through  Canada,  and  through 
the  Western  territory,  and  had  seen  no  where  so  fine  a  country  as  the 
one  they  were  in.     A  few  days  exploration,  satisfied  the  land  look- 
ers and  they  returned  by  the  route  they  came,  to  inform  the  Friend 
of  the  result  of  their  travels. 

In   June  1787,  twenty  five  of  the   Friends,  among  whom  were 


a  grant  in  tlio  present  townnl,  p  <  'l  m'ford  C  W  v?  ,"'""'  ■'"-*^«''''l' ■''«'l  ■"•■"lo 
irrat...  whc.nthcG,,v,.rn.w-aMnun(a],k  .w  ^'h  '  ^ '^^'PanUions  were  made  to  enii- 
j.oso,l  Uumi  t,.  bo  Q.4.rr  f  4,  n  1  1  ,  "^ --^'^''^ '^"  excuse  that  he  had  .np- 
Imt  h-arning  tha  ll^  i  'r  ,'  •  now  o  .f  '  f  '''T":^  l"  ^^""^'  "I'inion  in  EnK]an('l  ; 
Ho  howcvo'^-  ,nado  tfio  I'r  ni  c/T  D^  nt  ,''r  T^  ''  ^"'^""'"^'^t^'^r  en.igratinn. 
.nont  dnties  .tc.-as  h^^^  i  ,n    i  S,'  .'l      i/"'';'"''',"- '•^■'  l'^'  '"'''  t^'nns,- settle- 


6 1 


m 


15G 


PHELPS  AND  GORIL^m's  PURCnASE. 


Abel  Botsford,  Peleg  and  John  Briggs,  and  Isaac  Nichols,  with  their 
families,  met  at  Schenectady,  and  embarked  on  board  of  batteaux 
for  the  promised  land.  At  Geneva  they  found  but  a  solitary  log 
house,  and  that  not  finished,  *' inhabited  by  one  Jennings."  They 
went  up  the  east  side  of  the  Lake  to  "  Ajiple  Town,"  where  they 
remained  several  days  searching  for  a  mill  site.  The  noise  of  the 
falling  water,  of  the  outlet  of  Crooked  Lake,  attracted  them  to  the 
west  shore  of  Seneca  I^ake.  Passing  up  the  outlet  they  came  to 
the  Falls,  and  exploring  the  neighborhood,  fixed  upon  i  as  their 
location.  They  began  their  settlement  in  Yates  County,  about,  one 
mile  south  of  the  present  village  of  Dresden.  It  was  August  when 
t'^ey  arrived.  They  prepared  ground  and  sowed  a  field  of  wheat 
in  common,  and  the  next  season,  1789,  several  small  fields  of  wheat 
were  sown.* 

The  first  land  purchase  was  made  of  the  State,  upon  the  "  Gore," 
previous  to  the  running  of  the  new  pre-emption  line.  It  was  a 
tract  of  14,000  acres,  situated  in  the  east  part  of  the  present  town 
of  Mile,  and  south  east  part  of  Starkey.  William  Potter  and 
Thomas  Hathaway  were  delegated  to  make  the  purchase.  They 
applied  to  Governor  George  Clinton  for  a  grant  of  land,  which  was 
refused  of  course,  but  he  assured  them  that  if  they  would  attend 
the  public  sale  in  Albany,  they  would  be  able  to  obtain  land  at  a 
satisfactory  price.  They  attended  the  sale  and  bought  the  tract 
above  named  for  a  little  less  then  2s  per  acre.  Benedict  Robinson 
and  Thomas  Hathaway,  soon  after  ])ought  of  Phelps  and  Goriinm 
the  town  of  Jerusalem  for  Is  3d  per  acre.f 

The  first  grist  mill  in  Western  New  York,  was  built  by  three  of 
the  society ;  — Richard  Smith,  James  Parker  and  Abraham  Dayton. 
The  site  was  the  one  now  occupied  by  the  "  Empire  Mills,""  two 
and  a  half  miles  from  Penn  Yan.  It  was  built  in  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1789  and  fiour  was  made  in  it  in  that  year.     Here  also  was 


■'TliiscoiTc'dstlic  very  common  impression,  that  the  first  v.-hcat  was  liarvcstcd  at 
Cannmiaicrna,  and  Vidor,  in  the  fall  of  1700.  Tho  wheat  sown  by  the  Friends  must 
iuive  been  liarvcstud  in  1789. 

tit  was  anile  at  that  early  period,  with  Messrs.  Theljis  cfc  Gorhain,  in  soliin"-  a 
picked  townslnp,  to  require  tlie  pureliascr  to  draw  for  aiiotlier  township  at  flio  smie 
]nice.  Jvobiiison  and  Hathaway  after  puivliasiui;' Jerusalem,  drew  what  is  now  tJie 
town  of  Gcneseo.  The  Friend  o})jeeto(l  lo  her  people  "tradin-,'  and  buyins;  pro|)ertv 
at  a  distance,"  and  fearing  her  displeasure,  they  jjrevailcd  uixm  Mr.  PJi'elps  to  release 
tlieni  Iwm  the  l)arKain,  which  he  was  quite  wilhng  to  do,  as  he  had  ascertained  the 
Value  ot  the  township. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 


157 


opened  the  first  public  house  by  David  Waagencr.     A  son  of  his, 

Abraham  Waggener  of  Pcnn  Yan,  now  TG^'ycars  of  arre,  well  re- 

men.bers  seeing  the  Frencii  Duke,  Liancourf,  at  his  father's  inn.* 

The  first  framed  house  in  the  Genesee  country,  was  built  by  Enoch 

and  Elijah  Malin,  as  a  residence  for  "  Tlio  Friend."     The  house  is 

still  standing,  and  is  occupied  by  Charles  J.  Townsend.     It  is  a  mile 

north  of  Dresden,  and  a  half  a  mile  east  of  S.  B.  Buckleys.     The 

first  school  in  the  Genesee  country,  was  opened  by  Rachef  Malin  in 

a  log  roo.ri  attached  to  this  house.     In  1789,  a  log  meetinrr  house 

was  built  in  which  "The  Friend"  preached,  and  met  with  her  fol- 

lowers.     This  house  stood  a  few  rods  south  of  the  . -sidence  of  S. 

B.  Buckley.    But  this  is  anticipating  pioneer  events  that  belong  in 

another  connexion. 

Major  Benajah  Mollory,  well  known  in  all  this  region  durino-  the 
war  of  1812,  is  yet  living,  in  Lockport,  Niagara  County.     He  is 
spoken  of  in  a  preceding  note  as  having  married  the  daurrhter  of 
Abraham  Dayton.     This  family  connexion,  (or  then  anticipated  one,) 
brought  him  to  the  Friend's  settlement  at  an  earlv  period  after  it  was 
founded.     He  was  the  first  merchant  there  ;  and  in  fact,  opened  the 
first  store  m  the  Genesee  Country,  other  than  those  connected  with 
the  Indian  trade.     From  him  the  author  has  obtained  manv  remin- 
iscences, some  of  which  are  applicable  to  the  subject  in  hand      He 
gives  the  names  of  principal  heads  of  families  who  were  followers 
of  "The  Friend,"  and  located  in  the  settlement  during  the  earliest 
years:— Abraham  Dayton,  William  Potter,  (father  of  Arnold  Pot- 
ter)  Asahel  Stone,  John  Supplee,  Richard  Smith,  David  Wagrrener 
James  Parker,  Samuel  Lawrence,  Benj.  Brown,  Elnathan  ant  Jon-' 
athan  Botsford,  Jessee  Brown,  Jessee  Holmes,  Joshua  Brown,  Barn- 
abus  Brown,  Nathaniel  Ingraham,  Eleazor  Ingraham,  David  Culver 
David  I^ish,  Beloved  Luther,  John  Gibbs,  Jacob  Waggener,  Wm 
feAnfoijI,  John  Barnes,  Elijah  Brown,  Silas  Hunt,  Castle  Dean,  Jon- 
athan  Dean,  Benedict  Robinson,  Thomas  Hathaway,    Besides  the^e 
there  were  unmarried  men,  and  men  and  women   who  had   been 
separated  in  adhering  to  the  Friend.     The  followers  were  mostly 

Alh3,.  .u  A,„oncan  supno.-  .onsS^o/^nffi:,^'"      Sl^H;:;"r  ^fh  ""[T"f " 


158 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's    PUECHASE. 


[f 


respectable  men  of  small  property  ;  some  of  them  had  enourrh  to  be 
called  rich  m  those  days.     Those  whc  had  considerable  property 
gave  her  a  part,  or  were  at  least  liberal  in  supplying  her  wants 
Man  and  wife  were  not  separated  ;  but  they  were  forbidden  to 
multiply.     A  few  transgressed,  but  obtained  absolution  by  confes- 
sing and  promising  not  to  disobey  again.     It  ^vas  generally  a  well 
regulated  community,  its  members  mostly  lived  in  harmony,  were 
temperate  and  industrious.     They  had  two  days  of  re«t  in  the  week 
Saturday  and  Sunday.     At  Uieir  meetings  the'  Friend  would  gener- 
ally speak,  take  a  text  preach  and  exhort  and  give  liberty  to  others 
to  speak.     The  Friend  appeared  much  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
her  followers,  and  especially  attentive  to  them  in  sickness.     Major 
Blallory  insists  that  the  old  story  of  her  promising  to  '-walk   on  the 
water"  is  wholly  false.    When  Col.  Pickering  held  his  treaty  with  the 
Indians  at  Newtown  Point,  nearly  five  hundred  Senecas  encamped 
at  Friends'  Landing  on  Seneca  Lake.     They  were  accompanied  by 
Ked  Jacket,  Cornplanter,  and  Good  Peter,  (the  Indian   preacher,) 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland,  Horatio  Jones  and  Jasper   Parrish.     Good 
Peter  wanted  an  interview  with  the  "  Universal  Friend."     She  ap- 
pointed a  meeting-with  the   Indians  and  preached  to  them.  Good 
Peter  followed  hei-,  and  the  Friend  wanted  his  discourse   interpre- 
ted.    Good  Peter  objected,  saying :  —  "  if  she  is  Christ,  she  knows 
what  I  said."     This  was  the  meeting  upon  the  bank  of  Seneca  Lake, 
that  gave  rise  to  the  report  alluded  to. 

The  Friend  did  not  join  her  colony  until  the  spring  of  1789.  She 
then  came  with  a  reinforcement,  a  somewhat  formidable  retinue.* 
Benedict  Robinson,  the  most  considerable  property  holder  amono- 
her  followers,  gave  her  1000  acres  of  land,  upon  which  she  resided.? 

\-n3""'"S  H^'^^hcT,  the  Pioneer  at  the   moutli  of  tlie  Genesee   l{ivei^;^,nh;;j:;; 
^ewtoNvn  Point,  and  helped  l,er  on  ^vith  Ian  teams  ihrou-di  the  woods  to  CteriU 
FWond-    r  •^"'•^'^r"''r"   ^^"  accon,pa„ied  the  expediH,,,!, \ve  f       'n^K  •  Tl  ^ 
Sd    iec      3  n  ^[T^""^  ""^«"'"n^-  "-tKeenuillo  hini.of  a  wonum  eo  ^roll  !; 
worn  rJo'i"    '/','?"  y""-''  appertan,n,f.  to  the  ounioy.    It  seemed  to  liin.  a  "  o  S 

£u      iho   wil'l     ''■'  ^"■'''  ^'"''^^'^^"'"l   hospitality,  when  his  father's   fan  ilv  ea,  e 
Iwr        °   ^'l^'«'-"^'^-^.»"<l  stopped  at  her  residence,  on  their  way  to  the  tienesoe 

w!ir'"'   """"",  '"f  ^''''''"■"^  ^^'^f^^™  "f  -^f'--  Robinson,  written  to   Messrs  W'.dstrortl, 
J\  Ihanison,  an.  others,  and  he  is  ofte.i  alh.de.l  to  in  early  ren  i  dsc  ,;;       TJ  e  TS-  " 

i^  r''nd  Slth'"  7''  '"'  ^r"'  W-:-"ThisBenedi:-"Zwnsoii    aS' 
rn  ve    •'     "I  M  V       1      '"■•",'• '•'^;;"'^'"^""  ;'"  ^^^^\^  "f  ^'00  acres,  ]o(l  of  which  are  im- 

row      A|,V,     .  '^  "f '  '^'■%''""  'J"'   <;""tt'nt.s  hnns<.lf  with  breakinL'  it  no  with  a  har- 

ineuu,     lieinlened  from  ks   conversation  that  his  confidence  iu  her  divine  mi*.k.u 


PIIELPS    AND    GORIIAM's   PURCHASE. 


159 


Her  business  would  seem  to  have  been  conducted  by  her  female 
witmess,  Sarah  Richards,  who  did  not  arrive  at  the  settlement  until 
June,  1789.  Some  correspondence  of  hers,  and  memorandums, 
have  been  preserved  :  — 

"  Jehusalem,  1st  of  Gth  ino.,  17D1. 
"  I  arrived  with  Rachel  Miilin,  Elijali  Malin,  E.Mclutable  Smitli,  Maria,  an.l  most  of 
the  Friend's  family,  ami  the  goods  which  the  Friend  sent  Elijah  to  assist  in  briugin" 
on.  We  all  an'ived  on  the  west  side  of  Seneca  Lake,  and  reached  the  Friend's  house 
which  The  Universal  Friend  had  got  huilt  for  our  reception  ;  and  with  great  joy,  met 
The  Friend  once  more  in  time,  and  all  in  walking  health,  and  as  well  as  usual. 

"SARAH  RICHARDS." 
"In  the  year  '91,  settled  witli  Elijah  Malin,  being  in  trust  for  The  Universiil  Friend. 
Attliistime,  reckoned  and  settled  with  him  forbuildiag  Tiw;  Friend's  house, and pjiss- 
ed  receii)ta  the  24th  of  the  sixth  montli,  1791.  SARAH  RICHARDS." 

"Reckoned  and  settled  with  Richard  Hathaway  for  goods  which  the  carpenters  took 
up  at  his  store  for  building  The  Friend's  jLouse  in  Jerusalem.  Settled,  I  say,  tliis  3d 
of  the  7th  month,  1791.  SARAH  RICHARDS." 

"About  theSGth  of  the  7th  month,  1791,1  and  Rachel  Maliu  were  taken  sick  about 
the  time  of  wheat  harvest,  and  remained  sick,  aud  were  not  able  to  go  out  of  the  house 
until  the  ground  was  covered  with  snow ;  but  entirely  confined  to  our  chamber,  wliich 
finished  up  the  year  1791.  SARAH  RICHARDS." 

Sarah  Richards  died  in  '94  or  '5,  and  was  succeeded  in  all  her 
relations  to  The  Friend,  by  Rachel  Malin.  The  father  of  The 
Friend  never  became  her  convert,  but  her  brother,  Stephen,  and 
sisters,  Mercy,  Betsey  and  Deborah,  followed  her  in  her  advent  to 
this  region. 

The  meetings  of  this  singular  sect,  were  conducted  very  much 


was  somewhat  weakened.  The  Duke  might  liave  added  a  circumstance  that  hid 
somtnyhat  interfered  with  the  relati<.ns  of  the  Friend  and  one  of  her  most  prominent 
(lisciplfts.  He  had  mtracted  one  of  her  rules,  by  mairving.  He  was  in  tliis  wav  the 
hrst  transgressor  among  the  followei-s.  Susmnah  lin'.wn  had  been  his  liouskeeper 
1  hos.  Hathaw.'jy  having  laisiness  with  Benedict  eariy  one  morning,  went  to  his  house 
where  he^f.mnd  Mr.  \Villianison,wh..  told  him  that  Benedict  being  unwell  was  vet 
in  bed.  Mr.  A\  il  lanison  leading  Die  way,  they  botli  went  up  stairs  iind  found  lieno- 
dictin  bed  with  his  liousekeei)er,  Susannah;  "Good  .Lord!  Benedict,  what  does  this 
mean  ?  was  the  ejaculatK.n  and  ii.teiTogation  of  Thomiis,  accomi)anied  by  an  ui iliftiii'r 
cU  lus  hands,  in  token  of  astonisl.nient  and  horror,  at  what  he  called  "shameful,  sin- 
tid.  and  disgraceful.'  Mr.  Williamson  replied  :_"Whv,  ISenedict  g.,t  tired  <,fs!eenin.r 
Mlone,  and  crept  m  bed  with  Su.sannah."  Thomas  hWtened  to  inlbrm  The  Friemf 
wlio  was  dnpleased  but  avoided  an  open  ri'pturo,  with  onewlioseposltionand  influence 
made  liim  too  valuable  to  admit  of  ex-communication.  The  harsh  features  of  theaifair 
were  so-  n  s(itfene<l,  by  Mr.  Williamson,  who  announced  that  lie  was  then  on  his  wav 
trom  (  iiandaigua,  where  he  had  taken  out  his  commission  as  a  Judge  of  Ontario  county 
and  had  legrJly  married  Benedict  and  Susannah  before  tliev  had  ventured  to  i.laco 
llieniselves  i,i  tlie  po.sition  in  whicli  'I'homas  had  found  them.  '  The  eccentric  mairia<re 
proved  a  hnypy  one  to  the  parties,  whatever  it  m.ay  have  been  with  the  offended  Jenu- 


ina.     The  living  descendants  in  the  first  di 


nah,  are  :  —  DiCDaniel  Robi 


nson  ofFarmiiiijtoii.  Out 


j:ree.  ofthe  olfending  Benedict  aiul  Susan 


county  fMr.s.  Dr.  Hatniaker  of 


Mo  \  ates  county  ;  Jaines  C    Robinson,  P.  M.,  lenn  Van  ;  and  Phoebe,  a  maide 
ilauglitei,  who  residesj  at  the  old  homestead. 


ICU 


PHELPS  AKD  GOIUIAm's  PUECIIASE. 


0  m 


'p  I  ■ 


iW'iJ 


Itli 


m 


after  the  manner  of  the  legitimate  Society  of  Friends.  The  con- 
gregation  would  sit  in  silence  until  some  one  would  rise  and  speak. 
While  Tiie  Friend  lived,  ..he  would  generally  lead  in  the  public 
speakmg,  and  after  her,  Rachel  Malin.  In  addition  to  this,  and  the 
usual  observance  of  a  period  of  silence,  with  each  familv,  upon  sit- 
tmg  down  to  their  meals,  "  sittings  "  in  each  family,  upon  Sunday 
evenmgs,  was  common.  The  family  would  observe  perfect  silence 
tor  an  hour  or  more,  and  then  rise  and  shake  hands.  "  I  remem- 
ber," says  Mr.  Buckley,  "when  I  was  a  boy,  many  such  'sittings  ' 
at  my  grand-father's,  and  I  always  rejoiced'  when  they  commenced 
shakmg  hands  to  end  the  tiresome  stillness." 

_  It  has  already  been  observed,  that  the  French  Duke,  Liancourt, 
visited  The  Friend's  settlement  in  1795.     He  became  much  inter- 
ested in  the  new  sect,  made  the  acciuaintance  of  The  Friend,  was 
a  guest,  with  his  travelling  companions,  at  her  house,  and  attended 
her  meetings.     For  one  so  generally  liberal  and  candid,  he  writes 
of  all  he  saw  there  in  a  vein  of  censure,   in  some  respects,  unde- 
served.    She  and  her  followers,  were  then  at  variance  with  their 
neighbors,  and  the  Duke  too  readily  listened  to  gossip  that  im|)lica- 
ted  the  private  character  of  this  fbunder  of  a  sect,  and  added  them 
to  his  (justifiable,  perhaps,)  denunciations  of  religious  imposture. 
Her  real  character  was  a  mixed  one  :  —  Her  first  incentives  were 
the  imaginings  of  a  mind  highly  susceptible  of  religious  enthusiasm 
and  strongly  tinctured  with  the  supernatural  and  spiritual,  which' 
in  our  own  day,  has  found  advocates,  and  has  been  systematizctl  in- 
io  a  creed.      The   physical  energies   prostrated   by  disease,    the 
dreamy  mind  went  out,  and,  following  its  inclinations,  wandered 
.'.n  celestial  spheres,  and  in  a  "  rapt  vision,"  created  an  ima^e,  some- 
thing to  be  01-  to  personate.     Disease  abating,  consciousness  return- 
ing,  this  image  had  made  an  impress  upon  the  mind  not  to  be  readily 
effaced.     She  became  an  enthusi;-t ;  after  events,  made  her  an  im- 
postor.    All  founders  of  sects,  upon  new  revelations,  have  not  had 
even  so  much  in  the  way  of  induction  to  mitigate  their  frauds.     A 
sect  that  has  arisen  in  our  own  day,  now  counting  its  tens  of  thou- 
sands, the  founders  of  a  State,  have  nothing  to  show  as  their  basis, 
but  a  bald  and  clumsy  cheat ;  a  designed  and  pre-meditated  fraud.' 
It  had  no  even  distempered  religious  enthusiasm  ;  no  sick  man  or 
sick  woman's  fancy  to  create  a  primitive  semblance  of  sincerity  or 
integrity  of  purpose.     The  trance  or  dream  of  Jemima  Wilkinson 


rilEIPS  AND  GOKIIAm's  PURCnASE. 


161 


honestly  enough  promulgated  at  first,  while  the  image  of  its  creation 
absorbed  all  her  thoughts  and  threw  around  her  a  spell  that  reason 
cou  <1  not  dissipate,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  superstitious  and 
credulous,  and.  perhaps,  the  designing.  The  motives  of  worldly 
ambition,  power,  distinction;  the  desire  to  rule,  came  upon  her 
when  the  paroxism  of  disease  in  body  and  mind  had  subsided  and 
made  her  what  history  must  say  she  was,  an  impostor  and  false 
pretender. 

And  yet  there  were  many  evidences  that  motives  of  benevolence, 
a  kindly  spirit,  a  wif;h  to  promote  the  temporal  wellfare  of  her  M- 
lowers,  was  mixed  up  with  her  impositions.     Her  character  was  a 
compound.     If  she  was  conscious  herself  o^  imposition,  as  we  must 
suppose  she  was,  her  perseverence  was  mc       "traordinary     Never 
through  her  long  cr.reer  di<l  she  for  one  m.  aent  yield  the  preten- 
sions  she  made  upon  rising  from  her  sick  bed  and  goin-  out  upon 
her  mission.     With  gravity  and  dignity  of  demeanor,"  she  would 
confront  cavillers   and  disbelievers,  and  parry  their  assaults  upon 
her  motives  and  pretensions;    almost   awing  them   to   a  surren- 
der of  their  doubts  and  disbelief.    Always  self-possesserl,  no  evidence 
could  ever  be  obtained  of  any  misgivings  with  her,  touching  her 
spiritual  claims.     Upon  one  occasion  James  Wadsworth  called  to 
see  her.     At  the  close  of  the  interview,  she  said  :— "  Thou  art  a 
lawyer ;  thou  hast  plead  for  others  ;  hast  thou  ever  plead  for  thvself 
to  the  Lord  ?"     Mr.  Wadsworth  made  a  courteous  replv,  when  re- 
questmg  all  present  to  kneel  with  her,  she  prayed  fervently,  after 
which  she  rose,  shook  hands  with  Mr.  Wadsworth,  and  retired  to 
her  apartment. 

The  reader  must  make  some  allowances  for  the  strong  prejudices 
of  the  French  Duke,  who  upon  the  whole,  made  but  poor  returns 
for  the  hospitalities  he  acknowledges.  He  says:  — "She  is  con- 
stantly  engaged  in  personating  the  part  she  has  assumed  ;  she  des- 
canted in  a  sanctimonious,  mystic  tone,  on  death,  and  on  the  happi- 
ness of  having  been  an  instrument  to  others,  in  the  way  of  their 
salvation.  She  gave  us  a  rhapsody  rj  prophecies  to  read,  ascribed 
to  Dr.  Love,  who  was  beheaded  in  Crom '.veil's  time.  Her  hypoc- 
risy may  be  traced  in  all  her  discourses,  actions  and  conduct,  and 
even  in  the  very  manner  in  which  she  manages  her  countenance  " 

The  Friend's  commn.nity.  at  fi.-,:t  flourishing  and  successful,  berran 
to  decline  in  early  years.     The  seclusion  and  separation  from  "the 


162 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAm's    PURCHASE. 


pViBr  f . 


selected  ,„o  fine  «  region  ,o  make  a  monopolv  of  i,.    The  tide  o 
m,s,at,o„  reached, hen,,  and  before  thev  ha.fgo,  fairly undefvav 
they  were  surrounded  wilh  neighbors  who  hfdli.UeS  "^1 
Fnend  or  sympathy  with  her  followers.     The  relations  of  "e " 
borhoo  ,  town  and  county  soon  clashed,  militia  tnusters  eam^ln 

propcitj  sold.     Ihn  Fnend  was  a  Ion?  time  harr..««J  -i-H  ■-,-)■■ 
menls  lor  blasphemy,  but  never  convicted      While'sh,').„  I'T    ' 
»ost  of  her  older  followers  in  the  bar,  J  'the  ^      ef  n      1  tl 
ed  of  the  res tratrts  imposed  upon  thetn,  by  contrasting  the  r  p  "w 
leges  w,th  then-  d.sbelieving  neighbors,  would  unharnes.,  tl   mselve, 

Jwo  of  ,  lat  cmly  class  of  methodist  circuit  preachers,*  that  were 
so  tndefattguable  ,n  threading  the  wood's  Lds  of  his  w  tern 
fores  as  were  the.r  Jesuit  predecessors  a  cenluty  befor  the  n 
found  he  retreat,  and  getting  a  foothold,  in  a  log  schod  hou  "' 
gra  ually  drew  many  o/  the  young  people  to  their  mfetings  Mam' 
of  the  sons  t^,d  daughters  of  the  followers  abjured  the  faith  ^ 

Jemtma  W.lt.nson  died  in  1819,  or  departed,  went  awa^  as  the 
mtphe,.   behevers  in  her  divine  ehnraeteJ  would  have ^'kache 
Main,  her  successor  in  spiri.u.al  as  well  as  worldly  alli.irs  dtd 
about  three  years  stnee.     She  fcpt  up  the  meetings  unti  a  f^w 
years  prev.ous  to  herdeath.     James  Brown,  and  GeorgeCIa A  ■  I  o 

Zt  ,    f'      ,    tr'  ""'""r"  "'°  P'°"^''>-  "'a.  she  iri  e^ 
from  The  Fnend.     The  peculiar  sect  may  be  said  to  be  eMincT 

.0.  more  than  tln-ee  or  four  are  living  who  even  hold  ligbti;    o  t,  ' 

ongmal    a,.h      Even  the  immediate  .successors  of  Jan  ma  ad 

Itaehel,    he  mhentors   of  the  property,  and  those  who  ^^1  be 

conservators  ol  tlieir  memories,  if  not  of  their  faith  ar„  ,r, 

0   their  teaching.    The  old  homestead,  th   v  rv   '  ncttnrvT 

Universal  Friend  once  with  all  things  appertah  n^  to      '  -e  L  " 

ened  by  her  ngid  discipline ;  is  even  desecrated     Durin.    ,|.° 

winter  the  sounds  of  music  .and  dancing  have  c^^^':^^:: 

once  consecrated  and  venerated  walls.     nn=For  „,    ■  !        • 

sketch  of  Jemima  Wilkinson  and  Iter  follitir,  1,' luf  ^''ir 

manuserii.ts  of  Thomas  Morris,  see  Appendix  No  7  ' 

'Revs.  James  Smiilt  :ni.lJolm  Eruadhcad. 


Tliey  had 
The  tide  of 
'under  way, 
faith  in  The 
ns  of  neigh- 
i  came,  and 
i  and  their 
v.'itii  indie  i- 
!  could  kecj) 
nes  remind- 
:  their  privi- 
themselves ; 
!t  Robinson. 
,*  that  were 
his  western 
efore  them, 
3hool  house, 
igs.  Many 
iiith. 

way,  as  the 
it.  Rachel 
ifl'iirs,  died 
wtil  a  few 
Clark,  who 
3  inherited 
36  extinct ; 
htly  to  the 
mima  and 

should  be 
'  forgetful 
ary  of  the 

so  chast- 
^is  present 
within  its 
Interesting 
from   the 


PART  THIRD. 


CHAPTER  I, 


COMMENCEMENT     OP    SURVEYS,     AND    SETTLEMENT    OF    THE    GENESEE 

COUNTRY. 


[Pioneer  settlcmoiits  will  be  taken  up  in  tliis  connection,  by  counties,  as  they  now 
exist.  The  arrangement  will  not  allow  of  strict  reference  to  tlie  order  of  time  iu 
which  events  occuiTed ;  but  it  will  be  found  more  convenient  for  the  reader  than  any 
other  that  could  be  adopted. 

After  Mr.  Phelps  had  concluded  the  treaty,— before  leaving  the 
country  he  made  arrangements  for  its  survey  into  Ranges  and  Town- 
ships. This  was  done  under  contract,  by  Col. -Hugh  Maxwell,  who 
completed  most  of  the  northern  portion  of  it  previous  to  the  close 
of  the  year  1788 ;  and  in  the  year  1789,  with  the  assistance  of 
Judge  Porter,  he  completed  the  whole.  The  survey  of  townships 
into  farm  lots,  in  cases  where  whole  townships  were  sold,  was  done 
at  the  expense  of  the  purchasers.  Judge  Porter,  Frederick  Saxton, 
Jenkins,  were  among  the  earliest  surveyors  of  the  subdivis- 
ions. 

Mr.  Phelps  having  selected  the  foot  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  as  a 
central  locality  in  the  purchase,  and  as  combining  all  the  advanta- 
ges which  has  since  made  it  pre-eminent,  even  among  the  beautiful 
villages  of  western  New  York,  erected  a  building  for  a  store  house 
on  the  bank  of  the  Lake.  The  next  movement  was  to  make  some 
primitive  roads,  to  get  to  and  from  the  site  that  had  been  selected. 
Men  were  employed  at  Geneva,  who  underbrushed  and  continued 
a  sleigh  ruad,  from  where  it  had  been  previously  made  on  Flint  creek, 
to  the  foot  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  following  pretty  much  the  old 


1.  ■»     ,j   ! 


164 


PHEIPS  AND  aOEIrA,Vs   PPECHASE. 


whtrMt'ohJ'"*''"?''™^' ""•"=""  ""'■  "--•■"'»  near 
gua  outle  .  No  one  wintered  at  Canandaigua  in  1788  '9  Earlv 
m  the  spnng  of  nso,  before  .he  snow  was  ofl'  JZund  Wh 
Sm„h  moved  his  family  n-on,  Geneva,  and  oecupi-d  the  „'  store 
house  thus  making  hin.self  "he  first  settler  wes  of  Sene  a  L  ke 
Soon  after  h,s  arrival  he  huilt  a  block  hottse  upon  Main  s  re"   up  n 

fl  s tstoek  o    hquors  was  obtained  from  Niagara,  U.  C.     He  wen 

re  „  1™/"|"  "^r  """"^  °'  ""'"'^'^  "-"•  i"  •■'  canoe  0  ■ 
S  Sr  I  '  ;f'  --/™"d«cd  in  a  gale,  a.  ,he  mou.i,  of  the 
Uak  Orcha  d  creek;  but  he  saved  n.ost  of  his  stock,  and  carried  it 
to  Cananda,gua  on  pack  horses.  This  primitive  tavern  a, dihe 
ude  store  house  on  the  Lake,  furnished  a  temporary  JtSpl"  place 
for  those  who  arrived  in  the  spring  and  st,mn,er  of  1780  °  ^ 
Early  in  May  17811,  Gen.  Israel  Chanin  arrived  at  rni,n„  l  • 

and  selected  it  as  his  residence,  erecting'a  1^  Lt^e  La    iT  X ! 

-connected  with  him,  and  with  surveys  and  land  sales  la,  ,«; 

contemplated.  v.»re  some  eight  or  ten  others,  who  can      .        ^  ^ 

ho  ,.1,      ^i'™"''^' "■"'''■■ ''™"  '■"°'h<'  '"l^.  <hou..h  this  w^ 

Gen.  chapin .  -^^^^.:^2:Lt:^:^^£:2:'s::^ 

Ph    Ir.'  Tr    r™'  ''•■""•     ^°™  "•■"''■  M'-.  Walker,  a,  t  mrf 

residence.     Others  came  during  the  summer,  who  will  be  nimed  in 
another  connection,  and  before  the  sittin.  in  of  win  e    tho  7 
pretty  good  beginning  of  a  new  settlement     Ju;^^^^^^^^^ 
a  brother  of  Capt.  Horatio  Jones, -who still  surviveft^ leXr 


Canamlaif,nia  was  but  a   W  on,,  ti  I  ^     "''"'"','"  "'«""-  tin.,,..     His  stay  at 

At  the  M,;^Ti,s  imit    at  Oj,  .sir    ;    hi  ""''■"  ''"'"  ^''i'l'l^'.Ywl  »«  "n  Indian  iiitor    eter 
OMlc's  of  land  o        ,.   W  c^^^^^^^^^^^^      l'.'"""^  f;>'^  '"   'i''i  ■•"ul  Horatio  .J,„u,ssix   ^^  ,"': 

Leirc.stcT.    A  .la,,,-?!  t",^;,,' ','^..''"'*\'^'''^  <..'.'asio,H..l  hy  an  acci.l...t  at  a  l)all  ,,],       .' 
D)Mix.BelJ,  late  CmialCuma^i;;;:^?         """"'  ''''^'"'  "^  ^"^"  ^^"'^  ^'^^  ^oJii.law, 


PIIELP3    AND    GOEHAM's   PUECnASE. 


1G5 


>  made  near 
e  Canandai- 
,  '9.     Early 
und,  Joseph 
"le  log  store 
3neca  Lake, 
street,  upon 
ivern.     His 
He  went 
loe ;  on  his 
outh  of  the 
d  carried  it 
ni,  and  the 
pping  place 

nandaigua, 
the  outlet ; 
!  that  were 
it  the  same 
1  this  was 
the  out-let 
!rs,  besides 
Benjamin 
agent  of 
3ned  a  log 
2d  for  his 
named  in 
-re  was  a 
H.  Jones, 
emember 


diiniii--  tJio 
flis  Slay  at 
iiiU-rpietiT. 

ivcr  I'liclps 
''•  Hi'  wiia 
ni(if8('(l  t'ur 

(    tin.  Jiidi- 

■vUh  uwnt. 
I'  J'l'tv.  ill 
on-iii^l;iw, 


with  great  distinctness,  early  events,  was  one  of  the  party  who 
opened  the  road  from  Geneva  to  Canandaigua,  and  from  Canandai- 
gua  to  the  landing  place  on  the  outlet,  in  1788,  revisited  the  locality 
again  in  August,  in  1709.  He  says :  --  "  There  was  a  great  change. 
When  we  left  in  the  fall  of  '88  there  was  not  a  solitary  person 
there  ;  when  I  returned  fourteen  months  afterwards  the  place  was 
lull  of  people ;—  residents,  surveyors,  explorers,  adventurers ;  houses 
were  going  up ;  it  was  a  busy,  thriving  place." 

Mrs.  Hannah  Sanborn,  is  now  the  oldest  surviving  resident  of 
the  village ;  and  with  few  exceptions,  the  oldest  upon  Phelps  and 
Gorham's  purchase.  She  is  now  in  her  88th  year,  exhibiting  but 
little  of  the  usual  infirmities  of  that  advanced  age,  with  faculties, 
especially  that  of  memory  of  early  events,  but  slightly  impaired, 
The  author  found  her  in  high  spirits,  even  gay  and  humorous,  en- 
joying  the  hearty  laugh  of  middle  age,  when  her  memory  called  up 
some  mirthful  reminiscence.  Upon  her  table  were  some  of  the 
latest  publications,  and  she  alluded  in  conversation  to  Headly's  fine 
descriptions  in  his  "  Sacred  Mountains,"  as  if  she  had  enjoyed  them 
with  all  the  zest  of  her  younger  days.  She  had  just  finished  a  letter 
in  a  foir  hand,  shewing  but  little  of  the  tremor  of  age,  which  was  to 
be  addressed  to  a  great  grand  daughter.  To  her,  is  the  author 
largely  indebted  for  reminiscences  of  early  Tioneer  events  at  Can- 
andaigua. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1790,  Mr.  Sanborn  came  with  his  wife  and 
two  young  children  to  Schenectady,  where  he  joined  Judah  Colt, 
and  the  two  chartered  a  boat,  with  which  they  came  to  the  head 
of  navigation  on   the  Canandaigua   outlet.*     Mr.  Sanborn  moved 


IsoTH.— >,atlianu-l  Saiiboni,  llio  luisbnml  of  Mre.  Sajiboni,  died  in  1814.  There  i- 
wareoly  a  pioneer  .scM lev  m  tlio  Ciunesee  counli'v,  tliat  did  not  know  tlie  earh'  landlord 
and  landlady.  -Ir*  S.  was  Ihe  da.i-hler  of  Jann-,  Gonld,  of  Lvni..  Conn., 'i- ihc  aunt 
ol  Ji'.nies  Gould  ol  Albany.  Her  son  John  and  William  ro.side  in  lliiiiois.  Her  el.lest 
.lautriiter  —  tlic  lirst  born  m  Canandaijrua.—  now  over  (iO  years  of  a;,'e,  is  tlie  wife  of 
)r.  Jacol)sol  Canandai,i.-ua;  another  (laui;hter  is  the  wife  of  Henrv  Fellow.s  Ivsq.  of 
lenlield;  another,  is  Jlrs.  Jh'astus  Granger  of  Hulfalo ;  and  a  foiirth  i.s  a  maiden 
daughter,  residing  willi  her  iiKitlier. 

*  Mrs.  S.srivcR  a  c;raphic  account  of  this  journev.  The  last  hou.so  the  j  larty  slept 
lu  atti.'r  leaving  .^eheneetady  unlil  tliey  arrived  at  the  cubhi  on  llie  Canaiu.aiguu  out- 
let, was  the  then  one  lo^;  house  in  Utioa.  It  was  crowch'd  with  boatmen  from  Nia^'- 
ara.  Mrs.  S.  spread  lier  bed  ujion  the  iloor  for  herself,  lui.sbaiul  and  ehihhvn,  and  the 
weaned  boatmen  liegged  tlie  inlvilege  of  hiving  their  heads  up,)n  its  Imrders.  The 
Iloor  was  covered.  Alter  tliat  they  camped  wlierever  iiii,dit  overtook  them.  On  tlie 
0.swego  lliver  they  took  po,s.se.ssieii  of  a  deserteil  camj.,  antl  just  as  they  had  got  their 
Hupper  jirepiired  two  sfotit  IiuUans  came  who  claimetl  the  camp  aud  threatened  a  sum- 


166 


PHELPS   AND    GOPJIAm's   PURCHASE. 


I*" 

H    'i 


intchB  loghut  ,ha,  ho  hnd  built  in  the  R„bi„.on  „e!ghborl,oo,l,  where 

some     Mrs   S    chose  to  go  u-here   she  could  have  more  than  one 
mtt' s::^Z/f'  ,™'--  .  Tl.ey  removed   to    Canan.     „„ 
on  h-nl;   r\    *"=  '°"."''  'here  .n  May,  1790,  Joseph  Smith,  hvtv- 
on  ba„K  of  Lake,  Darnel  Brainard  in  a  hltle  log  hou  e  near  the  pre  3 
en,  oen,e.ry.  Cap,  Martin  Dndley,  in  ,(,e  hons^  built  b^M     VV    t- 
er  James  D.  F.sh.n  a  log  house  down  near  the  Lake;  Gen.  Cha,  in 
wo  had  been  on  the  fall  before  had  built  a  small  framed  house'f" 
h.s  famdy,  a  few  rods  below  Bemis'   Bookstore.    Mr.    Sanborn 
moved  ,n  o  „  untd  a  small  framed  house  was  erected  on  the  Atwa    r 
^ZL  f      ^^'^7'"=  the  occupant,  opening  a  tavern,  which 

^v.lh   ho  excep,ionof  wha,  Joseph  Smith  ha<l  done  in  the  way   of 
enter  atnment,  was  the  first  ,avern  west  of   Seneca    Lake,  and 
was  the  only  one  for  four  years.     It  was  the  home  of  the  votm. 
men  who  came  to   Canandaigua  for  sClemen. ;  of  advenmre  ° 
emigrants,  who  would  stop  a,  Canandaigua  with  their  families  a  fe^ 
daj^  ,0  prepare  for  pushing  here  and  there  into  the  wilderness  • 
land  surveyors  and  explorers ;  Judges  of  the  early  courts  andlaw 
yers;  ,he    ndianUiefs  Red  .f.acke,,  Bran.,  Farmer's  Br^eTc  rn-' 
planter   who  were  called  ,o  Ca„,„daigua  often  in  e.arly  years   "o 
ransact  business  with  Gen.  Chapin,  ,he  Superi„,e„den^/i„  short 
the   prm„„ve   ,avern  that  now  would   be  ieemed   of  i^ade  ua  e 
.nenstons  or  an  m„  at  some  four  corners  in  the  country,  had  W 

m  nen.t  their'T""'"",'   """'  "'  *"'  ''"''^  1^=™'"  ■  ""^  »f  --V 
eminent  m  their  day,  and  even  now  blended  with  all  the  earlv  his- 
tory of    he  Genesee  Country.     Mrs.  Sanborn   enumerates   amonc- 
her  early  guests,   many  of  them   as   boarders: -Oliver  vZJ 
Charles  Williamson,  Aaron  Burr,  Thomas  Morris,  Rev.  Mr  S' 
nd,  Augustus  and  Peter  B.  Porter,  James  and  Wilham  Wadswo   h 
the  early  Judges  of  the  Supreme  court  of  this  State.  Bishop  CT      ' 
Joseph  and   Benj.   Ellicct.   Philip  Church,   Louis  Le  C,™teC 
Chailes   and  Dugald  Cameron,  Vincent   Matthew.  Kathane   W 
Howell,  John  Greig,  Horatio  and  John  H.  Jones    llobert   T  o  ,„' 
Jeremiah   Mason,  Philetu.   and  John  Swift,   ^n   IIow  '  t^yTe  ' 
Lh»^_Cc^t^man   Bogert,  Samuel  Ilaight,   Timothy  Hosmer,' 


PIIELPS    AND    GOEILUl's    rUKCUASE. 


1G7 


iiood,  where 
ig  and  lone- 
re  than  one 

inandaiirufr 
mith,  Iivir»'jr 

ar  the  pres- 
lAIr.  Walk- 
en.  Chapin 
d  house  for 
•.   Sanborn 
'le  Atwater 
ern,  which 
le  way   ol" 
Lake,  and 
the  vounfr 
Iventurors, 
lilies  a  few 
i'ilderncss ; 
I,  and  law- 
her,  Corn- 
years   to 
;  in  short 
Inadequate 
y,  had  for 
I  of  many 
3arly  his- 
!S   amonrr 
I'  Phelps, 
^fr.  Kirk- 
idsworth, 
)p  Chase, 
outeleux, 
aniel  W. 
'■   Troup, 
Cuyler, 
Hosmer, 


S.  says  it 


i 


Arnold  Potter,  Benedict  Robinson,  J<?niima  Wilkinson,  Samuel  B. 
Ogden,  John  Puller,  Samuel  Street,  ana  Timothy  Pickering.  Few 
of  all  of  them  are  now  living,  and  yet  the  busy  stirring  landlady,  of 
whom  they  were  guests,  most  of  them  in  their  early  \  nrs,  lives  to 
i-emember  them  and  speak  tamiliarly  of  their  advents  to  this 
region. 

Mrs.  Sanborn  well  remembers  the  Pickering  treaty  of  '94.  As 
it  was  known  that  Col.  Pickering,  the  agent,  would  come  prepared 
to  give  them  a  grand  feast,  and  distribute  among  them  a  large 
amount  of  money  and  clothing,  the  attendance  was  very  general. 
For  weeks  before  the  treaty,  they  were  arriving  in  squads  from  all 
of  their  villages  and  constructing  their  camps  in  the  woods,  upon 
the  Lake  shore,  and  around  the  court  house  square.  The  little 
village  of  whites,  was  invested,  over  run  witli  the  wild  natives. 
It  seemed  as  if  they  had  deserted  all  their  villagr>s  ana  transferred 
even  their  old  men,  women,  a?  1  children,  to  the  feast,  the  carousal, 
and  the  place  of  gifts.  The  night  scenes  were  wild  and  picturesque  ; 
their  camp  fires  lighting  up  the  forest,  and  their  whoops  and  yells 
creating  a  sensation  of  novelty,  not  unmingled  with  fear,  with  the 
far  inferior  in  numbers  who  composed  the  citizens  of  the  pioneer 
village,  and  the  sojourners  of  their  own  race.  At  first,  all  was  peace 
and  quiet,  and  the  treaty  was  in  progress,  beeves  had  been  slaughter- 
ed sufficient  to  supply  them  all  with  meat,  and  liquor  had  been  care- 
fully excluded  ;  but  an  avaricious  liquor  dealer,  secretly  dealt  out 
to  them  the  means  of  intoxication,  and  the  council  was  interrupted, 
and  many  of  the  Indians  became  troublesome  and  riotous.  Gen. 
Chapin  however  suppressed  the  liquor  shop,  harmony  was  restored, 
and  the  treaty  concluded  and  the  gifts  dispensed.  A  general  ca- 
rousal followed,  but  no  outrages  were  committed.  They  lingered 
for  weeks  after  the  council,  dis[)laying  their  new  broadcloths  and 
blankets,  silver  bands  and  broaches.* 

Samuel  Gardner  was  the  first  merchant  in  Canandaigua ;  he 
married  a  sister  of  \Ym  Aiitis ;  hi^i  store  was  in  a  log  building. 
Thaddeus  Chapin  was  the  next. 


*  Jutlgt!  Porter  was  then  in  C;uii:i>(li»ic!iia  iutiiii;  as  the  a!,'oiit  ol'  riiclps  ami  GurliMin, 
ij-.Uie  iiainu  of  liis  j)rin('i|)als,  lie  Juul  lo  niakiMlu'ni  ])r("'er.isol' provisions  and  wliiskcy 
wiicn  they  came  to  Canamhiiii-iia,  and  tliat  was  pretty  often.  Uiithe  oeoasion  alhide'd 
to  \\v  denied  an  Indian  wliiskey,  tt'llinfj,'  liini  it  was  all  ''one.  "No,  no,"  replied  tlio 
Indian,  "  Genesee  FulLs  never  dry."  'this  was  a  shrewd  allnsion  to  the  j^nft  to  rhol]i8 
and  Gorbam  of  the  enormous " Mill  Lot,"  -s^hieli  embraced  the  Ueuoriee  FuHs. 


'Mi;i 


m 


168 


i: 


During  the 


rmiPS  AND   GOUII,Ul's  PDECIIASE. 


age,,,,  who  h  JZll'!!?'  ""T  r"":-  '"^ '""""  °^  "- 

I'liys  ciaii  was  T  Dr   A.u  ^'  '" '^anandaigiu.     Ihe   nearest 

been  left  hy  a  travel  e.     A,  w    ?        ,     "  "'"="  "  '''"^''  "'»'  '''"I 

Se,  ;:!,tr^^el.r"'se''"=""'"°'■«""'^^'■""'■"«^"^--■ 
M,■.  Sanborn  Ie,l  the  ZT^      ^""'°"'  ''""  '«'"'  l"-^  •'«'>"  Call ; 

.»one.o,„,e.hel";"S;^s:::r;L""t;V,:;:^.^::^^ 
"'."•ertoirx!;^^^^^ 

f.-o.n  eight,  to  „„  hnn,,red  taa  /e    S   and  tl  Wh™ r"", h'"' 

ormeart.     » 'M  fru,ts  —  whortleberries,  blackbrnle^    v:;i,i  „l 
crab.ap,,,e.,,  cranberric-.,,  .,„-awberries,  ,-a  pber  e  I  we^ S  "^      ■'' 
.e,,.  sea™,  and  furnished  a  prett/g  J;;b:?i;,,eX\  ,U    ^.^t^" 
"near  ct"      ,  T  '"""  ™  C-anda.gua  Lake,  a,  the  Old  Gas-  ' 

4,-od,,e'eff:;o„,1i;f™:-ti;;-';„3'-'^^ 

saucei,  Dy  Ails,  feanborn,  m  1794   •it  n  tpi  nnvt,-        i  , 

■nuel,  talked  of;  i,  ,„arked  an  e,-a    '  '      ^'  '■""''  "'"'  "  """S 

Ebenczer  Allan  is  well  ,.e,„e,nbered  a.  Cananrtaigna,  as  he  is  in 
all  tile  I'joneer  sett  emonf?      l\r,.o  c     i  ,  " 

...est  on  his  way  ^Z^J'^T  -     "  "'  '''  ''°"'=  ""' 
I-  two  half-blood  daaghte  s        ehoo  '  i!  .r,'"  '''''''  '"  f'"- 

-Iwas^t  that  period  what  .be'tene":  ':tJr^T:£^^ 


iier   of  the 
nton,  died, 
le   nearest 
■s  destitute 
it  that  ha(! 
heiiig  an 
first  rch\i^- 
ssee  Coun- 
ling  Judge 
ohn  CalJ ; 
ere  being 
lith,*  wlio 
next  was 

plentj^  of 
sh.     The 
■ere  easi- 
■ould  kill 
lien  they 
for  Hour 
i  plums, 
lenty  in 
iltivated 
31d  Cas-  " 
J  supply 
'egan  to 
irst  dish 
;i  a  tea- 
a  thing 

e  is  in 
ing  her 
)  plact.! 
along, 
lied  a 


riEELPS    AND    GOIUIAm's   PURCIIASE. 


109 


"  Shin-ne-wa-na,"  ( a  gentleman  ; )  but  stories  of  his  barbarity  in 
the  Border  Wars,  were  then  so  rife,  that  he  was  treated  with 
but  httle  respect.  Sally,*  the  Senecu  mother,  with  all  a  mother's 
fondness,  came  as  far  as  Canandaigua  to  bid  her  daugiiters  good 
bye. 

In  July,  1790,  the  heads  of  families  in  T.  10,  R.  3,  (Canandai- 
gua)  were  as  follows :  —  Nathaniel  Gorham,  jr.,  Nathaniel  Sanborn; 
John  Fellows,  James  D.  Fish,  Joseph  Smith,  Israel  Chapin,  John 
Clark,  Martin  Dudley,  Thineas  Bates,  Caleb  Walker,  Judah  Colt, 
Abner  Barlow,  Daniel  Brainard,  Seth  Ilolcomb,  James  Brockle- 
bank,  Lemuel  Castle,  Benjamin  Wells,  John  Freeman.  Before  the 
close  of  1790,  there  was  a  considerable  accession  to  the  popula- 
tion. 

The  first  town  meeting  of  the  town  of  Canandaigua,  was  held  in 
April,  1791.  It  was  "opened  and  superintended  by  Israel  Chapin," 
who  was  chosen  Supervisor;  and  James D.  Fish  was  chosen  Town 
Clerk.  The  other  town  officers  were  as  follows  :  —  John  Call,  Enos 
Boughton,  Seth  Reed,  Nathan  Comstock,  James  Austin,  Arnold  Pot- 
ter, Nathaniel  Potter,  Israel  Chapin,  John  Codding,  James  Latta, 
Joshua  Whitney,  John  Swift,  Daniel  Gates,  Gamaliel  Wilder,  Isaac 
Hathaway,  Phineas  Bates,  John  Codding,  Nathaniel  Sanborn,  Jared 
Boughton,  Phineas  Bates,  Othniel  Taylor,  Joseph  Smith,  Benjamin 
Wells,  Hezekiah  Boughton,  Eber  Norton,  William  Gooding,  John 
D.  Robinson,  Jabez  French,  Abner  Barlow. 

"Voted.  That  swine,  two  months  old  and  upwards,  going  at  large, 
shall  have  good  and  sufficient  yokes." 

"  Voted,  That  for  every  full-grown  wolf  killed  in  the  town,  a 
bounty  of  thirty  shillings  shall  be  paid." 

The  reader,  with  names  and  locations  that  have  occurred  and 
will  occur,  will  observe  that  these  primitive  town  officers  were 
spread  over  most  of  all  the  eastern  portion  of  Phelps  and  Gorham's 
Purchase.  It  was  the  first  occasion  to  bring  the  Pioneers  together. 
Mutual  acquaintances  were  made ;  friendship,  good  feeling,  tiiliari- 
ty,  athletic  games,  (says  Mrs.  Sanborn,)  were  the  order  of^he  day. 


ii'liiiin- 
1  of  the 
vc'i',  not 


Note. -When  the  Scneca.s  ut  tlie  Morris  treaty,  deeded  four  square  miles  at  Mount 
Moms,  to  Allan,  m  trust  for  C hloe  and  Sally  Allan,  one  conditio,,  if  the  trust  wa^  t^a 
he  slH.M  a  have  them  tau-:ht  "rendrng  and  siting,  sewing,  and  other  useful  art.;  ac- 
cordui!,' to  the  custom  of  while  people."  ^a^^-^.^i. 

u 


PIIELI'S  AND   GOEIIAM's   PURCHASE. 

In  April,  1792,  the  town  meeting  was  "opened  and  inspected  by 
Israel  Chapin  and  Moses  Atwater,  Esqs."  Most  of  the  officers 
were  re-elected.  Eighty  pounds  were  raised  to  defray  the  expen- 
ses of  the  town.  In  this  year  i!:r,  record  of  a  road'  was  made, 
which  ran  Irom  "  Joseph  Kilbourn's  house  to  the  shore  of  the  Lake  •" 
and  another,  from  "Sw.;fs  ashory  to  west  line  of  No.  13,  R.  2 
near  Webb  Harwood's ;"  another,  •'  from  Swift's  to  Canandaigua ;" 
and  others,  leading  "from  the  square  in  Canandaigua,"  in  different 
directions. 

Town  meeting,  1793,  it  was  voted  that  fence  viewers  "examine 
the  size  and  dimensions  of  hog  yokes ;"  tiie  wolf  bounty  was  raised 
to  %5.  In  this  year,  twelve  scalps  were  produced;  among  the 
narnea  of  those  who  claimed  bounty,  were :  -  Thaddeus  Chapin, 
William  Markham,  Benjamin  Keys,  Gamaliel  Wilder,  Daniel  Cha- 
pin,  Israel  Reed.  Roads  from  "Canandaigua  to  John  Coddings •" 
"from  Nathan  Comstock's  to  Webb  Harwood's;"  "from  old  pre- 
emption line  to  Canandaigua  Mills;"  "from  Mud  Creek  Hollow  to 
Capt.  Peter  Pitts' ;"  and  many  others,  were  surveyed  this  year. 
The  early  road  surveyors  were:  — Gideon  Pitts,  Jairus  Rose, 
Jonathan  Edwards,  Jabez  French. 

By  the  tovva  records  of  1791,  it  would  seem  that  Annanias  M 
Miller  had  a  mill  in  operation  on  Mud  Creek.  Roads  were  recorded 
tins  year,  "from  Canandaigua  to  Jerusalem;"  "from  Jerusalem  to 
Gerundegut."  This  year,  Othniel  Taylor  presented  six  wolf  scalps. 
Gen.  Israel  Chapin  was  Supervisor  till  1795,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Abner  Barlow.  There  is  recorded  this  year,  the  sale  of 
several  slaves,  the  property  of  the  citizens  of  Canandaigua. 

Although  the  county  of  Ontario,  embracing  all  of  the  Genesee 
country,  was  set  off  from  Montgomery,  during  the  session  of  the 
legislature  in  1789,  '90,  no  organization  of  the  courts  was  had  until 
1793.  In  June  of  that  year,  a  court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  was 
held  at  "Patterson's  Tavern  in  Geneva."  The  presiding  judge 
was  John  Stop  Hobart,  one  of  the  three  Supreme  Court  judges  ap. 
pointed  after  the  organization  of  the  Judiciary  in  1777.  A  grand 
jury  was  called  and  charged,  but  no  indictments  preferred.  The 
first  court  of  Common  Pleas  and  General  Sessions,  was  held  at  the 
house  of  Nathaniel  Sanborn  in  Canandaigua,  in  November,  I794 
The  presiding  judges  were,  Timothy  Hosmer  and  Charles  William- 
son, associated  with  whom,  as  assistant  justice,  was  Enos  Bough- 


:,  f 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAm's  PUROHASE. 


171 


pec  ted  by 
le  officers 
he  txpen- 
^as  made, 
le  Lake ;" 

12,  R.  2, 
idaigua ;" 

different 

''examine 
ras  raised 
Tiong  the 
3  Chapin, 
niel  Cha- 
addings ;" 
old  pre- 
lollow  to 
!his  year, 
us  Rose, 

anias  M. 
recorded 
isalem  to 
If  scalps, 
ivas  suc- 
e  sale  of 
1. 

Genesee 
1  of  the 
lad  until 
ner  was 
g  judge 
dges  ap- 
A  grand 
i.  The 
d  at  the 
r,  1794. 
Villiam- 
Bough- 


■ 


ton.  Attornies,  Thomas  Morris,  John  Wickham,  James  Wads- 
.  worth,  Vincent  Matthews.  There  was  a  number  of  suits  upon  the 
calendar,  but  no  jury  trial.  The  organization  of  the  court  would 
seem  have  been  the  principal  business.  There  was,  however,  a  grand 
jury,  and  one  indictment  was  found. 

The  next  session  of  the  court  was  in  June,  1795.  James  Parker 
was  an  associate  justice.  Peter  B.  Porter  and  Nathaniel  W.  Howell, 
being  attornies  of  the  Supreme  Court,  were  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  courts  of  Ontario  county.  Stephen  Ross  and  Thomas  Mum- 
f:-rd  were  also  admitted.  At  this  court,  the  first  jury  trial  was  had 
west  of  the  county  of  Herkimer.  It  was  the  trial  of  the  indict- 
ment that  had  been  preferred  at  the  previous  session,  for  stealing  a 
cow  bell.  John  Wickham,  as  County  Clerk,  was  ex-officio  District 
Attorney,  but  the  management  of  the  prosecution  devolved  upon 
Nathaniel  W.  Howell.  Peter  B.  Porter  and  Vincent  Matthews 
managed  the  defence. 

In  November,  1795,  Moses  Atwater  was  added  to  the  bench.  It 
was  ordered  that  "  Nathan  Whitney  be  appointed  the  guardian  of 
Parkhurst  Whitney,  an  infant  at  the  age  of  eleven  years."  David 
Saltonstall,  Herman  Bogert,  David  Jones,  Ambrose  Hall,  Peter 
Masterton,  John  Nelson,  Major  Bostwick,  George  D.  Cooper,  H. 
K.  Van  Rensselaer,  were  admitted  as  attornies,  [most  of  them  non- 
residents.] 

From  Book  of  "Miscellaneous  Records,"  1797:  — Peter  B.  Por- 
ter  as  county  clerk,  records  the  medical  diplomas  of  Daniel  Good- 
win, Ralph  Wilcox,  Jeremiah  Atwater,  Moses  Atwater,  Augustus 
Williams  and  Joel  Prescott.  1799— Chiefs  of  Seneca  Nation  ac- 
knowledged the  receipt  of  $8,000  from  Gen.  Chapin,  as  a  dividend 
upon  the  sum  of  $100,000,  which  the  United  States  government  had 
received  of  Robert  Morris,  as  purchase  money  for  the  Holland  Pur- 
chase and  Morris  Reserve,  and  invested  in  the  stock  of  the  United 
States  Bank.     The  medical  diplomas  of  Drs.  John  Ray,  Samuel 
Dungan,  David  Fairchild,  Arnold  Willis,  are  recorded.    Peter  B. 
Porter  appoints  Thomas  Cloudesly,  deputy  clerk.    Theophilus  Caze- 
nove  and  Paul  Busti  appoint  Joseph  Ellicott  and  James  Wadsworth, 
their  lawful  attornies.    1800— Robert  Troup  as  general  agent  for 
Sir  William  Pultney,  appoints  Robert  Scott  local  agent.    De  Witt 
Clinton  executes  a  mortgage  to  Oliver  Phelps,  on  .in  "  undivided 
fourth  part  of  100,000  acres  [ying  west  of  the  Genesee  River."    1801, 


Ill.t  i 


11 


i     I, 


i 


172 


I'lIELPS   AND  GOEIIAJi's   PUnciIASE. 


Peter  B.  Porter  as  clerk,  makes  Aurrustus  Porter  his  deputy.    1803— 
Benj.  Barton  and  Polydore  B.  Wisner  are  made  appraisers  of  dam- 
ages incurred  by  tlie  construction  of  the  Seneca  Turnpike.     1801— 
Sylvester  Tiffany  as  county  clerk  appoints  Dudley  Saltonstall  his 
deputy.     Thomas  Morris  appoints  John  Greii,'  his  lawful  attorney. 
Harry  Ilickox  files  certificate  of  license  to  practice  medicine.  180(5 — 
John  Hornby  of  the  county  of  Middlesex,  Kingdom  of  G.  B.  ap- 
points John  Greig  his  lawful  attorney.     T.  Spencer  Colman   is  ap- 
pointed  deputy  clerk.     Phineas  P.  Bates  is  succeeded  as   Sheriff 
by   James   K.   Guernsey.     1807— Oliver  Phelps   appoints   Virtue 
Bronson  his  lawful  attorney.     1808— Stephen  Bates  as  Sheriff  ap- 
points Nathaniel   Allen  deputy.     James  B.  Mower  succeeded  Syl- 
vester Tiffany   as  clerk.     1810— Myron   Holley   is   county   clerk. 
Canandaigua  Library  organized.     1811— James  B.  Mower  as  clerk 
appoints  Daniel  D.   Barnard  his   deputy. 

In  all  the  earliest  years,"  the  Cayuga,  Oneida,  Onondaga  and 
Seneca  Indians  received  their  annuities  at  Canandaigua,  which 
made  it  the  place  of  annual  gatherings  of  those  nations,  and  the 
centre  of  the  Indian  trade. 

Although  not  entitled  to  it  from  population,  in  1791,  by  a  special 
act,  Ontario  was  entitled  to  be  represented  in  the  Assembly.  This 
was  not  known  in  the  new  settlements  of  Canandaigua,  Geneva, 
and  their  neighborhoods,  but  in  a  small  settlement  that  had  com- 
menced on  the  Canisteo  in  what  is  now  Steuben  Co.,  they  were  in 
possession  of  the  secret.  Col.  Eleazor  Lindley,  under  whose  auspi- 
cies  the  settlement  was  made,  collected  together  a  few  back  woods- 
men, held  an  election,  got  a  few  votes  for  himself,  carried  them  to 
New  York  and  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  The 
whole  proceeding  was  irregular,  but  there  was  no  one  to  contest 
the  seat,  and  the  Legislature  did  not  wish  to  deprive  the  backwoods 
of  a  representative.  General  Israel  Chapin  was  its  representative 
in  1792. 

In  a  letter  to  Sir  Wm.  Pultney,  in  1791,  Robert  Morris  had  de- 
clared his  intention  of  settling  his  son  Thomas  in  the  Genesee  coun- 
try,  as  an  evidence  of  his  faith  in  its  value  and  prospects.  He 
states  that  Thomas  was  then  reading  law  with  Richard  Harrison 
Esq.  by  whom  he  was  deemed  a  "  worthy  young  man."  In  August 
1791,  Thomas  Morris  v.ith  some  companions,  passed  through  the 
country,  visited  Niagara  Falls,  and  on  his  return,  made  a  conb^dera- 


PHELrS  AND  GORHAIW'S   PURCnASE. 


173 


ble  stay  at  Canandaigua.*     He  returned  and  became  a  resident  of 
Canandaigua,  marrying  a  daughter  of  Elias  Kane,  of  Albany.    His 
father  having  become  the  purch  ser  of  ihe  pre-emption  right  of 
what  was  afterwards  the  Ho 'and  ?■  r-haso  and  Morris' Re^'serve, 
it  was  probably  intended  that  h  •  shou:  1  be  the  local  agent.     That 
interest  however  being  parted     x  ', ,  H    hnd  much  to  do  with  closing 
up  his  Cither's  affairs  in  this  region,  ,,,.u  in  all  the  preliminary  meas"^ 
ures  adopted  by  the  Holland  Corr,,.M,y,  in  reference  to  their  pur- 
chase.    His  father  having  in    .is  sale  to  the  Holland  Company, 
guarantied  the  extinguishment  of  the  Indian  title,  he  acted  in  all 
that  aHair  as  his  agent.     He  was  the  first  representative  in  Concrress 
from  all  the  region  west  of  Seneca  Lake;  and  as  a  lawyer.land 
proprietor,  and  agent,  was  intimately  blended  with  all   the  local 
history  of  this  region.     Becoming  through  his  father,  an  early  pro- 
prietor of  the  Allan  tract  at  Mount  Morri;^,  that  locality  derives  its 
name  from  him.     He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Williamson ; 
and  in  fact,  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  the  early 
Pioneers.     Like  others  of  that  early  period,  he  over-traded  in  lands, 
shared  in  his  father's  reverses,  and  as  early  as  1803  or  '4,  retired  to 
the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  practiced  law,  until  his  death,  in 
1848.    The  author  knows  nothing  of  his  family,  save  the  fact,  that  Mr. 
Morris  an  Engineer  upon  the  southern  rail  road,  and  Lieut.  Morris 
of  the  Navy  are  his  sons. 


*;  Major  Hoops,  who  was  tlicn  survoj-inrr  for  the  father,  Robert  Morris  in  Stonhnn 
wntestoh„„.S.,,t  1791  :_;<  Your  «on  Thomas  is  an  exceUont  wV.Xla  .  He  <^t^ 
lo.s  abou  a  ni.k.  troni  Canaudaigi.a,  nigl,t  came  ou  ;  lie  n.ade  his  way  thnm '  h  .v^„ 
a,.<l  over  h.lls,  and  at  en.^th  espie.l  a  solitary  light  at  a  distance.  'Enter  m'th't 
froni  whence  It  proceeded,  he  asked  for  lodging,  but  he  appeared  in  such  a  questio 
able  Shane  that  it  was  denied.  Upon  being  tohl  who  lie  was,  the  <,ccn,,/ut  n  ado 
amends  lor  his  inciv.hty  by  turning  half  a  dozen  boys  and  girls  n  t  of  th eiri^^d  n to 
lu9  own  1  on,  turned  m,  slept  till  morning  among  ilees  and  bed  bugs,  ^e.  ?c  tJ^eu 
rose  and  tnidged  on  six  miles,  to  Canandaigua,  arriving  before  sun  ris?"      '        ' 

And  another  case  ol  a  benighted  traveUer.  of  greater  note  perhaps,  but  of  far  less 

rea   nient,  had  happened  years  before  settlemen't  coniniencej  :_  j^^.hn  Jacob  AsS 

with  a  pack  ot  Indian  goods  upon  his  back,  wandere<l  from  the  Indian  trail  got  l5 

111  the  low  gnmnds  at  the  footof  SenecaLake,  in  an  inclement  night,  wa  iZed  an 

he  howl  and   he  rust  ingof  wild  beasts,  until  almost  morning,  whenhe  was  U  ti " 

uild  waSi.     ""  '"  '"^'"'  """■  '^'"  "^^'  "''''^''  '"^"^^  *"""^^"'°  it'  obtained  shelter 

Note- Mr  Morris,  in  his  manuscripts  which  were  prepared  in  1841,  savs  •-"  The 
excursion  that  has  been  spoken  of  was  undertaken  ty  ne.  partly  from^a  desire  to 
witness  an  In.han  treaty,  and  see  the  Falls  of  Niagara;  am  partly  wh  a  S  to 
see  a  country  in  w Inch  iny  father,  at  tliat  time  had  To  ex  ensivJan  interest  and  with 
the  detc.rm,nation  o  settle  n  it  if  I  liked  it.  I  was  pleased  with  it,  ancr,nkdc  p  n  y 
>nind  to  settl..  ..f  Oiuandai^irua.  .-m  soon  as  T  .houkl  iiave  attained  he  age  o  of  a  5 
myadmisswu  to  the  bar.    Accordingly,  in  the  early  part  of  Murcli,  1792,  I  left  New 


174 


PHELPS  AND   GOEHAm's   PUKCHASE. 


John  Fellows,  who  is  named  among  the  residents  in  Canandai- 
gua  in  lye  ,,  was  in  the  Massachusetts  line  during  the  Revolution, 
with  the  rank  of  Brig.  General.  He  was  a  resident  of  Sheffield! 
Mass.,  was  sheriff  of  Berkshire  county,  and  its  representative  in 
the  State  legislature.  He  was  one  of  the  associates  of  Bacon  and 
Ada  as,  in  the  purchase  of  East  Bloomfield;  drawing  his  share  — 
3,000  acres,  — on  Mud  creek,  he  erected  a  saw  mill  there  in  1790, 
in  company  with  the  late  Augustus  Porter.  Besides  this  tract,  he 
had  lands  m  Canandaigua  and  Honeoye.  He  never  became  a  per- 
manent resident  of  the  country  — got  discouraged,  or  rather  looked 
upon  the  dark  side  of  things;  said  there  was  no  use  of  having 
good  wheat  lands,  if  they  never  were  to  have  any  market.  He  re- 
sold  the  3,000  acres  on  Mud  creed  ibr  18d.  per  acre.  He  died  in  his 
native  town,  Sheffield,  in  1808.  He  was  the  father  of  Henry  Fel- 
lows, Esq.  of  Penfield,  and  of  Mrs.  Daniel  Penfield. 

James  D.  Fish,  was  first  town  clerk ;  his  wife's  death  was  the 
second  one  in  Canandaigua ;  and  he  died  in  early  years. 

John  Clark  came  with  Mr.  Phelps  to  the  treaty.  His  trade  be- 
ing that  of  a  tanner  and  currier,  he  manufactured  the  first  leather 
mthe  Genesee  country.  This  was  from  the  hides  of  the  cattle 
driven  on  to  furnish  beef  for  the  Indians  at  the  treaty.  His  vats 
were  made  by  sawing  off  sections  of  hollow  trees.  From  this 
small  beginning,  his  business  was  extended,  and  in  early  years  his 
'  snoe  and  leather  establishment  was  well  known  throughout  a  wide 
region.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  the  early  pioneer,  Lemuel 
Castle.     Mr.  Olarke  died  in  1813,  and  Mrs.  Clark  in  1842      Thev 

Luther  Cole  came  into  the  country  with  Gen.  Israel  Chapin 
He  was  the  first  to  carry  the  mail  from  Whitesboro  to  Canandai^rua ' 
on  horseback  when  the  roads  would  allow  of  it,  and  often  on  foot  * 
In  winters  he  would  travel  with  a  sleigh,  buy  goods  in  Whitesboro 

that  handsome  town.  wW  the  e  .itl^  n  mv  hon,!  1  '"^'''^■''  "'"'  '^^^■"  "> 

g^iSe  w£  '"""  ""*  ^'  Whitesboro."     The  Louse  is  n^ S^^alS^ 
*  See  Post  Office  Canandaigua,  Appendix,  No.  8. 


PHELPS   AOT)    G0IlIIA3l's   PURCHASE. 


175 


and  sell  them  in  Canandaigua.  From  this  small  beginning  he  be- 
came an  early  and  prominent  merchant.  His  wife  was  a  niece  of 
Mrs.  Phineas  Bates.  He  died  many  years  since.  His  sons,  Henry 
and  James,  emigrated  to  Detroit ;  James  will  be  remembered  as 
an  early  and  highly  gifted  poet. 

Dr.  Hart  was  another  early  physician,  and  died  in  early  years. 
He  married  the  widow  of  Hezekiah  Boughton,  a  brother  of  Jared 
and  Enos  Boughton,  and  father  of  Claudius  V.  and  George  H. 
Boughton. 

William  Antiss  emigrated  from  Pennsylvania,  and  established 
himself  in  Canandaigua  as  a  gun  smith,  at  an  early  period.  He 
was  employed  by  Gen.  Chapin  to  make  and  repair  rifles  for  the  In- 
dians, and  the  white  hunters  and  sportsmen,  over  a  wide  region, 
were  for  a  long  pc-iod,  the  customers  of  his  establishment.  He 
died  in  early  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  William  Antip  ■ 
2d,  who  continued  in  the  business  until  his  death  in  1843.  The 
sons  of  Wm.  Antiss  2d,  are  William  Antiss  of  Canandaigua,  Robert 
Antiris,  who  is  the  successor  of  his  father  and  grand-father  in  busi- 
ness. Mrs.  Byron  Hays  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Reed  of  Canandaigua,  are 
daughters  of  Wm.  Antiss  2d. 

In  his  rambles  in  June,  1795,  the  Duke,  Liancourt,  went  from 
Bath  to  Canandaigua.     He  staid  all  night  at  "  Capt.  Metcalf 's,"  and 
mentions  the  fact  that  a  few  years  before  the  Capt.  had  bought  his 
land  for  is.  per  acre,  and   sold  a  part  of  it  for  $3  per  acre.     He 
says  the  settlement  was  "  called  Watkinstown,  from  several  families 
of  that  name  who  possess  the  greatest  property  here."*     ''Capt. 
Metcalf  besides  his  lands  and  Inn,  possesses  a  saw  mill,  where  4500 
feet  of  boards  are  cut  daily.     These  boards  he  sends  on  the  lake  to 
Canandaigua,  where  they  are  sold  for  10s.  per  100  feet."     "  There 
is  a  school  master  at  Watkinstown,  with  a  salary  of  twelve  dollars 
per  month."     Speaking  of  Canandaigua  he  says :  —  "  The  houses, 
although  built  of  wood,  are  much  better  than   any  of  that  descrip- 
tion I  have  hitherto  seen.     They  consist  mostly  of  joiner's  work, 
and  are  prettily  painted.     In  front  of  some  of  them  are  small  courts, 
surrounded  with  neat  railings.     There  are  two  Inns  in  the  town, 
and  several  shops,  where  commodities  are  sold,  and  shoes  and  other 


it. 


*  The  Duke  was  in  Naples.    rhelp.s  and  Gorhain  aol.l  the  township  to  "  Watkins 
Harriss  &  Co."  ^  viuuo, 


176 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAJl's   PURCHASE. 


articles  made.  The  price  of  land  here  is  three  dollars  per  acre 
without  the  town,  and  fifteen  dollars  within.  Speakinir  of  a  visit  to 
"Mr.  Chipping,"  *  (Chapin)  he  says  he  found  him  surrounded  by  a 
dozen  Seneca  Indians,  (among  whom  was  Red  Jacket,)  who  had 
come  to  partake  of  his  whiskey  and  meat."  The  Duke  was  evi- 
dently in  bad  humor  at  Canandaigua.  His  friend  Blacons  had 
selected  the  "second  Inn,  which  was  far  inferior  to  the  first,"  and 
he  says  their  dissatisfaction  was  greatly  increased,  when  they  were 
"  shewn  into  a  corn  loft  to  sleep,  being  four  of  us,  in  company  with 
ten  or  twelve  other  men,"  and  after  he  had  got  to  sleep,  he  says  he 
was  disturbed  by  a  recruit  of  lodgers,  an  old'man  and  a  handsome 
young  woman,  who  I  believe  was  his  daughter."  At  the  idea  of  a 
young  woman  occupying  the  same  room,  with  twelve  or  fifteen  of 
the  other  sex,  bethinks  his  European  readers  "will  scofi;  or  laugh," 
but  he  thinks  it  showed  in  "  an  .ulvantageous  light,  the  laudable 
simplicity  and  innocence  of  American  manners." 

riiineas  Bates  was  a  native  of  Durham,  Conn.     He  came  to  the 
Genesee  country  in  early  summer  in  1789,  with  the  early  Pioneer, 
Gamaliel  Wilder,  and  remained  with  him  until  the  fall  of  the  year! 
making  the  commencement  at  Wilder's  Point,  in  Bristol.     He  re- 
turned to  Connecticut  in  the  fall,   making  the  journey  on   foot. 
Early  in  the   spring  of    1790,   accompanied  by   his  eldest  son, 
Stei)hen,  his  son-in-law,  Orange  Brace,  and  several  others,  he  return- 
ed, starting  with  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  sled,  the  party  bringing  with 
them  a  year's  provision,  and  some  household  goods.     Arriving  at 
Schenectady,  they  put  every  thing  they  could  not  conveniently 
carry  in  their  knapsacks,  on  board  of  abatteaux,  left  their  sled,  un- 
yoked their  oxen,  travelled  up  the  Mohawk,  and  struck  otY  into 
the  wilderness,  preceding  the  Wadsworths  a  few  weeks.     At  Onon- 
daga, Mr.  Bates  bought  half  a  bushel  of  potatoes,  slung  them  across 
the  neck  of  one  of  his  oxen,  brought  them   '  >  Canandaigua,  and 
planted  them  upon  some  village  lots  he  j  ...chased.     During  the 
summer,  he  cleared  ten  acres,  and  sowed  it  to  wheat. 

Returning  to  Connecticut  late  in  the  fall,  in  company  with  Amos 

Hall, Sweet,  Samuel  Knapp;  soon  r.fter  the  party  left,  they 

encountered  a  severe  snow  storm,  the  snow  falling  to  such  a  depth 


'  Tlic  tr.-iiislatnr  of  tlio  Duko'.s  "Trnvcl?,"  iniulc  bad  work  willi  names.    William 
V\  lulKwui'tli  inr  iiistaiici',  in  ciillud  Cupt.  Watworth." 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAm's  PURCHASE, 


m 


as  to  render  their  progress  extremely  slow.  Walking  in  single  file, 
one  would  go  forward  to  break  the  path,  until  he  wearied  out,  when 
another  would  take  his  place.  Anticipating  no  such  delay,  they 
had  provided  themselves  with  an  inadequate  stock  of  provisions, 
and  long  before  they  reached  Whitestown,  the  suffering  of  hunger 
was  added  to  that  of  cold  and  fatigue.  The  carcass  of  an  otter, 
their  dog  killed  in  the  Nine  Mile  Creek,  was  a  substitute  for  more 
palatable  food. 

Undismayed  by  the  scene  of  suffering  and  privation  he  had  passed 
through,  Mr.  Bates  on  reaching  home,  made  preparations  for  the 
removal  cf  his  family,  and  in  February,  1791,  brought  them  by 
sleighing  tc  Canandaigua,  making  the  seventh  in  the  new  settle- 


's 
mcnt. 


He  opened  a  public  house  at  an  early  day,  near  the  upper  end  of 
Main-street,  which  was  continued  by  him  and  his  son  for  many 
years.     He  was  an  early  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  in  all  respects, 
a  worthy  citizen.     He  died  in  1829,  at  an  advanced  age.     Bring- 
ing  with  him  into  the  country  at  so  early  a  period,  active  and  en- 
terprising sons,  the  family  occupied  a  prominent  position  for  a  long 
series  of  ye;«-s.     His  eldest  son,  Stephen,  marrying  the  daughter 
of  Deacon  Handy  of  W.  Bloomfield,  became  a  successful  fa°mer 
in  Gorham,  was  sheriff  of  Ontario,  a  member  of  Assembly,  and  a 
Senator.     In  1845,  he  emigrated  to  Sauk,  Wisconsin,  where  he 
died  the  year  fbllowing ;  and  of  a  large  family  of  children,  but  few 
survive.     Asher  Bates  married  the  daughter  of  Elisha  Steel,  of 
East  Bloomfield;  in  180r-t,  moved  west  of  the  Genesee  river,  'and 
opened  a  public  house  on  the  main  road  between  Caledonia  and  Le 
Roy;  was  one  of  the  earliest  sheriffs  of  Genesee;  died  in  1810. 
An  only  son  studied  law  with  Spencer  and  Sibley  in  Canandaigua, 
settled  in  Detroit,  and  is  now  a  resident  at  Honolulu,  one  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  acting  in  the  capacity  of  the  King's  attorney  or 
counsellor.     His  first  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Beals  of 
Canandaigua ;  the  second,  is  a  sister  of  Dr.  Judd,  the  phydcian  of 
the  nn'ssionaries  in  the  Sandv.ich      lands.     The  widow  of  Asher 
Bates  is  now  the  wife  of  Dr.   Wm.  Sheldon  of  Le  Roy.     Phineas 
P.  Bates  succeeded  his  father  as  a  landlord  in  Canandaigua,  and 
was  for  many  years  a  ,;, -rUy  sheriiF  and  sheriff  of  Ontario.'    He 
is  the  only  one  of  a  luge  family  that  survives  ;  is   the  occupant 
of  a  fine  farm  adjoininr  the  village  of  Canandaigua.     David  C. 


n-m 


M 


178 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's  PUECHaSE. 


Bates  was  a  farmer  near  Canandaigua;  died  in  1849.  A  daughter 
of  the  elder  Phineas  Bates  became  the  wife  of  John  A.  Stevens 
the  early  Printer,  and  Editor  of  the  Ontario  Messenger.  An  elder 
daughter  was  the  wife  of  Orange  Brace,  who  has  been  named  in 
connection  with  the  early  advent  of  the  family ;  in  1806,  he  be- 
came  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  upon  the  purchase  of  Phelps  and 
Chipman,  in  Sheldon,  Wyoming  county.  * 

Phineas  P.  Bates,  Esq.,  the  survivor  of  the  family,  who  has  been 
named,  in  1800,  was  the  mail  boy  from  Canandaigua  to  Fort  Nia- 
gara.  The  mail  route  had  been,  established  about  two  years  pre- 
vious,  and  was  carried  through  by  Jasper  Marvin,  who  sometimes 
dispensed  with  mail  bags,  and  carried  the  contents  in  a- pocket 
book.  Mr.  Bates  observes  that  when  he  commenced  carrying  it 
for  his  brother  Stephen,  who  was  the  mail  contractor,  it  used  to 
take  six  days  to  go  and  return.  His  stopping  places  over  night, 
were  at  Mrs.  Berry's,  among  the  Indians  at  Tonawanda,  and  at 
rort  Niagara. 

In  some  reminiscences  of  Mr.  Bates,  he  observes,  that  "in  1793 
one  of  those  fatal  accidents  occurred  at  Canandaigua,  which  always 
cast  a  gloom  over  small  communities.  A  Mr.  Miles,  from  what  is 
now  Lima,  and  a  citizen  of  Canada,  were  on  their  way  to  Massa- 
chusetts Riding  i-nto  the  village,  when  they  were  within  a  few 
rods  of  Main-street,  a  tree  turned  out  by  the  roots,  fell  upon  the 
travellers,  killing  them  both,  and  one  of  their  horses.  What  made 
the  affair  a  very  singular  one,  was  the  fact,  that  although  it  was 
raining  moderately  at  the  time,  there  was  not  the  least  wind  to 
cause  the  full  of  tlie  tree." 

Dr.  Moses  Atwater  settled  in  Canandaigua  as  a  physician,  at  the 
early  period  of  1791.  In  some  correspondence  that  passed  be- 
tween Gen  Chapin  and  Judge  Phelps,  there  was  much  gratifica- 
tion  nrianifested  that  their  new  settlement  was  to  have  the  benefit 
of  a  physician.  Dr.  Atwater  enjoyed  for  a  long  period  an  extensive 
practice,  and  made  himself  eminently  useful  in  the  -ew  coun^rv 


PIIELP3  AND   GOEHAMS    PUKCHASE. 


1T9 


He  was  an  early  Judge  of  Ontario  county.  He  died  in  1848,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  82  years.  Samuel  Atwater  of  Canandaigua, 
and  Moses  Atwater  of  Buffalo,  are  his  sons ;  a  daughter  became 
the  wife  of  Robert  Pomeroy,  of  Buffalo ;  and  another,  the  wife  of 
Lewis  Jenkins,  formerly  a  merchant  of  Canandaigua,  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Buffalo.  Dr.  Jeremicih  Atwater,  a  brother  of  Moses,  set- 
tled in  Canandaigua  in  early  years.  He  still  survives  at  the  age 
of  80  years,  laboring,  however,  under  the  infirmity  of  a  loss  of 
sight. 

Mr.  Samuel  Dungan  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  a  student 
with  the  celebrated  Dr.  Wistar.  He  settled  in  practice  in  Canan- 
daigua in  1797.  He  possessed  extraordinary  skill  as  a  surgeon,  and 
in  that  capacity,  was  known  throughout  a  wide  region.  He  died 
nearly  thirty  years  since.  He  left  a  son  and  a  daughter,  both  of 
whom  are  still  living. 

Dr.  William  A.  Williams  was  from  Wallingford,  Conn.  He  en- 
tered Yale  College  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  and  graduated  at 
the  early  age  of  sixteen.  After  passing  through  a  regular  course 
of  medical  studies,  he  commenced  practice  in  Hatfield,  Mass.;  but 
m  a  few  years,  in  1793,  emigrated  to  Canandaigua,  established  him- 
self in  a  large  and  successful  practice,  which  he  retained  until  near 
the  close  of  a  long  life,  One  who  was  his  neighbor  for  near  forty 
years,  observes  :  —  "  He  was  a  man  of  plain  and  simple  manners, 
amiable  and  kind  hearted ;  at  the  bed  side  of  his  patients,  he  min- 
gled the  consolations  of  friendship  with  professional  advice  ;  in 
day  or  night  time,  in  sunshine  or  in  storm,  whether  his  patients  were 
rich  or  poor,  he  was  the  same  indefatigable,  faithful  physician  and 
good  neighbor.  He  died  in  1933  or  '4.  Col.  George  Williams,  of 
Portage,  and  Charles  Williams,  of  Nunda,  are  his  sons.  His 
daughters  became  the  wives  of  the  late  Jared  Wilson,  Esq.,  and 
John  A.  Granger,  of  Canandaigua,  and  — —  Whitney,  the  present 
P.  M.  at  Canandaigua,  and  Editor  of  the  Ontario  Repository. 


NATHANIEL  W.  HOWELL. 


The  venerable  Nathaniel  W.  Howell,  now  in  his  81st  year,  is  the 
oldest  resident  member  of  the  Bar  of  Western  New  York.  His 
native  place  is  Blooming  Grove,  Orange  County,  N.  Y.     The  son 


„* '  _i- 


180 


IH 


I  HI 


PHELPS   ANB    GORHAJi's    PURCHASE. 


of  a  farmer,  ot  a  period  when  farmer's  sons  were  early  inured   to 
toil,  a  naturally  robust  and  vigorous  constitution  was  aided  bv  the 
healthy  labors  of  the  field.     At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  was  placed  in 
an   Academy  in  Goshen,   founded  by  Noah  Webster,  the   widely 
known   author ;   where  he  remained  for  nearly  two  years  ;  after 
which  he  entered  the  Academy  at  Hackensack,  N.  J.,  the  Principal 
of  which  was  Dr.  Peter  Wilson,  formerly  Professor  of  langua.'es  in 
Columbia  College.     In  May,  1787,  he  entered  the  junior  cla'ss   in 
Princeton  College,  and  graduated,  in  Sept.    1788.     A  few  months 
after  graduating,  making  choice  of  the  legal  profession,   he  com- 
menced the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  the  late  Gen.  Wilkin,  in 
Goshen.     Remaining  there  but  a  short  period,  he  accepted  a  call  to 
take  charge  of  an  Academy  at  Ward's  Bridge  in  Ulster  Co..  where 
he   continued  for  over  three   years ;  after  which,  he  resumed  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  the  late  Judge  Hoffman,  in  the  city  of 
New  York.     He  was  admitted  an  Attorney  of  the  Supreme  Court 
in  May,  1794. 

In  May,  1795,  lie  opened  an  office  in  the  town  of  Union,  near 
the  now  village  of  Binghampton,  in  Tioga  county.  The  late  Gen. 
Matthews  was  then  practicing  law  in  Newtown,  now  Elmira.  The 
two  were  the  only  Supreme  court  lawyers  then  in  the  county. 

Judge  Howell  was  admitted  as  an  Attorney  of  the  court  of  com- 

mon  pleas  in  Ontario  in  June,  1795,  and  in  the  following  February, 

removed  to  Canandaigua,  where  he  has  continued  to  reside   until 

the  present  time.     The  records  of  the  courts  bear  evidence   of  his 

having  acquired  a  large  practice  in  early  years.     He  was  one  of  the 

local   legal  advisers   of  Mr.   Williamson^  and   was   employed   by 

Joseph  Eliicott  in  his  earliest  movements  upon  the  Holland  Purchase. 

Laying  before  the  author  at  this  present  writing,  are   copies  of  his 

letters  to  Mr.  Williamson  written  in  1795,  and  a  letter  written  with- 

m  the  present  year,  in  a  fair  hand,   but  little  marked  by  the  tremor 

of  age.     Fifty  six-years  have  intervened ! 

In  1799,  he  was  appointed  by  the  council  of  appointment,  on  the 
nomination  of  Gov.  Jay,  assistant  Attornev  General  fur  the  five 
western  counties  of  this  state,  the  duties  of  which  office  he  contin- 
ued to  discharge  until  his  resignation  in  1802.  In  1819  he  was 
appointed  by  the  council  of  appointment,  on  the  nomination  of  Gov 
pewitt  Clinton,  First  Judge  of  the  county  of  Ontario,  which  office 
he  hlled  ihr  thirteen  years.     He  was  an  early  representative  in  the 


PIIELP3    AND    GORHAM's    PURCHASE. 


181 


inured  to 
ed  by  the 
s  placed  in 
le  widely 
ars  ;  after 
!  Principal 
iguages  in 

class  in 
iV  months 

he  com- 
VVilkin,  in 
d  a  call  to 
/O.,  where 
uined  the 
he  city  of 
ime  Court 

ion,  near 
late  Gen. 
ira.  The 
ity. 

t  of  corn- 
February, 
lide  until 
3e  of  his 
)ne  of  the 
oyed  by 
'urchase. 
es  of  his 
ten  with- 
e  tremor 

'.  on  the 
■  the  five 
contin- 
he  was 
of  Gov 
h  office 
e  in  the 


state  legislature,  and  in  1813,  '14,  he  represented  in  Congress,  the 
double  district,  composed  of  Ontario  and  the  five  counties  to  the 
west  of  it.  On  retiring  from  the  Bench,  he  retired  from  his  profes- 
sion, employing  himself  in  the  superintendence  of  a  farm  and  gar- 
den, enjoying  good  health,  v/ith slight  exceptions;  in  summers  labor- 
ing more  or  less  with  his  own  hands. 

In  a  previous  work,  the  author  has  observed,  that  there  are  few 
instances  of  so  extended  a  period  of  active  participation  in  the 
affjiirs  of  life  ;  and  still  fewer  instances  of  a  life  that  has  so  adorned 
the  profession  to  which  he  belongs,  and  been  so  eminently  useful 
and  exemplary.  To  him,  and  to  such  as  him  —his  early  cotem- 
porary.  General  Matthews,  for  instance  —  and  others  of  his  cotem- 
poraries  that  could  be  named,  is  the  highly  honorable  profession  of 
law  in  Western  New  York  indebted  for  early  and  long  continued 
examples  of  those  high  aims,  dignity,  and  exalted  integrity,  which 
should  be  its  abiding  characteristics.  They  have  passed,  and  are 
passing  away.  If  days  of  degeneracy  should  come  upon  the  profes- 
sion  — renovation  become  necessary  — there  are  no  better  prece- 
dents and  examples  to  consult,  than  the  lives  and  practices  of  the 
Pioneer  Lawyers. 

The  first  wife  of  Judge  '  Howell  was  the  youngest  daughter  of 
General  Israel  Chapin.  She  died  in  1808,  leaving  two  sons  and  a 
daughter.  He  married  for  a  second  wife,  in  1809,  the  daughter  of 
Dr.  Coleman,  of  Anchram,  Mass.  She  died  in  1812,  leaving  three 
sons  and  a  daughter.  The  surviving  sons  are  :  —  Alexander  H. 
Howell,  Thomas  M.  Howell,  Nathaniel  VV.  Howell,  Augustus  P. 
Howell.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Amasa  Jackson  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  Henry  S.  Mulligan  of  Buffalo. 

Dudley  Saltonstall  was  a  native  of  New  London,  Conn.,  a  grad- 
uate  of  Yale  College.  He  studied  law  in  the  celebrated  law  school 
of  Judge  Reeves  of  Litchfield,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
court  of  common  pleas  of  Ontario,  in  1795.  He  had  genius,  and 
high  attainments  in  scholarship,  commenced  practice  under  fovorabla 
auspices ;  but  aiming  high  and  falling  below  his  aim,  in  his  first 
forensic  efforts,  he  lost  confidence  in  himself,  and  abandoned  the 
profession.  He  engaged  in  other  pursuits  with  but  little  better 
success,  and  in  1808,  emigrated  to  Maryland,  and  soon  after  to 
Elizabeth  city,  N.  Carolina,  where  he  died  some  fifteen  years  since. 

•Dudley  Marvin  did  not  locate  at  Canaudaigua  within  a  pioneer 


in. 
If 


182 


PHELPS   AND    GORHAm's    PURCHASE. 


period,  but  his  name  is  so  blended  with  the  locality,  that  a  brief  no- 
tice  of  him  will  perhaps  be   anticipated.     He  was  a  native  of 
Lyme,  Connecticut.     His  law  studies  were  commenced  and  com- 
pleted in  the  office  of  Messrs.  Howell  &  Greig ;  in  the  absence  of 
any  classical  education,  but  in  its  place  was  a  vigorous  intellect, 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  profession  he  embraced.     He  had  not 
Ijeen  long  admitted  to  the  bar,  when  he  had  no  superior,  and  few 
if  any  equals,  as  an  advocate,  in  the  western  counties  of  this  State ; 
indeed,  the  giants  of  the  law  from  the  east,  who  used  to  follow  the 
circuits  of  the  old  Supreme  Court  Judges  in  this  direction,  found  in 
the  young  advocate  of  the  west,  a  competitor  who  plucked  laurels 
from  their  brows  they  had  won  upon  other  theatres  of  forensic  strife. 
"  When  sitting  as  a  judge,"  says  one  of  his  early  legal  mentors,  "  I 
freque-ntly  li-stened  with  admiration  to  his  exceedingly  able  and  elo- 
quent summings  up  in  jury  trials.     I  was  once  present  on  the  trial 
of  an  important  and  highly  interesting  cause,  in  which  Mr.  Marvin 
and  the  celebrated  Elisha  Williams  were  opposed  to  each  other, 
and  I  thought  the  speech  to  the  jury  of  Marvin,  was  quite   as 
eloquent  as  that  of  Williams,  and  decidedly  more  able.     He  was,  in- 
deed, unsuccessful,  but  the  failure  was  owing  to  his  cause,  and  not 
to  him.     He  might  well  have  said  witli  the  Trojan  hero :  —  "  Si 
Pergama'dextra  defendi possent  etiam  hac  dcfensi  fuissent." 

He  was  twice  elected  to  Congress,  in  which  capacity  the  high 
expectations  that  were  entertained  of  his  career  were  somewhat  dis- 
.  appointed.  The  new  sphere  of  action  was  evidently  not  his  forte  — 
neither  was  it  to  his  liking;  while  the  free  habits  that  unfortunately 
so  much  prevailed  at  our  national  capitol,  were  illy  suited  to  help 
the  wavering  resolutions  of  a  mind  that  was  wrestling  with  all  its 
giant  strength,  to  throw  off  chains  with  which  a  generous  social 
nature,  had  helped  to  fetter  him.  Years  followed,  in  which  one  who 
had  filled  a  large  space  in  the  public  mind  of  this  region,  was  almost 
lost  sight  of;  his  residence  being  principally  in  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia. He  returned  to  this  State,  and  resumed  practice  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  where  he  continued  but  a  few  years ;  removing  to 
the  county  of  Chautauque,  and  retiring  upon  a  farm. 

Myron  Holley  came  from  Salisbury  Connecticut,  in  1803,  locating 
at  Canandaigua.  He  had  studied  law,  but  never  engaged  in  prac- 
tice. He  was  an  early  bookseller,  and  for  a  considerable  time 
clerk  of  Ontario  county.     He  was  a  member  of  the  first  Board  of 


r 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's    PURCHASE. 


183 


r 


I 


canal  commissioners,  the  acting  commissioner  in  the  original  con- 
struction of  the  western  division  of  the  Erie  Canal,  unil  the  whole 
was  put  under  contract.  Soon  after  the  location  of  the  canal  he 
became  a  resident  of  the  village  of  Lyons.  So  eminently  able  and 
faithful  were  his  services  as  a  canal  commissioner,  that  the  grateful 
recollection  and  acknowledgement  of  them,  outlive  and  palliate  the 
mixed  offence  of  fault  and  misfortune,  with  which  his  official  career 
terminated, 

Mr.  Holley  died  in  1839,  or  '40;  his  widow,  the  daughter  of 
John  House,  an  early  Pioneer  at  Canandaigua,  resides  in  Black 
Rock,  Erie  county. 

Isaac  Davis,  an  early  merchant  at  Canandaigua,  and  subsequently 
at  Buffalo,  married  another  daughter  of  Mr.  House.  She  resides 
with  her  two  sons  in  Lockport.  Wm.  C.  House,  a  surviving  son  of 
John  House,  was  an  early  merchant  in  Lockport,  and  lately  the 
canal  collector  at  that  point ;  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  John  G. 
Bond,  an  early  merchant  in  Rochester. 

Thomas  Reals  became  a  resident  of  Canandaigua,  engaging  in 
the  mercantile  business,  in  1803.  In  early  years  his  trade  extended 
over  a  wide  region  of  country,  in  which  he  was  highly  esteemed 
as  an  honest  and  fair  dealing  merchant.  The  successor  of  Thad- 
deus  Chapin  as  treasurer  of  Ontario  county,  in  1814,  he  continued 
to  hold  the  office  for  twenty  eight  years.  As  Trustee  and  Secretary, 
he  has  been  connected  with  the  Canandaigua  Academy  forty  years. 
He  was  one  of  the  trustees,  and  a  member  of  the  building  com- 
mittee of  the  Congregational  Church  in  1812;  and  was  one^of  the 
county  superintendents  of  the  poor,  when  the  Poor  House  was  first 
erected.  He  is  now,  in  his  66th  year,  engaged  in  the  active 
pursuits  of  life ;  the  Treasurer  of  the  Ontario  SaviTigs  Bank,  a 
flourishing  institution  of  which  he  was  the  founder.  Mrs.  Beals, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  the  early  settled  clergyman  at  Canan- 
daigua, the  Rev.  Mr.  Fields,  still  survives.  There  are  two  survi- 
veing  sons,  one  a  resident  of  New  York,  and  the  other  in  Indiana. 
Surviving  daughters  are:  — Mrs.  Alfred  Field,  and  Mrs.  Dr.  Carr, 
of  Canandaigua,  and  Mrs.  James  S.  Rogers,  of  Wisconsin. 

In  1798,  a  formidable  party  of  emigrants  arrived  and  settled  near 
Canandaigua.  It  consisted  of  the  families  of  Benjamin  Barney, 
Richard  Daker  and  Vincent  Grant.  They  were  from  Orange  countyi 
and  were  all  family  connexions..    With  their  six  or  seven  teams! 


I'     '' 


184  puixps  AND  goeiiam's  purchase. 

and  a  numerous  retmue  of  foot  passengers,  and  stock,  their  advent 
is  well  remembered.  They  practiced  one  species  of  travelling 
economy,  that  the  author  has  never  before  heard  of  among  the  de- 
vices  of  pioneer  times:  — the  milk  of  their  cows  was  pift  into  a 
churn,  and  the  motion  of  the  wagon  produced  their  butter  as  they 
went  along.*  The  journey  from  Orange  county  consumed  twenty- 
six  days.  The  sons  who  came  with  Benj.  Barney,  were  :  —  Thomas, 
John,  Nicholas,  Joseph  and  Henry.  Thomas  was  the  head  of  a 
family  when  they  came  to  the  Genesee  country ;  a  surviving  son 
of  his,  is  Gen.  V.  G.  Barney  of  Newark  Wayne  county ;  a  surviv- 
ing daughter  is  the  wife  of  Elisha  Higby,  of  Hopewell,  Ontario 
county;  — and  in  this  connection  it  may  be  observed,  that  Mr. 
Higby  erected  the  first  carding  machine  in  the  Genesee  country, 
in  1804,  in  what  is  now  the  town  of  Hopewell,  to  which  he  soon 
added  a  cloth  dressing  establishment. 

James  Sibley,  the  early  and  widely  known  silver  smith,  watch 
repairer,  and  jeweler,  of  Canandaigua,  still  suivives,  retired  from 
business,  a  resident  of  Rochester.  His  son,  Oscar  Sibley,  pursuing 
the  business  of  his  father,  is  the  proprietor  of  a  large  establishmen° 
in  Bufialo.^  By  the  aid  of  a  singularly  retentive  memory — especi- 
ally in  reference  to  names  and  localities  —  he  has  furnished  the 
author  with  the  following  names  of  all  the  heads  of  families  in  Can- 
andaigua, village,  in  1803  :  — 


Setli  Tlionipson, 
Almci-  liunndl, 
Elijali  5J()r)»!y, 
H(;iirv  Cliaimi. 
Samuel  Latta, 
Dudley  Saltonstall, 
Loaiul'cr  ]5utlor, 
Luther  W.  Eeujamin, 
John  Hall, 
John  House, 
Maitin  Dudley, 
V'cn.  Wells, 
Jasper  Tarisli, 
Mr.  Crane, 
Daniel  Danes, 
Mr.  Sampson, 
Timothy  Younglove, 
Samuel  Abbey, 
John  Shulur, 
John  I!rork('ll)ank, 
Jeremiah  Atwatcr, 
General  Taylor, 


Widow  Whiting, 
I'hineas  Bates, 
Augustus  I'orter, 
Zaoliariah  Seymour, 
Natlianiel  Sanborn, 
Timothy  Hurt, 
TlioniiUH  Morris, 
ThomjLs  ISeals, 
M(jses  AtAvater, 
.Thaddeiis  Chapin, 
Israel  Cha[)in, 
Gould  it  Post, 
James  Dewey, 
Ezekiel  Taylor, 
Wm.  Anfisi, 
John  Clark, 
James  Srnedley, 
Jacob  Haskell, 
Rev.  Timothy  Field, 
Joshua  Eaton, 
Samuel  Brock, 
Mosea  Cleveland, 


Sylvester  Tiffany, 
Wm.  A.  VViUiams, 
James  llolden, 
Natli.  W.  Howell, 
Sanniel  Dungan, 
Robert  Spencer, 
Hannah  Whalley, 
Ebenezer  F.  Xortou, 
John  Furj^uson, 
Abner  ]5in-low, 
Norton  it  Richards, 
Nathaniel  Corhani. 
William  Shepherd, 
Freeman  Atwater, 
William  Ciiaiimau, 
Col.  Hyde, 
Virtue  lironsoii, 
James  B.  Mower, 
Oliver  I'helps, 
Feter  H.  Colt. 
Luther  '"'ole, 
Amos  Beach. 


fi.r  ?"^^'"'^.  '^IV^''  ^""'"?  '""'«  ^^'^^  i'«  '"'Itch  with  an  old  lady  who  was  fleeinn-  from 
the  frontier  in  the  war  of  1812.    An  alarm  found  her  with  her  dough  mixed  for  b'lkinl 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAm's  PURCHASE. 


185 


i> 


heir  advent 
travelling 
nng  the  de- 
put  into  a 
ter  as  they 
ed  tvventy- 
—  Thonnas, 
;  head  of  a 
rviving  son 
;  a  surviv- 
ill,  Ontario 
!,  that  Mr. 
!e  country, 
2h  he  soon 

lith,  watch 
itired  from 
f,  pursuing 
ablishinent 
■  — especi- 
nished  the 
es  in  Can- 


H'fany, 

illiiiius, 

leii, 

lowc'll, 

inpan, 

liiilley, 
\  Xortou, 

ISOIl, 
low, 

licliards, 

ioiham. 

icphcrd, 

twatcr, 

iipniau, 

ISOll, 

xnvcr, 

I  IS, 

It. 


fleejlii;:  fiotn 
1  for  bakiii"'. 


The  first  permanent  church  organization  in  Canandaigua.  of 
which  the  author  finds  any  record,  was  that  of  St.  lALithew's 
church  of  the  town  of  Canandaigua,  February  4th,  1799.  "A 
meeting  was  Jield  at  the  house  of  Nathaniel  Sanborn';  Ezra  Piatt 
was  called  to  the  chair  to  regulate  said  meeting."  The  followin-r 
officers  were  chosen  :  —  Ezra  Piatt,  Joseph  Colt,  Wardens  ;  Johii 
Clark,  Augustus  Porter,  John  Hecox,  Nathaniel  Sanborn,  Benjamin 
Wells,  James  Fields,  Moses  Atwater,  Aaron  Flint,  Vestrymen. 

The  Rev.  Philander  Chase,  the  present  Bishop  of  the  United 
States,  then  in  Deacon's  orders,  presided  at  this  organization  ;  re- 
mained and  ofliciated  as  clergyman  for  several  months. 

About  the  same  period,  "  the  first  Congregational  church  of  die 
town  of  Cannandaigua,"  was  organized.  "Ail  persons  who  had 
statedly  worshi[.ped  in  said  congregation,"  met  "at  the  school 
house,"  and  cho.se  as  Trustees  : —Othniel  Taylor,  ThaddeusChapin, 
Dudley  Saltonstall,  Seth  Ilolcomb,  Abner  Barlow,  Phineas  Bates. 
The  first  settled  minister  of  this  church,  was  the  Rev-  Mr.  Field. 

The  first  record  of  election  returns  that  the  author  has  been 
enabled  to  obtain,  is  that  of  the  election  of  Senators  and  Assem- 
blymen in  1799.  Tliis  was  before  Ontario  was  dismembered,  or 
rather  before  Steuben  had  a  separate  organization,  and  the  returns 
of  course  embrace  the  whole  region  west  of  Seneca  Lake.  Vin- 
cent  ]\Iatthews,  Joseph  White,  Moss  Kent,  were  the  candidates  for 
Senators.  The  candidates  lor  Assembly  were,  Charles  Williamson 
and  Nathaniel  Norton,  opposed  by  Lemuel  Chipman  and  Dudley 
Saltonstall.     Williamson  and  Saltonstall  were  elected.     The  entire 


vote  is  given :  — 

BloomfiL'ld 
Korthfield 
Charleston 
s      Easton 

Auj,'iista    - 
Sparta 


1G8 

59 

125 

58 
58 

82 


Jerusalem 
Hartford 
Palmyra 
Gcneseo 

Sodus 
Sonera 


101 
70 
55 
44 
4G 
55 


Sho  rolled  it  up  in  a  Wd,  and  sitting  upon  it,  kept  it  warm,  puUin-  it  out  aud  bakiuR 
as  she  stopjied  along  tlie  road.  i         a  uv*  uaivmjj 

N-OTE.-TIiero  was  a  little  feeling  of  rivalry  in  tlu.  organization  of  the,so   Pioneer 
W^^^^^^^  'i'l^^'  'iH.n  yoimg  de  ,y 

mlm  boardwl  with  Mrs.  Sanborn,  and  to  amuse  one  of  her  cLiMren,  Vhittled  <  .n -i 
slnngle  m  the  shape  ot  a  hddle,  and  stringmg  it  with  nilk  tluead,  put  it  in  t^he  S 
dow  ;  an  ^ohan  J.arp.    The  trifling  affair  soon  got  noised  about  .Ind  son        en  b  "s 

of  Sic  SfI  mSngTlldXr'  """^'-^^'^  ''  ^°  ^^  ^^^  '^^"^  ^^^  '^'  "^  ^  ^^ 
13 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


■-  IIIIM 

|50     ™l'^^ 

i^lllM 
If  1^ 

•"       140 


M 

22 
ZO 

1.8 


1.25      1.4 

J4 

-^ 6"     — 

► 

.•§.-> 


^. 


%, 


/. 


^.  ^^s 


<# 

^//j 


f  vsSvv 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


« 


#^ 


4C-^ 


.•V 


:\ 


\ 


'<^^ 


M 


rv 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  1458C 

(716)  872-4503 


o 


l^? 


m/j 


"/, 


186 


PHEIPS  AND   GOEHAJi's    PUECHA3E. 


Cannndaigua 

66 

Middlesex 

52 

Bristol 

-        110 

Fiederickstown 

46 

Phelps 

104 

Painted  Post 

63 

Pittstown 

62 

Dansville 

54 

Middletown 

86 

Canisteo 

76 

978 

Bath      - 

106 

766 

978 

V  >tal 

-        -        - 

-      1744 

In  1800,  Lemuel  Chipman  and  Nathaniel  Norton  were  elected; 
number  of  votes,  3,582.  Thomas  Morris  was  elected  to  Congress, 
receiving  almost  the  entire  vote  of  the  Genesee  country.  Canan- 
(iaigua,  Palmyra,  Bristol,  Sparta,  Hartford.  Easton,  Charleston, 
Northfield,  Augusta,  their  entire  vote  :  and  in  several  other  towns 
there  were  but  one,  two  and  three,  against  him.  1801  —  Peter  B. 
Porter  and  Daniel  Chapin  were  elected  to  the  Assembly.  1802  — 
Steuben  elected  separately,  Pollydore  B.  Wisner,  Augustus  Porter 
and  Thaddeus  Chapin,  were  elected  members  of  Assembly  from 
Ontario.  1803  —  Batavia,  which  was  then  all  of  the  Holland 
Purchase,  gave  less  than  180  votes.  In  that  year,  Amos  Hall, 
Nathaniel  W.  Howell,  Pollydore  B.  Wisner,  were  elected  to  the 
Assembly.  1804  —  The  members  of  Assembly  were,  Amos  Hall, 
Daniel  W.  Lewis  and  Alexander  Rhea. 

Jonathan  Philips,  an  early  shoemaker  of  Canandaigua,  still  sur- 
vives, hammering  and  drawing  out  his  waxed  ends  upon  a  seat  he 
has  occupied  for  51  years  ;  being  now  75  years  of  age.  The  old 
gentleman  observes,  that  in  that  now  healthy  locality,  he  has  known 
it  to  be  so  sickly,  that  more  than  half  the  entire  population  would 
be  afflicted  with  fevers. 

Southworth  Cole,  an  elder  brother  of  Luther  Cole,  came  into  the 
country  in  1797.  He  located  on  the  east  side  of  the  Lake,  in  a 
then  wilderness,  at  what  was  known  in  early  days  as  '•  Corn  Creek." 
There  was  an  old  Indian  clearing  of  about  20  acres.  Mr.  Cole 
was  for  several  years  the  only  settler  between  the  foot  of  the  Lake 
and  Naples.  The  location  was  famed  as  the  favorite  ground  of  the 
rattle  snake :  some  members  of  this  Pioneer  family  have  killed  as 
many  as  100  in  the  course  of  a  day  at  their  den.  Deer  were  so 
plenty,  that  a  hunter  of  the  family  hrs  killed  00  in  a  season.  The 
sons  of  the  Pioneer  were  Abner  Cole,  an  early  lawyer  of  Palmyra ; 
Dorastus  Cole,  of  Palmyra ;   Joseph  Cole,  of  Michigan ;  G.  W. 


52 
46 
63 
54 
76 
lOG 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAm's  PUECnASE.  187 

Cole  of  Saratoga  Springs;  and  Benjamin  B.  Cole,  of  Ocrden. 
Mrs.  Philetus  Swift  of  Phelps,  and  Mrs.  Kingsley  Miller  of  Palmy, 
ra,  were  h.s  daughters.  Joseph  Colt,  the  early  merchant  of  Geneva 
and  Palmyra,  married  a  sister  of  Southworth  and  Luther  Cole 


BLOOMFIELD. 


The  settlement  of  East  Bloomfield,  commenced  simultaneously 
with  thatof  Canandaigua.  The  east  township  was  purchased  by 
Capt.  Wm.  Bacon,  Gen.  John  Fellows,  Elisha  Lee,  Deacon  John 
Adams,  Dr.  Joshua  Porter  (the  father  of  Peter  B.  and  Au-ustus) 
Deacon  Adams  became  the  pioneer  in  settlement ;  — and  tlie  pa- 
tnarch  it  might  well  be  added,  for  he  introduced  a  large  household 
into  the  wilderness.  His  family  consisted  of  himself  and  wife  his 
sons  John,  Jonathan,  William,  Abner  and  Joseph  ;  his  sons  in  laws, 

Ephraim  Rew.  Lorin  Hull,  and Wilcox,  and  their  wives,  and 

Elijah  Rose,  a  brother  in  law  and  his  family,  and  three  unmarried 
daughters.     Joined  with  all  these  in  the  primitive  advent,  were  •  — 
Moses  Gunn,  Lot  Rew,  John  Barnes,  Roger  Sprague.  Asa  Hickox 
Benjamin  Goss,  John  Keyes,  Nathaniel  Norton.     Early  after  the 
opening  of  navigation,  in  1789,  the  emigrants  departed  from  Sche- 
nectady,  some  of  the  men  with  the  household  furniture  and  stores,  by 
water,  but  most  of  the  party  upon  pack  horses,  following  principally 
tlie  Indian  trails.     In  May,  they  were  joined  by  Augustus  Porter, 
Ihaddeus  Keyes,  Joel  Steele,  Eber  Norton  and  Oran^re  Woodruff. 
Judge  Porter,  then  but  twenty  years  of  age,  had  been°employed  to 
make  farm   surveys  of  the  township.     When  he  arrived  h^.  found 
the  Adams  family,  and  those  who  had  come  in  with  them,  the  occu- 
pants  of  a  log  house,  30  by  40  feet,  the  first  dwelling  erected  west 
of  Canandaigua  after  white  settlement  commenced.     To  accomo- 
date  so  large  a  family  with  lodgings,  there  were  berths  upon  wooden 
pins  along   the  walls   of  the  house,  one   above  another,  steam,  or 
packet  boat  fashion.     It  was  the  young  surveyor's  first  introduction 
to  backwoods  life.     He  added  to  the  crowded  household  himself  and 
his  assistants,  and  soon  shouldered  his  "Jacob  staft;"  and  commen- 
ced  his  work.    The  emigrants  had  brought  on  a  good  stock  of  pro- 
visions and  some  cows ;  wild  game  soon  began  to  be  added,  which 
made  them  very  comfortable  livers.    The  Judge,  in  his  later  years, 


I, 


188 


PHELPS  AJ^D  G0RILV:\1*S  PURCHASE. 


would  speak  with  much  animation,  of  the  primitive  log  house,  its 
enormous  fire  place;  and  especially  of  the  hread  "baked  in  ashes" 
which  Mrs.  Rose  used  to  bring  upon  the  table,  and  which  he  said 
was  excellent. 

William  Bacon,  a  principal  proprietor  in  Bloomfield,  was  a  res- 
ident of  Sheffield,  JMass.;  he  never  emigrated.  He  bore  a  captain's 
commsssion  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  a  contractor  for  the  army. 
After  the  Revolution  he  drove  cattle  through  upon  the  old  Indian 
trail  to  Fort  Niagara.  Deacon  Adams,  Nathaniel  Eggleston,  and 
several  others  of  the  early  settlers  in  Bloomfield,  first  saw  the  Gen- 
esee Country,  in  connection  with  this  cattle  trade  to  Niagara.  Col. 
Asher  Saxton  a  prominent  pioneer,  i:i  Bloomfield,  Cambria,  and 
Lockport  Niagara  co.,  and  lastly  upon  the  river  Raisin,  near 
Monroe,  was  a  son  in  law  of  capt.  Bacon  and  his  local  representa- 
tive. He  died  at  his  residence  in  Michigan  in  1847  at  an  advanced 
age.  He  married  for  a  third  wife  a  sister  of  Gen.  Micah  Brooks. 
When  he  left  Bloomfield  to  go  into  a  new  region  in  Niagara  county, 
he  remarked  to  an  old  friend  that  he  was  going  "  where  they  live  in 
log  cabins."  "  I  want"  said  he  "  to  see  more  of  Pioneer  life."  The 
roof  of  a  log  cabin  has  seldom   sheltered  a  worthier  man. 

The  author  is  unable  to  name  the  j-ear  in  which  all  of  the  emi- 
grants settled  in  Bloomfield  after  the  primitive  advent  of  the  Adam'g 
household,  and  those  who  came  in  the  same  year.  Those  who  will 
be  named  were  of  the  earliest  class  of  Pioneers. 

Dr.  Daniel  Chapin  was  the  early  physician.  He  was  the  next 
representative  of  Ontario  county  in  the  Legislature  after  Gen. 
Israel  Chapin.  He  removed  to  BufFalo  in  1805  and  died  there  in 
1835. 

Amos  Bronson  was  from  Berkshire,  a  persevering  and  enterprisino- 
man,  and  became  the  owner  of  a  large  farm.  He  died  in  1835. 
His  wife  still  survives,  at  the  advanced  age  of  over  90  years.  Mrs. 
Bronson,  and  Benjamin  Goss,  are  the  only  two  surviving  residents 


Note.  — Tliero  iirono  suniving  dcscotidants  in  tho  first  degree  of  tlio  early  Pioneer 
Deacon  John  Adams.  In  tlie  second,  tliiid  and  i'omth  de<;reo,  few  families  are  nioro 
ininierous.     The  three   unnianiod   daughters  mentioned  above,  became  tlu!   wives  of 

John   Kt^es, Benjamin,  and  Silas  K«!,deston.     Among  the   descendants  are  the 

lannlywho  gave  the  name  to  "Adams  Hasin,"  in  Ogden  ;  Oen.  Wm.  H.  Adams  of 
Lyons  AVni.  Adams  of  Rochester,  and  Mrs.  Barrett  of  Lockport ;  and  the  autlior  re- 
grets  tliat  he  has  not  the  memorandums  to  enable  him  to  remember  more  of  a  mime 
aud  lumdy  so  promiueiiUy  identiliod  witliPiouccr  aettlemeut. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's  PUECHASE. 


189 


of  all  the  adult  pioneers  of  East  Bloomfield.  The  sons  are  among 
the  wealthy  and  public  spirited  men  of  the  town. 

Benjamin  Goss,  who  is  named  above,  was  in  the  country  as  early 
as  1791.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Dea:on  George  Codding,  of 
Bristol.  Theirs  was  the  first  wedding  on  Phelps  and  Gorham's  Pur- 
chase. He  is  now  90  years  of  age ;  a  Revolutionary  pensioner. 
He  was  in  the  battl'^  at  Johnstown,  at  Sharon  Springs,  and  was  in 
the  unsuccessful  expedition  of  Col.  Marinus  Willett  to  Oswego  in  the 
winter  of  1781.* 

Nathaniel  Norton  was  from  Goshen,  Conn.  He  was  the  foun- 
der of  the  mills  that  took  his  name,  on  the  Ganargwa  creek,  in 
Bloomfield.  He  was  an  early  sheriff  of  Ontario,  and  its  represen- 
tative in  the  Legislature ;  and  an  early  merchant  in  Bloomfield  and 
Canandaigua.  He  died  in  1809  or  '10.  The  late  Heman  Norton 
was  his  son ;  a  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Judge  Baldwin  of  the 

Sup.  Court  of  the  United  States ;  another  of Beach,  of  the 

firm  of  Norton  &  Beach.  Aaron  Norton,  the  brother  of  Nathaniel, 
settled  in  Bloomfield  about  the  same  time;  died  soon  after  1^15, 
Hon.  Ebenezer  F.  Norton  of  Buffalo,  and  Reuben  Norton  of  BLom- 

field,  are  his  sons.     A  daughter  became  the  wife  of Kibbe, 

the  early  Bank  cashier  at  Canandaigua  and  Bufialo ;  another,  the 
wife  of  Peter  Bowen.  Eber  Norton,  another  brother  of  Nathaniel, 
died  in  1810;  Judge  Norton  of  Allegany  is  a  son  of  his. 

Roger,  Azel,  and  Thomas  Sprague,  with  their  father  and  mother, 
and  three  sisters,  were  early  pioneers.  Roger  succeeded  Nathaniel 
Norton  as  Sheriff  of  Ontario,  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
supervisor.  He  died  in  Michigan,  in  1848.  Asahel  and  Thomas, 
both  died  soon  after  1810.  The  only  survivor  of  the  family  is  a 
sister  who  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Ralph  Wilcox. 


Tlic  old  gentleman  gives  a  relation  of  suffering  and  privation  in  that  expedition, 
winch  exlahits  some  of  the  harshest  features  of  tlie  war  of  the  Revohition.  The  con- 
tein]ilatc(l  attack  npon  Oswego,  was  mulertakeu  in  mitl  winter,  and  the  army  eiicoun- 
tere(  deep  snow.  Many  of  tlio  men  had  tlieir  feet  frozen,  and  tlie  relator  among  the 
number,  llie  expedition  was  undertaken  in  sleighs,  and  upon  snow  shoes,  the  men 
going  aliead  unon  the  snow  shoes,  and  partly  beathig  ihe  track.  Oneida  Li>ko  wna 
crossed  upon  tlio  ice.  Arriving  at  Fort  Brewerton,  a  largo  number  of  the  pressed  mil- 
itia, a])iialled  Ijy  the  sutl'ering  and  diinger  they  were  to  encounter,  deserted  and  return- 
ed to  the  valley  of  the  Moliawk ;  the  remainder,  an  unequal  force  for  the  work  that 
was  belorethem,  struck  off  into  the  dark  forest  in  the  direction  of  Oswego,  were  badly 
jnloted,  missed  their  course,  and  were  tliree  days  wanderers  amid  the  ttuni  sn,)ws  of 
the  wildernesf:.  Coming  within  four  mik's  of  a  strong  fortress,  with  provisions  exhaus- 
ted, amnuimtion  much  damaged,  and  men  already  worn  out  in  the  march,  a  council  de- 
culed  against  the  attack,  and  the  expedition  retreated  to  Fort  Plain. 


I!       • 


H    ^ 


PIIELPS  AND  GOEHAM's   PUEOHASE. 

Moses  Gunn  was  from  Berkshire.  He  died  in  1820 ;  Linus  Gunn 
of  Bloomfield  was  a  son  of  his;  another  son  wa.  an  early  tavern 
keeper  on  north  road  to  Canandaigua 

As  early  as  1790  Daniel  Gates  located  in  the  town  of  Bloomfield 
on  the  Iloneoye  creek,  at  what  is  now  known  as  North  Bloomfield' 
and  erected  the  first  saw  mill  upon  that  stream.  Procuring  some 
apple  sprouts  from  the  old  Indian  orchard  at  Geneva  he  had  one  of 
the  earliest  bearing  orchards  in  the  Genesee  country.  His  youngest 
.on  Alfred  Gates,  now  resides  upon  the  old  homestead. 

Dr.  John  Barnes  was  an  early  physician,  remained  a  few  years, 
and  emigrated  to  Canada. 

Elijah  Hamlin,  Philo  Hamlin.  Cyprian  Collins,  Gideon  King,  Ben- 
jamin Chapman,  Joel  and  Christopher  Parks.  Ephraim  and  Lot  Rue, 
Alexander  Emmons,  Ashbel  Beach,  Nathan  Waldron,  Enos  Hawley 
Timothy  Buel,  were  Pioneers  in  Bloomfield,  but  in  reference  to  thern 
the  author  as  m  many  other  instances,  has  to  regret  the  absence  of 

names  Elijah  Hamlin,  who  was  alive  a  short  time  since,  in  Mich- 
gan.  If  ahve  now,  is  the  only  survivor  of  them.  He  was  a  contrac- 
tor on  the  Erie  Canal,  at  Lockport,  in  1823.  Joel  Parks,  a  son  of 
one  of  those  named,  married  a  daughter  of  Dea.  Gooding  of  Bristol 
He  was  a  pioneer  at  Lockport.  Niagara  county,  a  Jus:ice  of  the 
peace  and  merchant;  and  is  nowa  residen.of  Lockport  Illinois. 

iZZ'/rV'"""^  ^''"^  ^'''^''^''''  ''  ^^oorni^-^d,  in  March. 

1/94.  vvith  his  wife  and  seven  children.  He  was  then  but  27  years 
old.  Remaining  in  Bloomfield  until  1813.  he  removed  with  his 
lamily  to  the  town  of  Henrietta,  when  settlement  had  but  first  com- 
menced  and  where  he  had  been  preceded  two  or  three  years  by 
some  of  his  sons.  He  died  in  the  town  of  Gates,  in  1820,  aged  62 
years  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  Hving,  12  children,  67 
grand-children,  and  7  great-grand  children;  nine  of  the  sons  and 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 


191 


daughters  are  now  living.  The  mother  died  in  Randolph,  Cattara- 
gus  county,  in  1840,  aged  78  years;  the  eldest  son  at  Council  Bluff, 
on  his  way  to  Oregon,  in  1840.  The  history  of  this  family  furnishes 
a  remarkable  instance  of  the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  adventure  in- 
herited by  the  descendants  of  the  early  pioneers  of  the  Genesee 
country.  Residing  in  one  town,  in  1813,  in  1842  the  sons  and 
daughters  were  residents  of  five  different  States,.  Nine  of  them 
are  now  living :  James  Sperry,  in  Henrietta,  a  well  known  surveyor, 
and  a  local  agent  of  the  Wadsvvorth  estate ;  Moses  Sperry,  the 
present  Surrogate  of  Monroe  ;  Calvin  Sperry,  in  Gates,  Monroe 
county;  Charles  Sperry  in  Quincy,  Illinois;  George  Sperry  in 
Trumbull  county  Ohio.  A  sister  resides  in  Cattaragus  county ; 
another  in  Akron,  Ohio ;  another  in  Missouri ;  another  in  Gates, 
Monroe  county. 

Mr  James  Sperry  having  kindly  furnished  the  author  with  some 
interesting  pioneer  reminiscences,  they  are  inserted  in  the  form 
adoDted  in  other  instances. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  JAMES  SPERRY. 


Among  the  trials  of  tlio  first  settlers,  there  wore  none  more  irntatinij  tlian 
the  destniction  of  slieep  and  swine  by  th^-  wohes  ami  bears.  Often "wliole 
flocks  of  sheep  would  be  shuiglitered  in  tlie  niglit  by  the  wol\-es.  Tliis  ha])- 
pened  so  frerincntly  that  those  wlio  determined  to  preserve  their  sheep,  made 
l)ens  or  yards,  so  high  and  tight  that  a  wolf  could  not  get  over  or  tlu'ough 
them.  If  left  out  by  accident  or  carelessnes.s,  they  weio  almost  sure  to  be  at- 
tacked. The  state,  coanty  and  town,  offered  bounties,  in  the  ao-oTOfjate, 
amounting  to  820  for  each  wolf  scalp.  Asnhel  Sprague  caught  ten  irBIoom- 
fiekl,  which  had  the  effect  to  pretty  nnich  stop  their  ravages  in  that  quarter. 

Bears  preyed  iqion  the  hog's,  that  iVom  necessity  the  new  settlei's  were 
clMged  to  let  run  in  the  woods  for  shack.  About  two  years  after  we 
came  to  Bloomfickl,  when  our  iicarciit  neigld)or  was  a  mile  from  my  father's 
house,  one  dark  evening  in  October,  when  we  were  all  sitting  around  the 
table  pearing  pumpkins  to  dry,  (and  to  make  apple  sauce,)  we  were  suddenly 
started  by  a  loud  squeal  from  tlie  motiier  of  the  gruntei-s,  who  with  her  pro- 
geny, were  resting  in  a  hollow  log  in  the  woods.  Mv  father  having  no  ara- 
nuuution  for  his  old  French  gun,  seize  1  an  axe,  and  went  to  the  rescue,  un- 
hindered by  the  remonstrances  of  my  mother.  The  bear  tied  at  his  appi'oach, 
biit  had  so  injured  the  hog  tliat  my  father  killed  her  and  dragged  in  the  carcass. 

It  was  not  uncommon  for  boys  to  see  bears  when  at\er  the  cows,  but  I 
tl  i:ik  no  one  of  tlie  early  settlers' received  any  injury  from  them,  unless  they 
had  first  been  wounded.     One  of  the  Coddings,  in  BloomlieU,  came  pr<.'tty 


192 


PHELPS  AND   GORUAm's  rUECIIASE. 


give  ]u.n  a  I  J.     UMn^^^!^ '""?  ^^P',  ''f'  ^"'-^  I^'''^^'^  ^'■^^"^^''^^1.  ^o 

fled  boarinj  <S' the  a      Sel    v^^^^  to  penetrate  the  sk„]l.     The  bear 

Lnhu]  <<,.  '         "  ^^''■'^  '"^■'*^  '^•y  the  woiiiK  ed  sk  n  and  flesli 

V.an.l-.,,ik,..^    ;'„,       M^      *"  T5  !"s  heels,  ana  broke  his  back  with  a 

el  Jest  sisler  tt'l  e  ,      ll  ^      r  '■""'  "'"f-'l"" '»«•     My  mother  and 

e^ongh  ro.;;ar;;';'hr^,.'ro!;i7'is„  !::TZ^-  ''''-'■  -' 

ToL  I  Su  Z     '  ""I'''«^"*^'^^'"^^  ^^•'-^••«   SO  extended  that  the  inhabitants 
SvSe   °  'JFnings  and  soon  they  began  to  bo  covered  with  oak    nd 

now  per  acre,  .  tt  ^^SS^i.^ ^S^Ji.^^^S.  ^  ^^^  ^^^^  «^  ^^ 
be^  hSXrr'""'?!;'^^!^"^^^"^^^^  ^^^'-^  """^-o"s  and  hard  to 

inn-  nil  +)„•    *   Vi        ^^ ""<-!,  and  l)arefoot  in  the  summer;  yet,  notwith'^t-md 

March  nS  ^f,  •^^^'^'^^^  f«Vl'^"!-  ^''ilcl>'en. .  When  our  family  arrived  in 
tt  re  liL'o  th  Tdn'  ""^''i  V  '^'^  ""'f'  ''''  ^«™^'-  «f  the  town,  ne  r 
te  ol  It  of  our  fHmtv  ".'  ''"^ .?  'T\  ^'^'^  "^>'  ^=^"''^  ^^l'^^^-  ^^'^'"r  of 
Norton  nn-lTTr^^,'-'"*'.''''^  ^^'"^  •-°^"^'^'  '"^^  «'»n  as  we  arrived.  Ilemin 
J^   o?^si;;^^"'a^r  "went  through  college,"  wer/mr 

buiitl';roneiaSf":^::f:s.':::rcf^  ''%  ^^'^?^  ^^^"^^  ^^='« 

waskrMitbvIovi.-i  P    f  \V        A         ^        ^'^^''*^  ^^"^''^'  ^^'^'^™  '■^  «'J'ool 
.to-uataMa.        Uunng  the  summer  of  '95  and  '6,  Betsey  Sprague 

west  of  Uatavin.  wL  f  '  o^    i  f  '  ^  ',"  ^""^'-'''^''i  Crock,  tlneo  miles 

rlin.e.  He  canled  the  first  tnuul  o7.  ,,,  >  ^^'  '•' '"'''  "  '"  "I"'"  ^'"^  ^■^""•''"'l  J*">- 
rloth,  a,ul  nia.le  tlic  fir "t  rL^i^  f  t  n^r  C  ?  '"'"■''"•^'T  ■•  ^IrosseJ  the  fi„.t  piece  of 
78th year  of  his  age  ^  '"  ''"*'  "*  Caladuiua.    He  still  survives,  iu  the 


niELrs   AND    GORTI All's   PUPwCUASE. 


193 


and 


kept  tins  school.  TheiR  was  then  but  two  schools  in  the  town.  Miss 
Spmgiie  kopt  the  siiine  school  in  the  winter  of  '90  and  '7.  My  eldest 
brother  and  myself  attended  this  school  in  the  winter,  walking  two  and  a  half 
miles  through  the  snow  across  the  openings  ;  not  with  "old  shoes  and  clout- 
ed "_  on  our  feet,  but  with  rags  tied  on  theln  to  go  and  come  in,  taking  them 
oft"  in  school  hours.  The  young  men  ami  boys,  the  young  wonu-n  and  girls, 
for  three  miles  around,  attended  this  school.  John  Fairchild,  west  of  tho 
Centre,  sent  his  children. 

In  tint  fall  of  '97,  a  young  man  with  a  pack  on  his  back,  came  in.',   the 
neighborhood  of  Ounn,  Goas,  King,  Lamberton,  and  the  Bronsons,  two  miles 
ciust  of  the  south  west  school,  and  one  mile  north  of  may  father's,  and  intro- 
duced himself  as  a  school  t<>acher  from  tho  land  of  steady  habits ;  proposing 
that  they  form  a  new  district,  and  he  would  keep  their  school.     The  propose 
tion  was  accepted,  and  all  turned  out  late  in  the  season,  the  young  man  volun- 
teei'ing  liis  assistance,  and  built  another  log  school  house  in  winch  he  kept  a 
school  in  the  winter  of  '97  and  '8,  and  the  ensuing  winter.     The  school  was 
as  full  both  winters  as  the  house  could  hold.     Two  young  men,  John  Lam- 
beilon  and  Jesse  Tainter,  studietl  surveying  both   winters,   and  in  1800, 
Lamberton  commenced  surveying  for  the'  Holland  Company,  doing  a  laro-er 
amount  of  sur\eying  upon  their  Purcluise  than  any  other  man.  °Ho  now 
lives  near  Pine  Hill,  a  few  miles  north  of  Batavia.     The  first  wmter,  ray 
father  sent  seven  to  this  scliool,  and  the  second  winter  eight.     In  this  school, 
most  of  us  learned  for  the  first  time  that  the  earth  Avas  round,  and  turned 
round  upon  its  axis  once  in  24  hours,  and  revolves  around  the  sun  once  a 
year.     .1  shall  never  forget  the  teacher's  manner  of  illnsti'ating  these  tacts  :  — 
For  the  ANTrnt  of  a  globe,  he  took  an  old  hat,  the  crown  having  "gone  up  to 
seed,"  doubled  in  the  old  limber  trim,  marked  with  chalk  a  line  round  tho 
mitldle  lor  the  e([uator,  and  another  representing  the  eliptic,  and  held  it  up 
to  the  scholars,  with  the  "  seed  end  "  towards  them,  and  turning  it,   com- 
menced the  two  revolutions.     The  simultaneous  shout  which  went  up  from 
small  to  great,  was  a  "  caution'"  to  all  young  school  masters  how  they  in- 
troduce "  new  things"  to  yoimg  Pioneers.     Although  the  school  mjister  was 
afayoriU;_with  parents  and  pujjils,  the  "most  orthodox"  thought  he  was 
talking  of  some  thing  of  which  he  knew  nothing,  and  was  teaching  for  sound 
doctrine  A\hat  Avas  contrary  to  tho  common  sense  of  all ;  for  every  body 
knew  that  tho  earth  was  flat  and  immovably  fixed,  and  that  the  sun  rose  and 
set  every  day.     That  teacher  finally  settled  in  Bloomfield,  was  afterwards 
manv  years  a  Justice  of  tlie  Peace;  for  one  term,  member  of  the  legislature; 
anil  for  one  term,  a  member  of  Congress;  now  known  as  Gen.  Micah  Bi'ooks, 
of  Brook's  Grove,  Livingston  county. 

■  TIk',  fiist  meeting  house  in  the  Genesee  country,  was  erected  in  Bloomfield, 
in  IRQ  1.  A  church  and  society  had  been  formed  some  years  before;  Seth 
■\Villiston  and  Jedcdiali  Bushndl,  ujissionaries  from  the  east,  hibored  occa 
sionaliy  and  sometimes  continually  in  Blcjmfield,  from  1797  to  1800.  An 
extensive  revival  in  that  ami  adjoining  towns  continued  under  their  labors  for 
several  years,  and  in  1801,  they  raised  a  large  meeting  house.  Robert 
Powers  was  the  builder.  Meetings  were  held  in  it  summer  and  winter,  when 
it  was  in  anunlinished  condition,  and  without  warming  it,  until  1807  and  '8, 
when  it  wa.':  finished ;  Andrew  Colton  being  the  ai'cliilect. 

Ancient  occupancy  wsis  distinctly  traced  "at  the  period  of  early  settlement 


I  s 

II 


19^^ 


PHELPS  AND  QOEHAm's  PUECHASE. 


in  Bboinfie],!.  On  tlie  farm  of  Nathan  Wuldron,  and  on  othei-s  contio-uous, 
in  tlionortliefist  comer  of  the  town,  near  whore  the  Adams,  Norton!  and 
Kues  hi-st  settled,  many  gim  barrels,  locks  and  stock  barrels,  of  French  con- 
struct.oti,  and  tomahawks,  were  plowed  up  and  used  for  makini;  w  mendin-r 
agricultural  implements.  I  have  seen  a,'  many  as  1 5  or  20  barreS  at  a  time,  al 
Wadrons  blacksmith  shop,  while  ho  and  David  Reese,  his  journeyman,  were 
vyorkino-  them  uji.  I  once  saw  Reese  pointiniy  out  in  the  roof  of  the  shop, 
the  etlect  ol  a  ball  fired  from  an  old  barrel  while  heatini;  it  in  the  forge;  his 
hearers  wonderino;  how  the  powder  retained  its  strength  for  so  long  a  period, 
the  barrel  having  lain  under  ground. 

There  were  many  old  Indian  burying  grounds  in  Bloomfield,  and  many  of 
the  graves  were  opened  in  search  of  curiosities.  In  some  of  them,  hatchets 
were  loiind,  out  generally  nothing  but  bones.  In  ploughing  the  ground, 
bones,  skulls,  and  sometimes  hatchets,  were  found.'  The 'stones  used  by  the 
Indians  tor  skinnmg  tlieir  game  and  peeling  bark,  were  found  in  various 
localities,  iheso  stones  were  very  hard,  worked  off  smooth,  and  brou<^ht 
down  to  an  edge  at  one  end,  and  generally  from  four  to  six  inches  long. 
I'estle  stones  used  for  pounding  their  corn  were  frequently  found.  They 
were  from  one  to  one  a  half  feet  in  length,  round  and  smooth,  with  a  round 
point  at  both  ends,  something  like  a  rolling  pin ;  and  they  were  frequently 
used  by  the  settlers  for  that  puri)ose.  ^ 


The  venerable  Deacon  Stephen  Dudley,  who  settled  in  Bloomfield 
as  early  as  1799,  still  survives.  In  the  summer  of  i848  he  informed 
the  author  that  there  were  then  less  than  twenty  persons  living  in 
Bloomfield,  who  were  adults  when  he  came  there.  He  also  inform- 
ed the  author,  that  Gen.  Fellows  built  the  first  framed  barn  west  of 
Canandaigua;  and  as  an  instance  of  the  value  of  lands  in  an  early 
day,  he  related  an  anecdote  :  — Gen.  Fellows  had  no  building  spot 
on  the  road,  on  his  large  tract,  but  an  acre  of  land  on  a  lot  adjoin- 
ing was  desirable  for  that  purpose.  Proposing  to  buy  it,  he  asked 
the  owner  his  price,  who  replied :— "  I  declare,  General,  if  you 
take  an  acre  right  out  of  my  farm,  I  think  you  should  give  me  as 
much  as  fifty  cents  for  it." 

In  1798  a  second  religious  society  was  organized  in  Bloomfield, 
called  the  "North  Congregational  Society."  The  first  trustees 
were :  — Jared  Boughton,  Joseph  Brace,  and  Thomas  Hawley. 


MICAH  BROOKS. 


Micah  Brooks,  was  a  son  of  David  Brooks,  A.  M.,  of  Cheshire, 
Conn.    The  father  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College.     He  belonged 


PHELPS   AND    GORHAIm's   PURCnA3E. 


195 


( contiguous, 
J^ortous  anil 
French  con- 
;  or  mending 
.  at  a  tiiiio,  at 
oynian,  were 
of  the  shop, 
lO  forge ;  his 
ag  a  period, 

nd  many  of 
3m,  hatchets 
the  ground, 
used  by  the 
1  in  various 
ind  brouglit 
inches  long, 
und.  They 
r'ith  a  round 
e  frequently 


Bloomfielil 
e  informed 
s  living  in 
so  inform- 
'n  west  of 
n  an  early 
Iding  spot 
lot  adjoin- 
lie  asked 
al,  if  you 
ve  me  as 

lloomfield, 
t  trustees 
vley. 


Cheshire, 
belonged 


to  the  first  quota  of  men  furnished  by  the  town  of  Cheshire  ;  en- 
tering the  service  first  as  a  private  soldier,  but  soon  becoming  the 
quarter  master  of  his  regiment.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legisla- 
ture of  Connecticut,  at  the  period  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne, 
and  a  delegate  to  the  State  Convention  that  adopted  the  U.  S.  con- 
stitution at  Hartford.  After  his  first  military  service,  he  alternated 
in  discharging  the  duties  of  a  minister  and  then  of  a  soldier  —  going 
out  in  cases  of  exigency  with  his  shouldered  musket ;  especially  at 
the  burning  of  Danbury  and  the  attack  upon  New  Haven.  After 
the  Revolution,  he  retired  to  his  farm  in  Cheshire,  where  he  died  in 
1802. 

Micah  Brooks,  in  179G,  having  just  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  set  out  from  his  father's  house  to  visit  the  new  region,  the 
fame  of  which  was  then  spreading  throughout  New  England.  Af- 
ter a  pretty  thorough  exploration  of  western  New  York,  he  returned 
to  Whitestown,  and  visited  the  country  again  in  the  fall  of  1797,  stop- 
ping at  Bloomfield  and  engaging  as  a  school  teacher ;  helping  to  build 
his  own  log  school  house.  [D=  See  reminiscences  of  Mr,  James 
Spe:ry.  Returning  to  Cheshire,  he  spent  a  part  of  a  summer  in 
studying  surveying  with  Professor  Meigs,  with  the  design  of  enter- 
ing into  the  service  of  the  Holland  Company.  In  the  fall  of  '98, 
he  returned,  and  passing  Bloomfield,  extended  his  travels  to  the  Falls 
of  Niagara  on  foot,  pursuing  the  old  Niagara  trail ;  meeting  with 
none  of  his  race,  except  travellers,  and  Poudry,  at  Tonawanda,  with 
whom  and  his  Squaw  wife,  he  remained  over  night.  After  visiting 
the  Falls  —  seeing  for  himself  the  wonder  of  which  he  had  read  so 
imperfect  descriptions  in  New  England  school  books,  he  went  up 
the  Canada  side  to  Fort  Erie,  crossing  the  river  at  Black  Rock. 
The  author  gives  a  graphic  account  of  his  morning' s  walk  from 
Black  Rock  to  where  Buffalo  now  is,  in  his  own  language,  as  he  is 
quite  confident  he  could  not  improve  it :  —  "  It  was  a  bright,  clear 
morning  in  November.  In  my  lonely  walk  along  the  bank  of  the 
Lake,  I  looked  out  upon  its  vast  expanse  of  water,  that  unstin-ed 
by  the  wind,  waj  as  transparent  as  a  sea  of  glnss.  There  was  no 
marks  of  civilization  upon  its  shores,  no  American  sail  to  float 
upon  its  surfivce.  Standing  to  contemplate  the  scene,  — here,  I  re- 
flected, the  goodness  of  a  Supreme  Being  has  prepared  a  new  crea- 
tion, ready  to  be  occupied  by  the  people  of  his  choice.  At  what 
period  will  the  shores  of  this  beautiful  Lake  be  adorned  with  dwel- 


196 


PfiELPS  AND  GOnnASl's  PUECHASE. 


lings  and  all  the  appointments  of  civilized  life,  as  now  seen  upon  the 

shores  of  the  Atlantic  ?    I  began  to  tax  my  mathematical  powers  to 

see  wh6n  the  east  would  become  so  overstocked  with  population, 

as  to  be  enabled  to  furnish  a  surplus  to  fill  up  the  unoccupied  space 

between  me  and  my  New  England  friends.     It  was  a  hard  question 

to  solve ;  and  I  concluded  if  my  New  England  friends  could  see 

me,  a  solitary  wanderer,  upon  the  shores  of  a  far  off  western  Lake, 

indulging  in  such  wild  speculations,  they  would  advise  me  to  return 

and  leave  such  questions  to  future  generations.     Dut  I  have  r/ten 

thought  that  I  had  then,  a  presentiment  of  a  ;)rtr<  of  what  half  a 

century  has  accomplished."     Walking  on  to  the  rude  log  tavern  of 

Palmer,  which  was  one  of  the  then,  but  two  or  three  habitations,  on 

all  the  present  site  of  Buffalo,  he  added  to  his  stock  of  bread  and 

cheese,  and  struck  off  again  into  the  wilderness,  on  the  Indian  trail, 

—  slept  one  night  in  the  surveyor's  ca.-r^p  of  .Tames  Smedley,  and 

after  getting  lost  in  the  dense  dark  woods  where  Batavia  now  is, 

reacheil  the  transit  line,  where  Mr.  Ellicott's  hands  were  engaged  in 

erecting  their  primitive  log  store  house. 

Renewing  his  school  teoching  in  Bloomfield,  in  '99,  he  purchased 
the  flirm  where  he  resided  for  many  years.  It  was  at  a  period  of 
land  speculation,  and  inflation  of  prices,  and  he  paid  the  high  price 
of  80  per  acre.  Boarding  at  Deacon  Bronson's  —  working°for  him 
two  days  in  the  week  for  his  board,  and  for  others  during  liaying 
and  harvesting,  he  commenced  a  small  improvement. 

Returning  to  Connecticut,  he  kept  aschooi  for  the  winter,  and  in 
the  spring  came  out  with  some  building  materials  ;  building  a  small 
framed  house  in  the  course  of  the  season.  In  1801  he  brought  out 
two  sisters  as  house  keepers,  one  of  whom  as  has  been  stated,  be- 
came the  wife  of  Col.  Asher  Saxton,  and  the  other Curtiss,  a 

settler  in  Gorham.  In  1802  he  married  the  daughter  of  Deacon 
Abel  Hall  of  Lyme,  Conn.,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Clark  Peck  of  Bloom- 
field. 

He  became  a  prominent,  public  spirited,  and  useful  Pioneer. 
Receiving  in  one  of  the  earliest  years  of  his  residence  in  the  new 
country,  a  military  comminion,  he  passed  through  the  different  gra- 
dations to  that  of  Major  General.  Appointed  to  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace  in  i806,  he  was  an  assistant  justice  of  the  county 
courts  in  1808,  and  was  the  same  year  elected  to  the  Legislature 
from  Ontario  county.     In  1800,  he  was  an  associate  commissioner 


niELPS   AM)    GORHAMS  PURCHASE. 


197 


n  upon  the 
:1  powers  to 
population, 
ipied  space 
nl  question 
3  could  see 
tern  Lake, 
e  to  return 
have  f/ten 
hat  half  a 
tavern  of 
tations,  on 
bread  and 
idian  trail, 
ledley,  and 
rm  now  is, 
engaged  in 

purchased 
period  of 
high  price 
ng  for  him 
ig  liaying 

ter,  and  in 
ng  a  small 
•ought  out 
stated,  be- 
Curtiss,  a 
if  Deacon 
3f  Bloom- 
Pioneer. 
.  the  new 
brent  gra- 
of  justice 
e  county 
2gislature 
missioner 


I 


with  Hugh  McNair  and  Mathevv  Warner,  to  lay  out  a  road  from 
Caiiandaigua  to  Olean  ;  and  another  from  Ilornellsville  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Genesee  River.  In  the  war  of  1812,  he  was  out  on  the 
frontier  in  two  campaigns,  serving  with  the  rank  of  Colonel.  In 
1811  was  elected  to  Congress.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Convention  in  1822,  and  a  Presidential  Elector  in  1821.  He  was 
for  twenty  years  a  Judge  of  the  Ontario  county  courts. 

In  1823,  he  purchased  in  connection  with  Jellis  Clute  and  John 
B.  Gibson,  of  Mary  Jemison,  commonly  called  the  White  Woman, 
the  Gardeau  tract  on  the  Genesee  River.  Selecting  a  fine  portion 
of  it  for  a  large  farm  and  residence,  on  the  road  from  Mount  Mor- 
ris to  Nunda,  he  removed  to  it  soon  after  the  purchase.  The  small 
village  and  i)lace  of  his  residence  is  called  "  Brook's  Grove.  " 

Gen.  Brooks  is  now  75  years  of  age,  retaining  his  mental  facul- 
ties unimpaired ;  as  an  evidence  that  his  physical  constitution  holds 
out  well,  after  a  long  life  of  toil  and  enterprise,  it  may  be  remarked 
that  in  the  most  inclement  month  of  the  last  winter,  he  made  a  jour- 
ney to  New  England  and  the  city  of  New  York.  His  present  wife 
was  a  sister  of  the  first  wife  of  Frederick  Smith,  Esq.  of.  Palmyra, 
and  of  the  second  wife  of  Gen.  Mills,  of  Mount  Morris.  His  sons 
are  Lorenzo  H.  Brooks,  of  Canadea,  and  Micah  W.  Brooks,  residing 
at  the  homestead.  A  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Henry  0  Rielly  Esq., 
formerly  the  editor  of  the  Rochester  Daily  Advertiser,  and  P.  M. 
of  Rochester ;  now  a  resident  of  New  York,  widely  known  as  the 
enterprising  proprietor  of  thousands  of  miles  of  Telcgrajjh  lines  in 
diflerent  States  of  the  Union ;  another,  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  George 
Ellwanger,  one  of  the  enterprising  proprietors  of  Mount  Hope  Gar- 
den and  Nursery ;  another  the  wife  of  Theodore  F.  Hall,  formerly 
of  Rochester,  now  of  Brook's  Grove.  He  has  two  unmarried 
daughters,  one  of  whom  is  a  well  educated  mute,  and  is  now  a 
teacher  in  the  deaf  and  dumb  institution  at  Hartford,  Conn. 

The  history  of  Mica''  Brooks  furnishes  a  remarkable  instance  of 
a  man  well  educated,  and  yet  unschooled.  The  successful  teacher, 
the  competent  Justice  and  Judge  —  as  a  member  of  our  State  and 
National  counciis,  the  drafter  of  bills  and  competent  debater  —  the 
author  of  able  essays  upon  internal  improvements,  and  other  sub- 
jects—  even  now  in  his  old  age,  a  vigorous  writer,  and  a  frequent 
contributor  to  the  public  ^oress :  —  never  enjoyed,  in  all,  a  twelve 
months  of  school  tuition  I    The  small  library  of  his  father,  a  good 


]98 


PItELPS   AND    GOEHAil's  PURCHASE. 


native  intellect,  intercourse  with  the  world,  a  laudable  ambition  and 
self  reliance,  supplied  the  rest. 

The  original  purchasers  of  that  part  of  the  old  town  of  Bloom- 
held,  which  IS  now  the  town  of  West  Bloomfield,  (or  10,5G0  acres  of 
It)  were  Robert  Taft,  Amos  Hall,  Nathan  Marvin  and  Ebenezer 
turtis.  All  of  these,  it  is  presumed,  became  settlers  in  1789  '90  • 
as  was  also  Jasper  P.  Sears,  Peregrine  Gardner,  Samuel  Miller,' 
John  Algur,  Sylvanus  Thayer. 

Amos  Hall  was  from  Guilford,  Conn.    He  was  connected  with 
the  earliest  military  organizations,  as  a  commissioned  officer   and 
rose  to  the  rank  of  Major  General,  succeeding  William  Wadsvvorth 
At  one  period  during  the  war  of  18J2,  he  wos  the  commander-in' 
chief  upon  the  Niagara  frontier.     He  also  held  several  civil  offices  ; 
and  in  ail  early  years  was  a  prominent  and  useful  citizen.     He  died 
in  1 827,  aged  G6  years.     The  surviving  sons  are  :  —  David  S  Hall 
merchant,  Geneva ;  Thomas  H  Jl,  superintendani  of  Rochester  and 
Syracuse  R.  Road;  Morris  Hall,  Cass  county  Michigan  :  Heman 
Hall,  a  resident  of  Pennsylvania.     An  only  daughter  became  the 
wife  of  Josiah  Wendle,  of  Bloomfield. 

Gen.  Hall  was  the  deputy  ]\Iarshall,  and  took  the  U.  S.  censu<-  in 
Ontario  county,  in  1790,  in  July  and  August,  it  is  presumed.  His 
roll  has  Deen  preserved  by  the  family,  and  will  be  found  in  the  Ap- 
pendix,  (No.  9.)  ^ 


HONEOYE  -  PITTSTO  W.^T  -  NOW  RICHMOND. 


In  April,  1787,  three  young  men,  Gideon  Pitts,  James  Goodwin 
and  Asa  Simmons  left  their  native  place,  (Dighton,  Mass.,) to  seek  a 
nevv  home  m  the  wilderness.  They  came  up  the  Su.squehannah 
and  located  at  Newtown,  now  Elmira.  Here,  uniting  with  other 
adventurers  they  erected  the  first  white  man's  habitation  upon  the 
site  of  the  present  villnge ;  and  during  the  summer  and  fall  planted 
and  raised  Indian  corn.  Returning  to  Dighton,  their  favorable  rep- 
resentations  of  the  country  induced  the  organization  of  the  "  Di^^hton 

1  helps  and  Gorham  had  perfected  their  title.  To  be  in  season,  Cal- 
vin  Jacobs  was  deputed  to  attend  the  treaty  with  Gideon  Pitts,  and 
select  the  t'-Qn*      a.  .^^.,  __  .u.  .         i-  i^.^,  .um 


ie  tr.<jct, 


soon  as  tac  townships  were  surveyed,  the 


com- 


bit  ion  and 

yf  Bloom- 

0  acres  of 
Ebenezer 
1789, '90; 
b1  Miller, 

:ted  with 
Seer,  and 
adsworth. 
lander-in- 
^il  offices ; 
He  died 
i  S.Hall, 
ester  and 
;  Hen.an 
came  the 

3ensus  in 
ed.    His 

1  the  Ap. 


roodvvin, 
o  seek  a 
ehannah 
th  other 
ipon  the 
planted 
ble  rep- 
Dighton 
soon  as 
in,  Cal- 
tts,  and 
le  com- 


PHELPS    AISTD    GORHAJl's   PtJKCnASE. 


199 


pany  purchased  46,080  acres  of  the  land  embraced  in  Townships  9 
in  the  3ci,  4th,  and  5th  Ranges :  being  most  of  what  was  after- 
wards embraced  in  the  towns  of  Richmond,  Bristol,  and  the  fraction 
of  number  nine,  on  the  west  side  of  Canandaigua  lake.  The  title 
was  taken  for  the  company,  in  the  name  of  Calvin  Jacobs  and 
John  Smith. 

In  1789,  Capt.  Peter  Pitts,  his  son  William,  Dea.  George  Codding, 
and  his  son  George,  Calvin  Jacobs,  and  John  Smith,  came  via  the 
Susquehannah  route  to  the  new  purchase,  and  surveyed  what  is  now 
the  town  of  Richmond  and  Bristol.  One  of  the  party,  (the  Rev. 
John  Smith,)  on  their  arrival  at  Canandaigua,  preached  the  first 
sermon  there,  and  first  in  all  the  Genesee  country,  save  those 
preached  by  Indian  missionaries,  by  the  chaplain  at  Fort  Niagara 
and  at  Brant's  Indian  church  at  Lewiston.  The  lands  having  been 
divided  by  lottery,  Capt.  Pitts  drew  for  bis  share,  3000  acres,  at 
the  foot  of  Honeoye  lake,  embracing  the  flats,  and  a  cleared  field 
which  had  been  the  site  of  an  hidian  village  destroyed  by  Sullivan's 
army. 

In  the  spring  of  1790,  Gideon  and  William  Pitts  commenced  the 
improvement  of  this  tract.  Coming  in  with  a  four  ox  team,  they 
managed  to  make  a  shelter  for  themselves  with  the  boards  of  their 
sled,  ploughed  up  a  few  acres  of  open  flats,  and  planted  some  spring 
crops,  from  which  they  got  a  good  yield,  preparatory  to  the  coming 
in  of  the  remainder  of  the  family.  Withal,  fattening  some  hogs 
that  William  had  procured  in  Cayuga  county,  driving  them  in,  and 
carrying  his  own,  and  their  provisions  upon  his  back.  Capt.  Peter 
Pitts,  started  with  the  family  in  October,  in  company  with  John 
Codding  and  fixmily.  They  came  from  Taunton  River  in  a  char- 
tered vessel,  as  far  as  Albany,  and  from  Schenectady  by  water, 
landing  at  Geneva.  The  tediousness  of  the  journey,  may  be  juchred 
from  the  fact  that  starting  from  Dighton  on  the  11th  of  October 
they  did  not  arrive  at  Pitt's  flats  until  the  2d  day  of  December. 
A  comfortable  log  house  had  been  provided  by  Gideon  and  William. 
The  family  consisted  of  the  old  gentleman,  his  wife,  and  ten  children' 
besides  hired  help.  For  three  years  they  constituted  the  only  family 
in  town  ;  their  neighbors,  the  Wadsworths  at  Big  Tree,  Capt.  Taft 
in  West  Bloomfield,  and  the  Coddings  and  Goodings,  in  Bristol. 
^  The  House  of  this  early  family  being  on  the  Indian  trail  from 
Canandaigua  to  Genesee  river  — which  constituted  the  early  trav- 


200 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAm's   PUECIIASE. 


ats 


elled  road  for  the  white  settlors —  " Capt.  Pitts"  and  "Pitts  FLls 
haa  a  vvide  notoriety  in  all  primitive  days.  '  It  was  the  stoppincr 
place  of  the  Wadsworths  and  Jones,  of  Thomas  Morris  and  in 
lact  ot  all  of  the  early  prominent  Pioneers  of  that  region.  Louis 
1  hrlhpe,  when  from  a  wanderer  in  the  backwoods  of  America,  he  had 
become  the  occupant  of  a  throne,  remembered  that  he  had  spent  a 
night  ni  the  humble  log  house  of  Capt.  Pitts.  The  Duke  Liancourt 
strollmg  every  where  through  this  region,  in  1795,  with  his  com- 
panions went  from  Canandaigua  to  make  the  patriarch  of  the  back- 
woods  a  visit.* 

The  Indians  upon  their  trail,  camping  and  hunting  upon  their  old 
grounds,  the  flats,  and  the  up  lands  around  the    Honeoye  Lake 
were  the   almost  constant  neighbors  of  Capt.  Pitts,  in   the  earliest 
years.     Generally  they  were  peaceable  and  well  disposed ;  a  party 
of  them  however,  most  of  whom  were  intoxicated,  on  their  way  to 
the  Pickering  treaty  at  Canandaigua  in  1794,  attacked  the  women 
ot  the  family  who  refused   them  hquor,  and  Capt.  Pitts,  his  son's 
aiid   hired  men,   coming  to   the  rescue,   a  severe   conflict  ensued 
Ihe  assailed  attacking  the  assailants  with  clubs,  shovels  and  tonj:." 
soon  vanquished  them  though  peace  was  not  restored,,  until  Hor-' 
atio  Tones,  fortunately  arriving  on  his  way  to  the  treaty,  interfered. 
Ihe  first   training  in  the  Genesee  country  was  held  at  Captain 
littsiiouso;  a  mihtia  company,  commanded  by  Captain  William 
Wadsworth;  and  Pitt's  Flats  was  for  many  years  a  training  ground. 
Captain  Peter  Pitts  died  in  1812,  aged  74  yeans.    His  eldest  son 
Gideon,  who  was  several  times  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
a  delegate   to  the   state  convention  in   1822,  died  in  1829  a-od    03 
years.    The   only   survivors  of  the  sons   and  daughters   of  Canj 
I  itts,  are,  Peter  Pitts,  and  Mrs.  IJlackmer.    A  son!  Samuel   Pitts" 
"  ~ — ■ — — . ) 

"  The  Dukii  lias  inadu  ,i  n^coici  of  ;h  • "  W.i  cr.t  n^^^  „-;.i,  ui  ,      T^ 


I  ;mi,l  it  v,.„-  ,lilli™ltl„  „b,„i„  i,„,  .»  f '  -„L  l,,"i  m/  t.,v  t.  ,    '''";i  "  "  " 


better  onus  tlmn  wo  donyw." 


PHELPS   AND   GOEHAlVl's    PURCHASE. 


201 


tts  Flats " 
5  Stopping 
"is  and  in 
n.  Louis 
ca,  he  had 
id  spent  a 
-liancourt, 
his  com- 
the  back- 

I  their  old 
)ye  Lake 
10  earliest 
i ;  a  party 
ir  way  to 
le  women 

his  son's 
;  ensued, 
nd  tongs, 
mtil  Hor- 
iterfered. 
t  Captain 

William 
g  ground. 
Idest  son 
ure,  and 
ngod  03 
of  Capt. 
el   Pitts 

it  an  c'lBtiUo 
10  cuuinry. 
^  attfii(li;r[j 
'  t-'locutioii. 
iin.J  "AVe 
f^vls  tor  our 
iiiictcristic 
ii"  tliiitlie 

II  the  iine 
is  lieju'ur.i 
lu.i^'htcr  of 
'i''s  house 
■•n<j;nii  {iiid 
lyst;  much 


I 


was  an  early  and  prominent  citizen  of  Livonia.  The  descendants 
of  Capt.  Pitts  are  numerous.  Levi  Blackmer  settled  in  Pittstown 
in  '95,  is  still  alive,  aged  78  years,  his  wife,  (the  daughter  of  Capt. 
Pitts,)  aged  72.  In  the  summer  of  1818,  the  boy  who  had  driven 
an  ox-team  to  the£tenesee  country,  in  1795,  was  at  work  on  the 
highway. 

The  Duke  Liancourt,  said  that  Capt.  Pitts  had  to  "go  to  mill  with 
a  sled,  twelve  miles  " ;  this  was  to  Norton's  Mills.  In  '98,  Thomas 
Morris  built  a  grist  and  saw  mill  on  the  outlet  of  Hemlock  Lake,  and 
in  1802  Oliver  Phelps  built  a  grist  mill  on  Mill  Creek. 

In  '95,  Drs.  Lemuel  and  Cyrus  Chipman,  from  Paulet,  Vermont, 
and  their  brother-in-law,  Philip  Reed,  came  into  Pittstown,  with 
their  families.  They  came  all  the  way  by  sleighing,  with  horse  and 
ox  teams.  The  teams  were  driven  by  Levi  Blackmerr-Bercc 
Chamberlain,  Asa  Dennison,  and  Isaac  Adams,  all  of  whom  became 
residents  of  the  town.     They  were  eighteen  days  on  the  road. 

Lemuel  Chipman  had  been  a  surgeon  in  the  army  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  was  one  of  a  numerous  family  of  that  name  in  Vermont, 
a  brother  of  the  well  known  lawyer,  and  law  professor  in  Miudle- 
bury  College.  In  all  early  years  he  was  a  prominent,  public  spirited 
and  useful  helper  in  the  new  settlements  ;  one  of  the  best  specimens 
of  that  strong  minded,  energetic  race  of  men  that  were  the  founders 
of  settlement  and  civil  institutions  in  the  Genesee  country.  He  was 
an  early  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  a  judge  of  the  courts  of 
Ontario  county ;  was  twice  elector  of  President  and  Vice  President ; 
and  was  a  State  Senator.  Soon  after  1800,  he  purchased,  in  con- 
nection with  Oliver  Phelps,  the  town  of  Sheldon,  in  Wyoming 
county,  and  the  town  was  settled  pretty  much  under  his  auspices! 
He  removed  to  that  town  in  1828,  where  he  died  at  an  advanced 
age.  His  sons  were  Lemuel  Chipman  of  Sheldon,  deceased,  father 
of  Mrs.  Guy  H.  Salisbury  of  Buffalo;  Fitch  Chipman  of  Sheldon  ; 
and  Samuel  Chipman  of  Rochester,  the  well  known  pioneer  in  the 
temperance  movement— now  the  editor  of  the  Star  of  Temperance. 
A  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Cyrus  Wells  of  Oakland  county, 
Michigan,  and  another  the  wife  of  Dr.  E.  W.  Cheney,  of  Canan- 
daigua. 

Dr.  Cyrus  Chipman  emigrated  at  an  early  period  to  Pontiac, 
Michigan,  where  he  was  a  Pioneer,  and  where  his  descendants 
principally  reside. 
13 


202 


PHELPS  AND    GORIIAM's    PTJECHASE. 


1 


In  the  year  1796,  Roswell  Turner  came  from  Dorset,  Vermont, 
took  land  on  the  outlet  of  Hemlock  Lake,  cleared  a  few  acres,  built 
a  log  house,  and  in  the  following  winter  moved  on  his  family,  and 
his  father  and  mother.     The  family  had  previously  emigrated  from 
Connecticut  to  Vermont.     After  a  long  and  tedious  journey,  with 
jaded  horses,  tliey  arrived  at  Cayuga  Lake,  where  they  were  des- 
tined to  encounter  a  climax  of  hardship  and  endurance.    Crossing 
upon  the  ice  on  horseback,  a  part  of  the  family,  the  Pioneer,  his 
mother  and  two  small  children,  broke  through  in  a  cold  day,  and 
were  with  difficulty  saved  from  drowning  by  the  help  of  those  who 
came  to  their  rescue  from  the  shore.     Arrived  at  their  new  home, 
sickness  soon  aadcd  to  their  afflictions,  and  two  deaths  occurred  in 
the  family  the  first  year.    The  residence  of  the  family  was  changed 
in  a  year  or  two  to   the  neighborhood  of  Allen's  Hill,  where  tiiey 
remained  until  1801,  and  then,  as  if  they  had  not  seen  enough  of 
the  hardships   of  rioneer  life,  pushed  on  to  the  Holland  Purchase, 
into  the  dark  hemlock  woods  of  the  west  part  of  Wyomino-,  the 
I'ioneer  making  his   own  road,  west  of  Warsaw,  thirteen  miles ; 
he  and  his  family  being  tJie  first  that  settled  in  all  the  region  west 
of  Warsaw,  south  of  Attica  and  the  old  Buffalo  road,  and  east  of 
Hamburgh;  — pages  could  be  filled  with   the  details   of  the  hard- 
ships of  the  first  lonely  winter,  its  deep  snows,  the  breaking  of 
roads  out  to  Wadsworth's  Flats,  and  digging  corn  from  under  the 
snow  to  save  a  famishing  stock  of  cattle  too  weak  to  subsist  upon 
brouse,   and  other   incidents  which  would  show  the  most  rugged 
features  of  backwoods  life ;  but  it  is  out  of  the  present  beat.     Ros- 
well Turner  died  in  1809.     His  sons  were,  the  late  Judge  Horace 
S.  Turner  of  Sheldon ;  the  author  of  this  work ;  and  a  younger 
brother,  Chipman  Pheljis  Turner  of  Aurora,  Erie  county.     Daugh- 
ters—Mrs. Farnum  of  Bennington;    Mrs.  Sanders   of  Aurora; 
and  the  first  wife  of  Pliny  Sexton,  of  Palmyra. 


I'lTTSTOWN-REMIXISCENCES  OF  MRS.  FARNUM. 


I  lu^mciiiber  veiyi\cll,  (Iiat  ^\Il.■ll  oailv  .](>;itlis  omirred  in  our  family,  no 
sea.som:d  WkuxU  could  bo  olilainod  for  ootliu.s,  short  of  takino-  down  a  parti- 
tion of  our  log-house.  The  second  winter,  myself,  a  sister,  a'nd  youn^  bro- 
ther, w;ent  to  st'hool  two  miles  and  a  half  through  the  wood.^  into  what  is 
uow  Livonia.     We  went  upon  the  old  Eig  Tree  Road,  and  mostly  find  tn 


PUELPS    AND    GORHAm's    PURCHASE. 


203 


beat  our  own  path,  for  but  a  few  sleighs  p.-is-sed  during  the  winter.     There 
was  hut  onefuniily  —  that  of  Mr.  Brig2;s  —  on  the  way. 

I  think  it  was  in  the  summer  of  1802,  tliat  a  little  daughter  of  one  of  our 
neighbors,  8ewal  ]3oyd,  three  years  old,  was  lost  in  the  woods.  A  lively 
sympathy-  was  oi'cated  in  the  neighborhood,  the  woods  were  scoured,  the  out- 
let waded,  and  the  flood  wood  removed;  on  the  third  day,  she  was  found  in 
the  woods  alive,  having  some  berries  in  her  hand,  which  the  instincts  of 
hunger  had  caused  her  to  pick.  The  nniscpietocs  had  preyed  upon  her  until 
tney  had  caused  running  sores  upon  her  face  and  arms,  and  the  little  wander- 
er had  passed  through  a  terriiic  thunder  storm. 

^  The  Indians,  if  they  were  guilty  of  occasional  outrage,  had  some  of  the 
nncst  miiHiIses  of  the  human  heart.  The  wife  of  a  son  of  Capt.  Pitts,  who 
had  alwiiys  been  kind  to  them,  was  upon  her  death  bed;  hearing  of  it,  the 
hqufiws  came  and  wailed  urouml  the  house,  with  all  the  intense  grief  they 
exhibit  when  mourning  the  death  of  kindred. 

Upon  "Phelps'  Flats,"  as  they  were  called,  near  the  Old  Indian  Castle, 
at  the  foot  of  Honooye  Lake,  in  the  iirst  jjlouLrhing,  many  brass  kettles,  guns, 
beads,  &c.,  were  found.  An  old  Squaw  that  had  formerly  resided  upon  the 
Hats,  said  that  the  approach  of  Sullivan's  army  was  not  discovered  by  them 
until  they  were  seen  coming  over  the  hill  near  where  Capt.  Pitts  built  his 
house.  They  were  quietly  braiding  their  corn,  and  boiling  their  succotash, 
bhe  said  there  was  a  sudden  desertion  of  their  village;  all  took  to  fli(rhtand 
eft  the  invaders  an  uncontested  field.  One  Indian  admitted  that  ife  never 
looked  back  until  he  reached  Buft'alo  Creek. 

In  the  earliest  j-ears,  deer  would  come  in  flocks,  and  feed  upon  our  gi-een 
wheat  ;  Elisha  Pj-att,  who  was  a  hunter,  made  his  home  at  our  house,  and  I 
have  known  him  to  kill  six  and  seven  in  a  day.  Bears  would  come  and  take 
the  hogs  from  directly  before  the  doors  of  the  new  settlers— sometimes  in  open 
day  light.  I  saw  one  who  had  seized  a  valuable  sow  belonging  to  Peter 
Allen,  and  reti'eated  to  the  woods,  raising  her  with  his  paws  clenched  in  her 
spine,  and  beating  her  against  a  tree  to  deprive  her  of  life;  persisting  even  af- 
ier  men  had  approached  ami  were  attacking  him  with  clubs.  ° 

_  I  could  relate  many  wolf  stories,  but  one  will  perhaps  be  so  incredible  that 
It  will  sutl'ce.  A  Mr.  Ilurlbuit,  that  lived  in  the  west  part  of  the  town,  was 
ruling  through  our  neighborlioo.1,  on  a  winter  eveniuo-,  and  passing  a  strip  of 
■woods  near  our  house,  a  pack  of  wolves  surrounded  him,  but  his  dog  diverted 
their  attention  until  he  escaped.  While  sitting  upon  his  horse,  telling  us  the 
story,  the  ])ack  came  within  fifteen  rods  of  the  house,  and  stoj)ping^upon  a 
knoll  almost  deafened  us  with  liieir  howl.  Retreating  into  the  woods  a  short 
distance,  they  seemed  by  the  noise  to  have  a  fight  among  themselves,  and  in 
the  inorning,  it  was  ascertained  that  they  had  actually  killed  and  eat  one  of 
their  own  number !  * 

Capt.  Harmon,  built  a  barn  in  1802  or '3;  at  the  raising,  an  adopted  son 
ot  his,  by  the  name  of  Butts,  was  killed  outright,  and  Isaac  Bishop  wjisstun- 
noJ,  supposed  to  be  dead.     He  recovered,  but  with  tiie  entire  loss  of  the  fac- 


*  This  is  not  incredible ;  other  similar  cases  are  triven  upon  i^ood  authoritv.  Vnm- 
ishiiig,  iaveii,m.<;  a  fighl  occurs,  and  usting  blood,  they  know  no  distinction  between 
uieir  own  and  otier  species. — AuiHoa. 


204 


rilELPS   AND   GORHAM's    PURCHASE. 


iilty  of  memory.  Altlioiigli  lie  had  possessed  a  good  education,  ho  had  lost 
It  all,  even  the  names  of  his  childivn,  his  wife  and  farming  utensils.  His 
vMte  re-taught  him  the  rudiments  of  education,  beginning  with  the  ABC. 
!Uid  the  names  of  things. 

Rattle  snakes  were  too  common  a  thing  to  speak  of;  but  we  had  a  few  of 
another  kind  of  snake,  that  I  have  never  heard  or  read  of,  elsewhere.  It  had 
a  hom  with  which  it  would  make  a  noise  like  the  rattle  of  a  rattle  snake. 


In  1790  and  '7,  Peter  Allen  and  his  family ;  his  brother  Nathaniel, 
and  the  father,  Moses  Allen,  became  residents  of  the  town.     The 
father  and  mother  died  in  early  years.     Pete.'  Allen  was  connected 
\.-ith  early  military  organizations,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  a  Brig. 
Gen.^    lie  was  in  command  of  a  Regiment  at  the  buttle  of  Queens- 
ton,  in  which  he  was  made  a  prisoner ;  afterwards  a  member  of  the 
Legislatm-e  from  Ontario.     DCr"  See  Peter  Allen  and   "Hen.  Fel- 
lows," Hammond's  Political  History.     In  1810  he  emigrated  to  In- 
diana, becouiingone  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Terra  Haute ;  i  por- 
tion of  his  original  farm,  Veing  now  embraced  in  the  village.     He 
died  in   1837,  many  of  his  descendants  are  residents  of  Terra 
Haute.     Nathaniel  Allen  was  the   primitive  blacksmith  of  Pitts- 
town  ;  working  first  as  a  journeyman  in  Canandaigua,  and  then 
starting  a  shop,  first  in  the  neighborhood  of  Pitts  Flats,  and  after- 
wards, on  the  Hill,  that  assumed  his  name.     He  was  an  early  officer 
of  militia,  deputy  sheriff,  member  of  the  legislature.     In  the  war 
of  1812,  he  successively  filled  the  post  of  commissioner  and  pay 
master,  on  the  Niagara  Frontier.     After  the  war,  he  was  sheriff  of 
Ontario  county,  and  in  later  years,  for  two  terms,  its  representative 
in  Congress.     He  died  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  1833,  where  he  was  a 
contractor  for  the  construction  of  the  canal  around  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio.     Of  five  sons,  but  one  survives.     Dr.  Orrin  Allen,  a  resident 
of  Virginia.     An  only  daughter  was  the  first  wife  of  the  Hon.  R. 
L.  Rose,  who  is  the  occupant  of  the  homestead  of  the  family  on 
Allen's  Hill.     The  family  were  from  Dutchess  county.     The  daugh- 
ters oi  Moses  Allen  became  the  wives  of  Elihu  Gifford,  of  Easton, 
Washington  county,  Samuel  Wood  worth  of  Mayville,  Mont,  co.,' 
Samuel  Robinson  of  Newark,  Wayne  co..  Fairing  Wilson,  of  Stock- 
bridge,  Mass.,  Roswell  Turner  of  Pittstown,  Ont.,  and   Stephen 
Durfee  of  Palmyra,  Wayne  county. 
Sylvester  Curtis  erected  the  first  distillery  iii  town ;  and  James 


i 


PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAM's   PURCHASE. 


205 


Henderson  who  Avas  a  pioneer  at  the  head  of  Conesus  Lake,  was  an 
early  landlord  upon  the  Hill. 

David  Akin,  Wm.  Baker,  Thomas  Wilson,  James  Hazen,  Silas 
Whitney,  Cyrus  Wells,  the  Johnsons,  David  Winton,  Nathaniel 
Harmon,  William  Warner,  were  settlers  in  earliest  years. 

Philip  Reed,  who  came  in  with  the  Chipmans,  died  about  twenty 
years  ago.  His  surviving  sons  are  Col.  John  F.  Reed,  Silas  Reed, 
Wheeler  Reed,  Wm.  F.  Reed,  and  Philip  Reed,  all  residing  on  and 
near  the  old  homestead. 

As  early  as  1790  or  '7,  Elijah  and  Stiles  Parker,  Elisha  Belknap, 
Col.  John  Gi-een,  John  Garlinghouse,  became  residents  of  the  town. 
The  four  first  namea,  emigrated  many  years  since  to  Kentucky,  and 
in  late  years  some  of  them  have  pioneered  still  further  on,  over 
the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Oregon.  Joseph  Garlinghouse,  a  son  of 
the  early  pioneer,  John  Garlinghouse,  an  ex-sherilF  of  Ontario 
county,  a  prominent  enterprising  farmer,  still  resides  in  Richmond. 
A  son  of  his  married  a  daughter  of  Erastus  Spalding,  the  early 
pioneer  at  the  mouth  of  Genesee  River ;  another,  the  daughter  of 
David  Stout,  a  pioneer  in  Victor  and  Perinton.  Daughters,  are 
Mrs.  Comstock,  of  Avon,  and  Mrs.  Sheldon,  of  Le  Roy.  Mrs.  Briggs 
and  Mrs.  Hopkins,  of  Richmond,  are  daughters  of  John  Garling- 
house  ;  and  a  son  and  daughter  reside  in  Iowa. 

Asa  Dennison  who  is  namea  in  connection  with  the  Chipmans, 
still  survives,  a  resident  of  Chautauque  county. 


GORHAM. 


In  all  of  the  old  town  of  Gorham,  at  first  Easton,  (what  was  is 
now  Gorham  and  Hopewell,)  a  few  settlers  began  to  drop  in  along 
on  the  main  road  from  Canandaigua  to  Geneva,  as  early  as  1790.  In 
July  of  that  year,  there  were  the  families  of  Daniel  Gates,  Daniel 

Warren,  Sweets, Platts,  Samuel  Day,  and  Israel  Cha- 

pin  jr.  who  had  commenced  the  erection  of  the  mills  upon  the 
outlet.  Mr.  Day  was  the  father  of  David  M.  Day,  the  early  ap- 
prentice  to  the  printing  business  with  John  A.  Stephens  in  Canan- 
andaigua,  and  the  founder  of  what  is  now  one  of  the  prominent 
and  leading  newspapers  of  western  New  York,  the  Buffalo  Commer- 


206 


PIIEIPS  AND   OOEIIASrS    PURCHASE. 


cal  Adverfser.     Daniel  Warren  emigrated  to  SI.eldon,  now  Wyo- 
m,ng  CO.,  ,„  ,8,0  or  ■„,  „l,ere  he  died  within  a  few  yea  "    I'ome 
roy  Warren    of  Attiea.    Wyoming  eo.,  is  a  son  of  h^  and  Mrf 
Harry  J  ara.lton.  near  Little  For,,  Ilhnois,  is  a  daughter 

Conn.,   bo  h   were  out  with   Mr.    Phelps  in  his  primilive  .advent 
They  purchased  land  in  Gorham,  paying  ,s  cd  per  aero.     Tl !:« 

mwT;,:  .:       "f /.■=«" '«'•«"-   H-vastl  ,irsteollee.orof 
aies  of  the  town  of  Gorham.     His  descendants  are  numerous  a 

Hrdt"  f-rs  r"  '1  "^"=*'^"  ^"™"-8  heads  of  fl  L 
H.S  daug^ite  s  beea.ne  the  wives  of  Asahel  IJurch.ard,  the  early 
P  oneer  of  L,,„a;  Asa  Denton,  Shubel  Clark  and  J.amo  Wyckoff 
1  ";  Bantcl  Gates,  jr.  died  in  ,8,2;  his  wife  was  a  sister  o 

he  wtfe  of  Major  Miller  the  early  pioneer  near  Buffalo,  and  o 
the  Wife  of  Capt.  Folle.t ;  Daniel  Gates  of  Palmyra  is  asoi 

earr,7  ror"'^" ","'  '"'z  ^"^ ""  "^'•'™'^  °f  «-'>-"  - 

early  as  179G  or    7:  — James  Wood,  Perlev  Gitps  T„     ii 

Frederick   Miller    Sdas   Eeed,   Cap,!  FreZictp  II^ITl  S 

JorWarm  ""'  ""'"""'  '"'^°^''  ■'  '°'^^'  -"  J--  ^'"^^ 

Major  Frederick  Miller  left  Gorham  soon  after  ,800  a'  1  was  a 

Roneer  at  Black  Roek,  the  early  landlord  and  keeper  of  thTe^y 

M,s  Darnel  Gates  jr.,  were  daughters  of  George  Babcoek. 

Silas  Reed  died  m  1834,  at  the  age  of  70  years ;  an  only  sur- 

Tf  loi,  »:£!  ■ "  "'■'' ''°"°"'  °'  '''''^''' "-' "  -M- 

™t,bone  and  E hsha  Williams,  on  the  Kingston  side  of  the  river 
w.th,n  s,gl,t  ol  .he  Wilkesbarre  Fort,  the  party  were  s  d    nly  at 

rnd^leTnS''SeT:i,;r::,'^-'s:il;f  •""'="-''''»-'» 

fpll  ^..  I  •    f  ,         ^^""•''Pf^ais.     fctill  having  consciousness,  he 

fell  on  Ins  face  ~  be.n.  unable  to  escape  -  held  his  breath  as  much 

lation  at  the  hands  ol  his  ruthless  pursuer..     But  he  was  not  thus 


PHELPS   AND    QORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


201 


ovv  Wyo- 
s;  Pome- 
and  Mrs. 

tonington 
0  advent. 
The  old 
'Hector  of 
merous,  a 
'  families, 
the  early 
Wyckoff 
sister  of 
,  and  of 
11. 

3rham  as 

-  Ingalls, 

Lemuel, 

Hrdseye ; 

\  was  a 
he  ferry 
nd  Mrs. 
Ictt  and 

•nly  sur- 
ime  the 
resident 

tiers  of 
Steplien 
e  river, 
■nly  at- 
red  and 
ioulder, 
less,  he 
s  much 
r  muti- 
ot  thus 


to  bo  spared.     The  Indians  came  up  to  him,  and  without  any  un- 
necessary delay  or  useless  ceremony,  scalped  him  as  he  lay  in  hia 
gore  and  agony ;    and  but  for  tlie  approach  of  assistance  from  the 
fort,  would  no  doubt  have  ended  his  days  with  the  tomahawk. 
The  spear  wounds  were  severe  and  deep  — one  of  which  penetra- 
ted his  stomach,  so  that  its  contents  came  out  at  his  side !     His 
case  was  deemed  hopeless,  but  kindness  prompted  all  the  aid  that 
medical  and  surgical  skill  could  allbrd.     lie  was  placed  i  i  charge 
of  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith,  who  did  all  in  his  power  to  save 
him  —  and  his  eflbrts  were  crowned  with  success,  and  he  becr.me  a 
hearty  and  well  man.     He  was  then  young  and  full  of  vigor,  and 
never  experienced  any  particular  inconvenience  from  these  severe 
wounds,  except  occasional  pain  from  one  of  the  bullets,  which  was 
never  extracted  from  his  body,  and  extreme  sensitiveness  to  the 
slightest  touch,  or  even  the  air,  of  that  portion  of  the  head  from 
which  the  scalp  was  removed. 

He  afterwards  entered  the  naval  service  — was  captured,  and 
taken  to  Halifax,  and  confined  in  a  dungeon  six  months ;  was  re- 
leased ;  entered  the  service  again,  and  was  twice  captured  by  the 
British,  and  eventually  returned  to  his  native  country,  to  Dalton, 
Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  from  whence  he  removed  at  an  early  day 
to  Gorham. 

It  is  a  somewhat  singular  coincidence  that  his  eldest  son- now 
dead  — who  entered  the  naval  service  as  a  midshipman,  in  1812, 
was  captured  on  board  the  Chesapeake  in  her  engagement  with  the 
Shannon,  and  was  also  imprisoned  in  the  same  dungeon  six  months 
that  his  father  had  occupied  during  our  first  confiict  with  the  pow- 
ers of  England. 

"  Capt.  Follett "  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  manuscripts  of 
Charles  Williamson,  and  would  seem  to  have  been  in  his  employ  as 
early  as  1794.  His  surviving  sons  are,  :— Orrin  Follett,  an  early 
printer  and  editor  at  Batavia,  and  a  member  of  the  legislature  from 
Genesee  county,  now  a  resident  of  Sandusky,  Ohio ;  his  second 
wife,  a  niece  of  James  D.  Bemis,  of  Canandaigua ;  Nathan  Follett 
of  Batavia;  and  Frederick  Follett,  of  Batavia,  the  successor  of  his 
brother,  as  a  printer  and  editor  — for  a  long  period  honorable  assc 
•lated  with  the  public  press  of  the  Genesee  country  — and  at 
present,  one  of  the  Board  of  Canal  Commissioners  of  this  State ; 
having  in  immediate  charge  the  western  division  of  the  Erie  Canaii 


208 


PnELPS   AND  GORnAll's   PUECHASE. 


M.  Folletl,  of  Ihe  U.  S.  army,  a  Rraduate  of  West  roint  ■  a  .ir- 
cun^s  ance  wor.l.y  of  mention,  as  ,l,e  patronage  of  tha    M&na. 
cheol  ,s  not  always  a,  well  bestowed,  as  in  this  instanee,  upon  the 
d  scendant  of  one  so  eminently  entitled  to  be  remember  d  L  ser 
™e^  sacr,nces  and  sulTerings,  unparalleled  in  our  Revolutionary 


BRISTOL. 


m 


tol.    About  the  period  that  Mr.  Phelps  was  holding  his  treaty  with 
the  Indians,  ■„  1T88,  they  locatod  at  the  Old  Indfan  0  ebari  Tn,l 

1  lonccr  MiJi  that  has  heen  often  named  in  other  connections      Hp 
died  many  years  since.     Joseph  Gilbert  was  living  a   ewLnS 
since,  at  the  age  of  93  years;    if  living  now,  he  is  the  ordeTtsur 
vivmg  resident  of  the  Gene.see  country 

Deacon  William  Gooding  and  George  Codding  were  amon.  thp 

ew  who   wintered  in   the  Genesee   c^'ountry  in'l789   T"  b1 

famihes  have  been  widely  known,  and  few  have  been  more  usoM 

Deacon  John  G„o.i„g,  another  son,  was  one  of   h     Irlv  fo^T" 
of  Lockport,  Niagara  county,  where  he  died  in  ,838  oT'o  " 

Coddin-   Town  Clerk     Olhe,r,  2       ®"I"'"''Sor,  and  John 

Nathan  Allen,  nI  i  „ierFH,e  i\*  Goo7''";T  '°'"''"="' 
Moses  Porter.  Amos  Barber  AldenSersrS  Z  '!f'' 
Stephen   Sisson,    Amos   Uice',  ^^^l^^^r^^J'^'^f 

Dan.el  Bur,,  Mose,  Porter,  Jonathan  Wilde" 'ti'^SiHC 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's  PTTRCnASE. 


209 


Frederick 
nt;  a  cir- 
t  national 
,  upon  the 
ed  for  ser- 
alutionary 


s  of  iJris- 
eaty  with 
hard,  and 
the  small 
ons.  He 
V  months 
dest  sur- 

nong  the 
0.  Both 
re  usefu] 
e  health- 
is.  The 
reside  in 
)dding  is 
is  a  son 
Illinois, 
founders 

>f  1797. 
id  John 
'oddinc:, 

Hicks, 
'oddinnr, 
Hatch, 
coding, 
ere  :  ■ — . 

Allen, 


Elnathan  Gooding,  Chauncsy  Allen,  Samuel  Mallory,  Ephraim 
Francis,  Seth  Hathaway,  Constant  Simmons,  James  Carl,  Zebulon 
Mark. 


MANCHESTER. 


Township  12,  R.  2,  originally  a  part  of  Farmington,  now  Man- 
chester; settlement  commenced  as  early  as  1793.  Stephen  Jared, 
Joel  Phelps,  and  Joab  Gilleit,  were  the  fu'st  settlers.  DCP  For 
Stephen  Phelps,  see  Palmyra.  Gillett,  in  early  years,  moved  to  No. 
9,  Canandaigua. 

Nathan  Pierce,  from  Berkshire,  was  a  settler  in  1795.  But  small 
openings  had  then  been  made  in  the  forest.  Mr.  Pierce  erected  a 
log  house,  had  split  bass  wood  floors,  no  gable  ends,  doors,  or  win- 
dows ;  neither  boards  or  glass  to  be  had ;  and  "  wolves  and  bears 
were  his  near  neighbors."  Coming  from  Parker's  Mills  through 
the  woods  at  night,  with  his  grist  on  his  back,  a  pack  of  wolves 
followed  him  to  his  door.  Brice  Aldrich,  a  Pioneer  of  Farmington, 
w^as  taking  some  fresh  meat  to  Canandaigua  on  horseback,  when  a 
wolf  stoutly  contended  with  him  for  a  share  of  it.  There  were 
many  Indian  hunters  camped  along  on  the  outlet ;  some  times  the 
whites  would  carry  loads  of  venison  to  Canandaigua  for  them, 
where  it  would  be  bought  up,  and  the  hams  dried  and  sent  to  an 
eastern  market.  Trapping  upon  the  outlet  was  profitable  for  both 
Indians  and  whiles. 

Mr.  Pierce  was  supervisor  of  Farmington  for  fifteen  years,  and 
an  early  magistrate ;  he  died  in  1814 ;  his  widow  is  now  living,  at 
the  age  of  87  years.  His  surviving  sons  are: —Nathan  Pierce, 
of  Marshall,  Michigan,  Darius  Pierce,  of  Washtenaw,  Ezra  Pierce 
of  Manchester.  Daughters  :  — Mrs.  Peter  Mitchell,  of  Manches- 
ter, Mrs.  David  Arnold,  of  Farmington.  John  McLouth,  from 
Berkshire,  came  in  '95,  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Nathan  Pierce ; 
died  in  1820.  Joshua  Van  Fleet,  was  one  of  the  earliest;  was  an 
officer  of  the  Revolution,  a  member  of  the  legislature  from  Ontario ; 
a  judge  an*d  magistrate,  and  the  first  supervisor  of  Manchester. 
He  is  90  years  of  age,  a  resident  of  Marion,  Ohio.  First  merchant, 
Nathan  Barlow,  a  son  of  Abner  Barlow,  of  Canandaigua; -resides 
now  in  Michigan.     First  physician,  James    Stewart.     Nathan 


210 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAM's    PUllCIIASE. 


arr  hk  'l       h,  f  ^'  ""^  '-i'™''  ""''  Mrs.  Simmons  of  I'helpg 

1-h.    :""'"T'"  ?^  purchasing  a  la,.o  tract  of  i:nrTt 
Hn"      t   ;'T  '^^•«'"  Berkshire;  Gilbert  died  in  1830.     Nicholas 
Howland  of  Farmington.  and  Jonathan  IIou  land  of  Adrian  M.ch 
igan,  are  his  sons.     Mrs  Sil-is  T{m„.n  ^r  u      i         ^^  '"^"'  ^"'cn- 
a  daughter.  °^  Hamburg,  Erie  county,  is 

John  Lamunion,  came  in  early  years ;  was  from  Rhode  Island 

of  ctt  fTu  f?  '''''  ^"^^-     «'^  -•^^'  -'-  --  the  w    ow 
of  Capt.  Follett,  died  two  or  three  year,  since. 

leleg  Redfield.  was  a  townsman  of  Mr.  Thelps  in  SufT.eld  •  was 
a  musican  m  the  Connecticut  lineduringthe  Rovolution.nl  99 
he  exchanged  wuh  Mr.  Phelps,  his  small  farm  in  Suffield.  fo   200 

r  PhlT' H    '  f ""'.'  ^.'T  ^^  '^^•^'^'  °"  ^^y  unsold  lands  of 
Mr   Phelps.     He  selected  the  land  where  he  now  resides  on  the 

Ra.l  Road,  a  m.le  and  a  half  we.^  of  Clifton  Springs  ;  (a  judiciou 
se  ectjon,  as  any  one  will  allow,  who  sees  the  fine  farm  inCw    eh 
t  has  been  converted ; )  clearing  three  acres  and  erecting  the  body  of 
a  og  house    he  removed  his  family  in  Feb.  1800,  consistmg  of  a  wiJe 
and  s.x  children.     "  The  journey,"  says  a  son  of  his,  '^  was  pe, form- 
ed wuh  a  sleagh  and  a  single  span  of  horses.     Besides  theZX 
h    sle,gh  was  loaded  with  beds  and  bedding,  and  articles  of  house 
hold  fun.ture.     I  shall  never  forget  this,  my  first  journey  to  the 
Genesee  country,  especially  that  portion  of  it  west  of  Utica     The 
snovv  was  three  feet  deep,  and  the  horses  tired  and  iodod'by  the 
crad  e-holes,  often  refused  to  proceed  farther  with  their  loaJ     I 
had  the  privilege  of  riding  down  hill,  but  mostly  walked  with  my 
father,  my  mother  driving  the  team."  ^ 

Arriving  at  their  new  home,  the  Pioneer  familv  found  shelter  with 
anew  settler,  "until  the  bark  would  peel  in  the  spring,"  when  a 
roof  was  put  upon  the  body  of  the  log  house  that  Mr.  Redfield  had 
erected  ;  openings  made  for  a  door  and  window,  and  bass-wood  logs 

?  ,1 '  r-  "''"  '^'  ^"^'^y  ^'^'^'^^"^'^  ""ti'  -utu'nn.  when  a 
double  log  house  had  been  erected.  Mr.  Redfield  is  now  in  his 
80th  year;  his  memory  of  early  events,  retentive,  and  his  physical 
constitution  remarkable  for  one  of  his  years.     He  is  the   fatiier  of 


rnELPS  AND  OORnAM's    PURCHASE.  211 

the  Hon.  Ileman  J.  RedncKJ,  of  Batavia;  of  Lewis  II.  Ro.lfiol.l 

p    ,7  .    rT  "'''"'*'  ^'"^'"'^'"'■'  ^"^  l^«ok,seIIcr  at  Syracuse  ;  Hiram 
Kodfiold  of  Rochester,  George  Redfield,  Cass  co.  Michigan    Alex- 
ander H.  Redfield  of  Detroit,  Cuyler  Redfield,  with  whom  he  i-e 
sides  upon  the  old  homestead.     His  .on.  Manning  Redfield,  of  Man 
Chester,  was  killed  in  a  mill  where  he  was   marketing  his  grain  in 
1850.     One  of  his  daughters,  was  the  wife  of  Leonard  Short    of 
hhortsv.lle,  and  the  other,  of  Marvin  Minor,  a  merchant  at  Bergen 
and  Johnson's  creek.     "I  could  have  made  my  location  at  I^rl 
Will,  near  Canandnigua,"  said  the  old  gentleman  to  the  author  "but 
a  town  was  growing  up  there,  and  I  feared  its  influence  upon  my 
boys.       There  are  many  Pioneer  fathers  who  have  lived  to  regret 
that  they  had  not  been  governed  by  the  same  prudent  motive        '  ' 
The  Pioneer  mother  died  in  1844,  aged  80  years.     It  will  appeal 
incredible  to  the  house  keepers,  and  young  mothers  of  the  present 
day    when  they  are  told,  that  Mrs.  Redfield,  in  early  years,  when 
she  had  a  family  of  six  and  seven  children,  performed  all  her  ordin^ 
ary  huu^e-work,  milked  her  own  cows ;  and  carded,  cpun  and  wove 
all  the  woolen  and  linen  cloth  that  the  family  wore.     But  the  old 
gentleman  thinks  it  should  be  (.dded,  that  he  and  the  boys  licrhtened 
her  labor,  by  uniformily  wearing  buckskin  breeches  in  the  winter; 
tfiough  the  mother  had  them  to  make. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  PELEG  REDFIELD. 


rv  i?  I  ^  ^?'''^  ''''t  ^''"  '■''*'''*"'^'  ^^  fi'^^  it  up  and  hired  Elam 
Crane  to  toucli  a  school.  It  was  a  mile  from  my  house,  and  my  boys  used 
to  go  throiigfi  the  wood.s  by  maikod  trees.  ^      ^ 

mi?"  r\^  ^'"'■'"m  ''■"''''■'  ''■'"■''  '"^  ^'''^^  ""i^nnce;  nothing  sliort  of  a  pen  sixteen 
it.  ';- W  f^t^'^'t  «»■•  «1"^^P-  in  ^vinters,  when  hungry,  they  would 
CO  lect  together  and  prow  around  the  log  dwellings;  and  if  disappointed  in 
sccirnig  any  prey  then-  howling  would  sturtlo  even  backwoodsmen.  The 
Imhan  wa,^  upon  the  wolf  with  great  hatred ;  it  is  in  a  spirit  of  re^■enge  for 
..en  preyinjT  up  .u  tlien-  game,  the  deer.  In  the  side  hill,  along  on  my  farm 
l^jy  dug  pits,  covered  them  over  with  light  brush  and  leaves,  and  bendinff 
clown  small  trees,  suspended  the  ortiils  of  deer  dir.ictly  over  the  pits.  In 
sprm-nng  for  the  b|ut  tlie  wolf  would  land  in  the  bottom  of  the  pits  where  they 
c-ouM  easdy  be  k, lied.  The  salmon  us.d  ,o  ascend  the  Canandaigua  outH 
as  ar  up  as  Shortsvilo,  before  mill  dams  were  erected.  The  speckled  trout 
we.e  plenty^n  the gulphiu-^Spring  brook ;  and  in  all  the  small  streams. 

'•'*£y  ?n"lT8i'"^  ""''""^  '"  '""^  BristolIgedT37e^8Th^l^;;;rt^  the  Genesee 


312 


PHEIPS  AOT)   QOEHAJI'S  PUECUASE. 


«l,e3  per  biBbd,  u,  Watts  Stem,™  J^    '  f  ^;'**°f  "'«'•■"■     I  »U  it  for 

bofght  tads  tor  t^rSvc l°,s  r:r:ct '"""  ■'  ""^ '"  ""="  '*»'■■  -" 


I  'iw!l 


h 


fir.tn?''^!''^  ^^"''^  '''"'  °^S^^"i=^ed  in  Manchester  in   1804-  the 

evvey.     i  his  was  the  first  legal  organization,  a  society  had  been 
formed  previous  to  1800.     Judge  Phelps  gave  the  soci:'y  a  ste  for 

Rev    Anson  .Sh/vn!  .      ?  "^^^^^"g  house  was  erected, 

for  25  x.         1  ^^      °''"''^  *'^'  "'^"^"'^'  ^"^  ^^'"^^ined  its  pastor 

T  e  M  tl^:^i;tslaT''"*^^^^''^^''^^^^"^  ^^'^^^-^  '^'--'  -^«^^ 

I  ne  Methodists  had  a  society  organization  as  early  as  1800  hold 
ang  their  primitive  meetings  in  school  and  private  houses.       ' 

St.  John  s  Church,  Farmington,"  (Episcopal,  at  Sulphur  Springs ) 
vas  organized  by  the  Rev.  Devenport  Phelps,  in  1807.     Th    offi 
cers  were: -John   Shekels.    Samuel  Shekels,  wardens-    Dart 

Wn^ms^  '^"  '""rr  ^^"»"^  '^'''^'  A-hibald  A  Ll,  Da 
Williams,  Thomas  Edmonston,  Alexander  Howard,  William  Pow- 


GOLD  ■  BIBLE  ~  MOBMOIf ISM. 


Hilt'  Tr.p""''  '*  *J"  ^'"''  "^  *^'«  S'"'^l'  family-in  sio-],tof  "Mormon 
it  in  it«  caro.r,\n  I  L  W  to  fl^    I      '■  Tl^- 1" '^  '' '''''''  ^"^  "'''''•<>'  ^'^''^'4 

^'S^:S:^T%f^!7^l'^'-^^^'^f^^  J^  -  ^-  the 
tr,        11.     ilo  fi,>.  settled  in  or  near  Palmyra  village,  but  as 


man's  store.  C.inancliugua  Banker,  who  was  the  bo„k  keeper  L  Shl7- 

PublttSo'^H^l'"!''^^''^'^^  keeper  at  Qcnovn.    The 
public  huu.se  at  the  Sprmga.-.n,!  Wiulam  was  thclandCi. 


two  brothers  liad  erected  a 


: 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAm's   PURCHASP. 


213 


ss  and  naik.  I 
?at.  I  sold  it  for 
ndjuiid  ISdper 

\arliest  yeai's  of 
ilieir  labor,  and 


in  1804;  the 
and  Jeremiah 
ety  had  been 
"'y  a  site  for 
erected  a  log 
was  erected, 
led  its  pastor 
3ied  in  1845. 
s  1800,  hold- 
?s. 

lur  Springs.) 
•  Tlie  offi. 
5ns;  Darius 
l3eal,  Davis 
illiam  Povv- 


)f  "Mormon 
lid  siiio'ularly 
crc'Iy  starting 
to  Kirtlaud, 

as  fi'oiri  tlio 
IJagc,  Lilt  as 


'd  l)j  Hoiiry 
l)er  111  SLer- 


ad  ort'ctod  a 


early  as  1819  was  the  occupant  of  some  new  land  on  "  Stafford  street"  m  the 
town  of  Manchester,  near  tlie  Tne  of  Palmyra.*  "  Mormon  Hill "  is  near  the 
plank  road  about  half  way  between  the  villages  of  Palm3Ta  and  Manchester. 
The  elder  Smith  had  been  a  Univei-salist,  and  subsequently  a  Methodist;  was 
a  good  deal  of  a  smatterer  in  Scriptural  knowledge:  but  the  seed  of  revela- 
tion was  sown  on  weak  ground;  he  was  a  great  balili^r,  credulous,  not  espe- 
cially industi'ious,  a  money  digger,  prone  to  the  marvellous;  and  withal,  aht- 
tle  given  to  dilHculties  with  neighbors,  and  petty  law-suits.  Not  a  very  pro- 
pitious account  of  the  father  of  a  Prophet,— the  founder  of  a  state;  but  there 
was  a  "  woman  in  the  case."  IIowe\-er  jiresent,  in  matters  of  good  or  evil ! — 
In  the  garden  of  Eden,  in  the  siege  of  Troy,  on  the  field  of  Orleans,  f  in  the 
dawning  of  the  Reformation,  in  the  Palace  of  St.  Peterebuigh,  and  Kremlin 
of  INIoscow,  in  England's  histoiy,  and  Spain's  proudest  era;  and  here  upon 
this  continent,  in  the  persons  of  Ann  Lee,  Jemima  Wilkinson,  and  as  wo  are 
about  to  add,  Mrs.  Joseph  Smith!  A  mother's  influences;  in  the  world's 
history,  in  the  history  of  men,  how  distinct  is  the  impress  I — In  heroes,  in 
statesmen,  in  poets,  in  all  of  good  or  bad  aspirations,  or  distinctions,  that 
single  men  out  from  the  ina.ss,  and  give  them  notoriety ;  how  often,  almost  in- 
variably, are  we  led  back  to  the  influences  of  a  mothei',  to  find  the  germ  that 
has  sprouted  in  the  offspring. 

The  reader  will  excuse  this  interruption  of  nari'ative,  and  be  told  that  Mrs. 
Smith  was  a  woman  of  strong  uncultivated  intellect;  artful  and  cunning;  im- 
bued with  an  illy  regulated  religious  enthusiasm.  The  incipient  hints,  the 
first  gi\  ings  out  that  a  Projihet  was  to  spring  from  her  humble  household, 
came  from  her;  and  when  matters  were  matui'ingfor  denouement,  she  gave 
out  that  such  and  such  ones — always  fixing  upon  those  who  had  both  money 
and  credulity — were  to  be  instruments  in  some  great  work  of  new  revelation. 
The  old  man  was  rather  her  faithful  co-worker,  or  executive  exponent.  Their 
son,  Alvah,  was  originally  intended,  or  designated,  by  fireside  consultations, 
and  solemn  and  mysterious  out  door  hints,  as  the  forth  coming  Pi'ophet.  Tho 
mother  and  the  father  said  he  was  the  chosen  one ;  but  Alvjili,  however  spir- 
itual he  may  have  been,  had  a  carnal  ap]ietite ;  eat  too  many  gi-een  turnips, 
sickened  and  died.  Thus  the  world  lost  a  Pi'ophot,  antl  Morinonism  a  leailcr; 
the  designs  impiously  and  wickedly  attributed  to  Pro\idence,  defeated;  and 
all  in  consequence  of  a  surfeit  of  raw  turnips.  Who  will  talk  of  the  cackling 
geese  of  Rome,  or  any  other  small  and  innocent  causes  of  mighty  e\-ents,  af- 
ter this?  The  mantle  of  tho  Prophet  which  Mis.  and  Mr.  Josejih  Smith  and 
one  Oliver  Cowdery,  had  >vove  of  themselves — every  tarcad  of  it — fell  upon 
their  next  ekh^st  son,  Joseph  Smith,  Jr. 

And  a  most  unpromising  reci|)ient  of  such  a  trust,  was  this  same  Joseph 
Smith,  Jr.,  afterwards,  "Jo.  Smith."  He  was  lounging,  idle;  (not  to  say 
vicious,)  and  possessed  of  less  than  ordinary  intellect.  The  author's  own  re- 
collections of  him  are  distinct  ones.  He  used  to  come  into  tho  village  of 
Palmyra  with  little  jags  of  wood,  from  his  backwoods  home;  sometimes  pat- 
ronizing a  village  grocery  loo  freely ;  sometimes  find  an  odd  job  to  do  about 

*  Here  Iho  luithor  rcnioinbors  to  have  first  scon  the  family,  in  the  winter  of  '19,  '20, 
in  a  nule  log  house,  with  but  a  small  spot  undurbrushe  J  oi-'ouud  it. 

t  France. 


214 


PHELPS   AND  GOEIIAm's   PUnCHASE. 


Uie  store  of  Seymour  Se(U'f.ll  •  o„  i 

"dare  i>...7."  *'  to  oneo  andTwl^lf:  f  ''T'"  .""''  ""l"'''"'^  '"  "^  V<n,ng 
inquisitive  lounger-but'iw  1^''r",  tiie  iace  of  the  then  meMing 
wlien  ],e  used  to  put  hi  f  i  |  '  '"^''f '  ^^'^''/^'^  «'^'  ^'^^W'-'ned  hallj 
Ra.na.e  press!  ViL  e  t^  ^t  cK  '"  "I  1^  ^^'^'^  ^'^'  ^^^^--J 
may  justly  consider  himself  for  1     .,n  '   ''^^  ^^ ''''"J-^-^^teemed  as  he 

t}nuU  of  i  ^vith  eontriti^  a^  v^^"';  .^^V''^"'"  T'^  "f '=""^'  "''^^ 
%ure  the  face  of  a  P.^ophet   -md  i    '.,    '^J  '^'f"'^  ''"''P'^'''  ^1^"-^  ^  dis- 

But  Joseph  had  a  iS     1')  v  '''''  *''^' ^^'""•l^'''  "fa  State. 

nK.her'siilllS'oJc    £Sft;r 

used  to  help  us  sohe  .omo     or   .?  •  '""  *•''''''■'  '^•Temlly  when  he 

iu  our  Juviule  deb  t  J  h  ^  Sl.;j""''T  f  '"""'  ^  I-'!^i«^*  ethics, 
house  onDurfee  street/^o  4  H  f  .^  '""''^'  '''^^y"  '"  ^'"^  "'^l  ''^^^l  school 
in  upon  us  in  the  villa  «•  an  I      1.  ;'""«3;'nee  of  c.^itics  that  used  to  drop 

disnl  in  the  ean.p  nS;^ "w^ tT  i^^^  ^'^"'  T^^^""^  ^^  ^'^^'*  ''^  ^^'^^l- 
w^  a  ,e,y  pass.^le  oxho^eHn\'::;;";:;;S;^r'^'  "'  ^^'^  '^^^""^  ^-^''  ^- 

l>isla(lL.  and  mothir  .'LS?  n  ^.i;"' S°?f  1"  •^' r '"V^'^  ^'"^^  ^'^^^^ 
••ompanied  his  father  in  the  n.idiSf      K ;  "• '"'^  ''"''''"''  ^"'^  ^'^'^^  ^''- 

that  guarded  it.  ""^'"'gi^t  deh  mgs,  and  mcantations  of  the  spirits 

rJl^,  ';"ti;'h:;rS:%  ^;;i^£;r^'''  '^7  -^"-^.-«  ^^  ^1..  ti.  smith 

was  to  eo„,e  from  thei  £;,  t,1 1  u  l"';!  J"'"'^rT^'"'  '^'''  ^  ^''-^J-''^^ 
AWon  Ilill  was  the  p.aee^;.:,:^ it  tS  ^d^'  ^'^^  ^*^    ^^^  ^^'^^ 

an]^mc!;f::lSnf^th'n  r^]:St  1??"^'"  ^^'^^-^^^  ^™''v. 

foun,lation  for  the  stateml  h  tl  >?  1  V""™"^'"^''' '''^'*  ^^'''^  i«  "« 
Mr.  Spauldin-    of  Olio      A  I ,'  .  ^'"',''  '"''""^'^I't  was  written  hy  a 

Comniandnis"   n    II  prowK^^  ^f ''"'  "'1''-  I^ook  'of 

been  aided  by  Spauldin^l  ttu^;,;  J^  ^fj^  ^  L^  ''t  •'"'•^f  "'^  ''-« 
a  production  of  tl,e  Smith  fann^^ a  «U.  oi  r  r  T'^' ''  ;"''"'"'  ^'""''^' 
teacher  on  Stafford  street  an  infh  If  >  ^  u  ?t'"-'''  ^^''^  ^^s  a  school 
with  the  whole  niatte  Th  2  ;  ';'^  "u  ^'-if'  ^T^y^  ""^1  ^'I^^^tilied 
it,  or  even  given  it  u  ur^  -  ?  t  rn^';i.rV""';'''''  ^'^ '—- ^ 
n>an.  The  bungling  attcmp"  to  count  M-fS  tl  ?  . ""  f ''."'"^'^^  ^'^"'  "'•  ^^'O' 
intermixture  of  inodernlXlo'v  '^' ' '.'^  the  Scriptures;  the 

Pl'v ;  it.  utter  crudm'y  ;  ^l  dn;.?'i^"'''f  7  "'*  chronology  and  eeogra- 
clearly  exhibits  its  vuh.^.  Sin  Ta^."  wholc^  stamp  ite  character  and 
and  bad  composition  °         °  "  '^™-'  '"^^^"^■>'  ^'^  ^^P^ures,  romance, 

■Jhtained  by  a  cheat  and  afriud      T    P.""'"!''.';^'/'^  a  desire  for  noton,.f\-,  t,,  be 

wasanatdthougirinS-th:;;::;:^^^^^ 


pr^.S.:t;w;:;i;:j.:;!;.::;:r^,2-j^r£"/''''  '-'?:■■•  ^'-i^' '-  rcn,in.i«f  that  np. 

c^iiod,  and  j,u.ua4  it  w^  r^^'^p;;^!;;;,:;^^  "^  ^'^-^  --^  «"ttoai.o.^  bce^  th!;;       I 


niELPS    AND    GOEHAJ«''s   PURCHASE. 


215 


into  tho  office 
i-S  ill  lis  young 
len  meddling 
Aioned  liall.'s, 
old  f'ahhioJiej 
teemed  as  lie 
eftilnoss,  may 
1,  thus  to  dis- 
te. 

)iration,s;  tho 
illy  when  ho 
'liticaJ  etliies, 
Id  red  school 
used  to  drop 
■k  of  M(!tho- 
nna  road,  he 

ill  as  the  de- 

t  only  heard 

but  had  ae- 

of  the  spirits 

It  the  Smith 
t  a  Prophet 
;    and  that 

lith  family, 
there  is  no 
ritteii  hy  a 
le  Book  of 
9  may  have 
lout  doubt, 
^as  a  school 
■  identified 
>  liavo  read 
nan  or  wo- 
>tnres;  tho 
nd  gcogra- 
'at'ter,  and 
,  romance, 

whry,  was 
■iefy,  to  be 
1  ne\v  sect, 


<1  that  np. 
I'eou  thus 


The  projectors  of  the  humbug,  being  destitute  of  means  for  carryin5«-  out 
tlieir  plans,  a  vi(^tim  wjus  s('lected  to  obviat(!  that  ditficulty.  Martin  Harris, 
was  a  farmer  of  Palmyra,  the  owner  of  a  good  farm,  and  an  honest  worthy 
citizen ;  but  especially  gi\'en  to  religious  enthusiasm,  new  creeds,  the  more 
extravagant  the  better;  a  monomaniac,  in  fact.  Jtweph  Smith  upon  whom 
the  mantle  of  prophecy  had  fallen  after  the  sad  fate  of  Alv;i,  began  to  make 
demonstrations,  lie  informed  Harris  of  tho  great  discovery,  and  that  it  had 
been  revealed  to  him,  that  he  (Harris,)  was  a  chosen  instrument  to  aid  in  the 
great  work  of  surprising  the  world  with  a  new  re\elation.  They  had  hit  up- 
on the  right  man.  Ho  mortgaged  his  fine  farm  to  pay  for  priming  the  book, 
assumed  a  gra\e,  mysterious,  and  uneailhly  d(.>portment,  and  made  he're  and 
there  among  his  acipiaintances  solemn  annunciations  of  the  great  event  that 
W!is  transpii'ing.  His  version  of  the  discoverv,  as  coramunieated  to  him  by 
tho  Pi'ophet  Joseph  hims('lt;  is  well  remembered  by  several  respectable  citi- 
zens of  Palmyra,  to  whom  he  made  early  disclosures.  It  was  in  substance,  as 
follows : 

The  Prophet  Joseph,  was  directed  by  an  angel  where  to  find,  by  excava- 
tion, at  the  place  afterwards  called  Mormon  Hill,  tlu!  gold  jilates;  and  was 
compelled  by  the  angel,  much  against  his  will,  to  be  the  interjireterof  the  sa- 
cred record  they  contained,  and  publish  it  to  the  world.  That  the  j-lates 
contained  a  record  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  C(nmtry,  " eno-ra\(,'d  by 
Mormon,  the  son  of  Nei)hi.'"  That  on  tho  top  of  the  box  containinoM;he  phites, 
"a  pair  of  large  spectacles  were  found,  tho  stones  or  glass  set  in  which  were 
opa(pie  to  all  but  tho  Piophet,"  that  "these  belonged  to  Mormon,  the  cjigra- 
ver  of  the  plates,  and  without  them,  the  plates  could  not  be  read."  Ilarris'as- 
sumed,  that  himself  and  Cowdcny  Avere  the  chosen  amanuenses,  and  that  the 
Prophet  Jos(>ph,  cuitained  trom  the  woi'ld  and  them,  with  his  spectacles,  read 
from  the  gold  j)lates  what  they  counnitted  to  paper.  Harris  exhibited  to  an 
informant  of  the  author,  the  manuscript  1  itlo  page.  On  it  were  drawn,  rudely 
and  bunglingly,  concentric  circles,  l)ctween  above  and  below  which  were  char- 
actors,  with  littl(i  resemblance  to  letters;  apparently  a  miserable  imitation  of 
hieroglyphics,  the  writer  may  have  somewlKMv  seen.  To  guard  against  pi'o- 
fane  curiosity,  tho  Prophet  had  given  out  that  no  one  but  himself,  not  even 
his  chosen  co-operators,  must  l)e  permitted  to  see  them,  on  i>ain  of  instant 
death.  Harris  had  n(.!\er  seen  the  j^lates,  but  the  glowing  account  of  their 
massive  richness  excited  other  than  spiritual  hopes,  and  he  ujion  one  occasion, 
got  a  village  silver-smith  to  help  him  estimate  their  value;  taking  as  a  b;isis, 
the  Prophet's  account  of  tlieir  dimensions.  It  was  a  blemling  of  Uie  spiritual 
and  utilitaiian,  that  threw  a  shadow  of  doubt  upon  Martin's  sincerity.  This, 
and  some  anticipations  he  indulged  in,  as  to  tho  profits  that  would  arise  from 
the  sale  of  tiio  (Jold  Bible,  made  it  then,  as  it  is  now,  a  mooted  question, 
whether  he  was  altogether  a  dup(\ 

Tho  wife  of  Harrs  was  a  rank  infidel  and  heretic,  touching  the  whole  thing, 
and  deciiledly  ojiposed  to  her  husband's  partici[)ation  in  it.  With  saeriligioiia 
hands,  slu^  seized  over  an  hundred  of  the  manuscript  pages  of  the  new'Teve- 
l.'ition,  and  iiurned  or  secreted  them.  It  was  agi-cei]  by  the  Smith  family, 
t'ow.lery  and  Harris,  not  to  transcribe  those  again,  but  to  let  so  much  of  the 
new  re\ elation  drop  out,  as  the  "evil  spirit  would  get  up  a  story  that  tho 
second  translation  did  not  agree  with  the  first."  A  verv  in^'onious  metluxl 
surely,  of  guarding  against  the  possibility  that  Mrs.  Harris  had  preserved  tlio 


216 


PHELPS   AND    GOEHAll's  PUECIIASE. 


.onSL'f :',S  »',!:it,^„7  sl'iif  £.;,*"  7'?;r  =  f  ""st'  i- 
'tt'rf  °n.',:il  di""'*,  TrTT'  "■"■"  '"''"■-■  H«  .""™«i'iiX 

uie  iu(,  ot  ci  baptiht  older,  biitlia.l  by  some  iirevious  froak  if  the  iiitlior  i^ 
mat,,,,,     Dc«,g,,,„g  i,„I„t,o„.s  a.nl  dirf,<„,«i,  „„,li.,i,„  so„,I,l„„cc  of  "3 

"Yo  too,  b:licvers  of  incredible  creeds, 
WLosu  faith  enshrines  tlio  monsters  wliich  it  breeds ; 
Who  bolder,  even  tlian  Nimrod,  think  to  rise 
By  nonBciiBo  henped  on  nonsense  to  the  skies; 
Ye  shall  have  miracles,  aye,  sound  ones  too, 
Seen,  lieard,  attested,  every  thing  Ijiit  true. 
Your  preaching  zealots,  too  insi)ired  to  seek 

One  grace  of  meaning  for  the  things  they  sjieak  ; 
Youi- martyrs  ready  to  shed  out  theii- blood 


ttempt  an  iuir 

lioiiseliold  of 
5  absence,  tlie 
libors.  They 
the  sliore  of 
1  cotton,  and 
5  stone,  in  a 
it  will  be  ob- 
was  the  same 
3nded  discov- 

ad  with  some 
le  credulous, 
inie  across  "a 
3ne.     In  tlie 
ce.     Enlarg- 
d  then  explo- 
-lurknoss. " 
'hetsand  the 
■Idly  as  wore 
)usiness  con- 
by  spiritual 
of  the  new 
d  witnessed 
proceeds  of 
I  of  $2,500, 

original  in- 
)  made  his 
■■  of  impos- 
oithily  bore 
e  author  is 
ous  denom- 
ce  of  sanc- 

the  Smith 
1  they  were 
et,  or  more 
jd  Prophet 


PHELPS   AND    GORIIAM's   PURCHASE.  217 

For  truths  too  heavcnlj  to  be  understood ;" 

*  *  #  , 

"  They  shall  liave  niystcrie.s— aye,  precious  stuff 
For  knaves  to  thrive  by— mysteries  enough ; 
Dark  tangled  doctrines,  diirkas  fraud  can  weave, 
Wliich  simple  votaries  shall  on  trust  receive, 
Wliilc  craftier  feign  belivf,  'till  tliey  believe." 

Under  tlie  auspices  of  Ri^rdon,  a  n«nv  scet,    the  Mormon.s,  was  proiectod 
prophcc.s  fell  thick  .and  fast tVoin the  li,>s  of  Jos..ph  ;  old  Mrs.  Smith Issum- 
ed  all  the  airs  o     the  mother   of   a  J^rophet  ;    that   particular   family  of 
bmiths  were  .saigled  out  and  became  e.Kalted  above  ail  their  k-o^ion  of  name- 
sakes. _  I  ho  ball,  clumsy  cheat,  found   here  and  there  an  enthusiast,  a  mo- 
nomaniac or  ,-.  knave,  in  and  an.und  its  primitive  localitv,  to  help  it  upon  its 
start  ;  and  soon,  like  another  scheme  of  imposture,  (that  had  a  little  of  dij?- 
mty  and  plausibility  in  it,)  it  had  its  Hegir..^  or  llio-Ut,  to  Kirtland;  then  to 
^auvo;  thentoashort  re.stin;r  pl^ce  in  Missouri— and  then  on  over  the 
Ivocky  Mountains  to  Uta li,  or  the  Salt  Lake.     IJanks,  printing  oilices,  tem- 
pH  cities,  and  hnally  a  State,  have  arisen  under  its  auspices.     Converts  have 
multiplied  to  tens  of  tlu.u.sands.     In  .several  of  the  countries  of  Europe  there 
are  preachei>.  and  organized  sects  of  Mormons  ;  believers  in  the  divine  mission 
ot  Jose})h  Smith  &  Co. 

And  liere  the  subject  must  be  dismissed.     If  it  has  been  treated  lio-htlv  — 
with  a_  seeming  levity -it  is  because  it  will  admit  of  no  other  treatment. 
1  here  IS  no  dignity  about  the  whole  thing  ;  nothing  to  entitle  it  to  mild 
treatment.     It  deserves  none  of  the  charity  cxU^nded  to  ordinary  reli"iou« 
la  ^uacisin   for  knavery  and  fraud  has  been  with  it  incipienily  and  progress- 
ively.    It  has  not  even  the  poor  merit  of  ingenuity.     Its  succes,s  is  a  slur"ipon 
the  ago.     lanatici.sm   promoted    it  at  first;  then  ill   advised  persecution  • 
then  the  designs  of  demagogues  who  wislu'd  to  command  the  suilVao-es  of 
Its  followers  ;  until  finally   an  American  Congress  has  abetted  the  fraud  and 
imposition  by  Its  acts,  and  we  are  to  have  a  state  of  our  proud  Union  — 
in  this  boasted  era  of  light  and  knowlodnre —  the  very  name  of  which  will 
sanction  and  dignify  the  fraud  and  falsehood  of  Mormon  Hill,  tli.;  gold  plates 
and  the  spurious  revelation.     This  much,  at  least,  might  havci  been  omitted 
out  of  decent  respect  to  the  moral  and  religious  sense  of  the  people  of  thu 
01(1  smti6s* 


FARMINOTON. 


Township  No.  II,  R.  3,  (now  Fanuington,)  was  the  first  sale  of 
Phelps  and  Gorham.  Tlie  purchasers  were  :  —  Nathan  Comsfock, 
Benjamin  Russell,  Abraham  Laphain,  Edmund  Jenks,  Jeremiah 
Brown,  Ephraim  Fish,  Nathan  Herendcen,  Natiian  Aldrich,  Ste- 
phen Smith,  Benjamin  Rickeason,  William  P>aker  and  Dr.  Daniel 
Brown.    Tiic  deed  was  given  to  Nathan  Comstock,  and  Benjamin 


V    -__ 


218 


rnELPs  AND  goriiam's  purchase. 


l!)> 


w 


Russell ;  all  except  Russell,  Jenks,  J.  Brown,  Fish,  Rickenson,  Ba- 
ker  and  Smith,  became  residents  upon  the  purcliase.     Jn  1789,  Na- 
than Comstock,  with  two  sons,  Otis  and  Darius,  and  Robert  Hatha- 
way, came  from  Adams,  Berkshire  county,  Mass. ;  a  part  of  them  by 
the  water  route,  landing  at  Geneva,  with  their  provisions,  and  a 
1-  -♦  by  land  with  a  liorse  and  some  cattle.     When  the  overland 
party  had  airived  within  15  miles  of  Seneca  Lnkc,  they  had  the  ad- 
dition of  a  calf  to  their  small  stock,  which  Otis  Comstock  carried 
on  his  back,  that  distance.     They  arrived  upon  the  new  purchase, 
built  a  cabin,  cleared  four  acres  of  ground,  and  sowed  it  to  wheat. 
Their  horse  died,  and  thoy  were  obliged   to  iriake  a  pack  horse  of 
Darius,  who  went  once  a  week  through  the  woods  to  Ooneva,  where 
he  purchased  provisions  and  carried  them  on  his  back,  twenty  niiles, 
to  their  cabin   in  the  wilderness.     Upon  the  approach  of  winter, 
the  party  returned  to  Massachusetts,  leaving  Otis  Comstock  to  take 
care  of  the  stock  through  the  winter,  with  no  neighbors  otlicr  than 
Indians  and  wild  beasts,  nearer  thai.  Bougliton   Hill  and  Canandai- 
gua.     About  the  same  period  of  the  advent  of  the  Comstocks, 
Nathan  Aldrich,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  township,  came  by 
the  water  route,  landing  his  provisions  and  3ced  wheat  at  Geneva, 
and  carrying  them  upon  his  back  to  the  new  purchase  ;  he  clear- 
ed a  few  acres  of  ground,  sowed  it  to  wheat  and  returned  to  Mass- 
achusetts. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1700,  Nathan  Comstock  and  his  large 
Aimily,  started  from  his  home  in  Adam.s  accompanied  by  Nathan 
Aldrich  and  Isaac  Hathawny,  and  w^ere  f  jllowed  the  day  after  by 
Nathan  Herendeen,  his  son  "Wiiliam,  and  his  two  sons-in-law,  Josh- 
ua Herrinrrton  and  John  M'Cumber.     The  last  party  overtook  the 
first  at  Geneva,  when  the  \\lioIr'  penetrated  the  wilderness,  making 
their  own  roads  as  they  proceeded,  the  greater  part  of  the  distance, 
and  arrived  at  their  new  homes  in  the  wilderness,  on  the  15th  of 
March.     After  leaving  Whitestown,  both  parties,  their  women  and 
children,  camped  out  each  night  during  their  tedious  journey,  and 
arriving  at  their  destination,  had  most  of  them  to  erect  temporary 
habitations,  and  this  at  an  inclement  season. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  all  who  were  residents  of  the 
new  township  in  1790  :  —  Nathan  Comstock,  Nathan  Comstock,  jr., 
Otis  Comstock,  Darius  Comstock,  John  Comstock,  Israel  Reed,' 
John  Russell,  John  Payne,  Isaac  Hathaway,  Nathan  Herendeen,' 


Pirar.ps  AND  aoRnAM's  pdrotase.  219 

Welcome  IlerenJecn,  Joshua  Ilerringlon,  John  JfCaml-cr  Nalhan 
Adnoh,  J"cobS„,,^l,  Job  II„„,a>Kl,  Abrahnn,  Ln,.ham.  J  I,„  t^ 

Wiic!  Tir  li"!  '"'  '"'"'''"'"'■'■'"='••  J™"'!'""  Smith.  Pardon 
Wilcox.  liobcrl  Ilathavvny,  Jeremiah  Smilh.  But  a  part  of  all 
hese  ,ha,  were  n,arricd  had  brought  in  their  families,  and  Is  „ 

them  were  um)arried. 

Pa  don  Wdcox.  and  Levi  Sn.i.h;  ,0  the  last  of  whom  ,he  author 

s  nuleh.ed  for  many  of  his  Pioneer  reminiscences  of  Farmi„,,o„ 

Joshua  Hercndeen  died  last  winter,  a.  the  advanced  age  of  over 

Many  of  these  early  Pioneers  were  Friends,  either  by  member- 

that  an,  of   ts  members  contemplating  any  i.nportant  enternrise 

■e  rXh  '/""'  °':r'S™'-'  "-'  -Ion  their  intentir. ' 
thetr  meeting  for  eons.deralion  and  advisement.  The  rash  enter- 
pnse  of  go.ng  away  off  to  the  Genesee  countrv.  and  seltli,'  down 
am„n,g  savages  and  wild  beasts,  was  not  consistent  with  °k  nZ 
regard  entertamed  by  the  meeting  for  the  Farmington  e,    g   ",  "^ 

onsent  was  refused,  and  they  were  formally  disowned,  vlh  n  a 
connn,,,  f  ,h„  Friend's  Yearly  Meeting  of  Philadelphia,  attend^ 
Frie'ds!   pT'°-"    T"  ''  ^""--J-g-  ■'"  "0«.  they  visited  the 

moetmg  that  had  disowned  them  in  Massachusetts,  which  resulted 
n  he,r  restoratton.    A  meeting  was  soon  after  cganized,  tl  e  iL, 

e      ,t   a  '""».''",""'•  "-«  ■"%  o""  west  of  Utiea.     The  society 
etected  a  mee  ,ng  house  in  1804.     Their  ea,ly  local  public  Friend 

wT  He  died  last  year  at  an  advanced  age. 

Wheat  was  harvested  in  the  summer  of  1700,  the  product  of 

: :  ;;r  7'" '' ''"  ^""^'"^"^  "•"  ^'""-  A'd,.ich,'i„  V 

PC.  .ous.     Some  sun.mer  crops  were  raised  in  the  summer  of  '00 

lie  .stump  mortai-   w-as  the  principal  dependence  for  pteparing 

lieii-gi-am  for  b,ea.l.     I„  the  fall  of  1700,  iosliua  Ilcicnd™,  ,"i"h 

Mills  in  Bristol ;  arriving  late  on  Saturday  night,  the  n,iller'   wife 

s:r^.if'a,;'F'  '""'■  ■■"" "-'"-« >i-^"  ^HouM 'i'rrLrf 

f«iii.aj,     ,1  all  iarmmgton  starved."    This  ,„adc  liin,  a  second 


»1        > 


220 


rinars  akd  ooniiAM's  runciTASE. 


journey,  and  it  was  a  work  of  d 


lys,  as  the  first  had  boon.     Duri 


the  same  season,  Welcome  Ilerendcen.  John  M'Cumber  and  J 
than  Smith,   took  grain   up  the  Canand 


ng 


ona- 


Wilder's  Mill.      They  got  hut 
in  the  season,  a  part  of  (I 


aigua    outlet  and  Lake  to 

a  part  of  it  grouiid,  and  it  being  late 

icir  grist  lay  over  until  the  next  season. 

man  of  Nathan  Aldrich  and 


Levi  Smith,  in  1791,   then  a  hired .......... 

Abrahan,  Lapba.n,  carried  grists  upon  two  horses  toVhe'FrienL 
Mill,  in  Jerusalam, 

As  an  example  of  the  dilTiculties  and  hardships  that  attended 
emigration  at  that  early  period,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  17!)I, 
Jacob  Smith,  wi'h  his  family,  was  thirty  one  davs  in  makinn- the 
journey  (rom  Adams,  Mass.,  to  Farmington.  I'utling  famil/and 
household  lurniture  on  ^oard  of  a  boat  at  Schcneetadv.  and  driving 
h.s  stock  through  the  woods,  along  tl«  creeks,  rivers,  Imd  lakes,  the 
^vllole  arrived  at  Swift's  Landing,  beyod  which  he  had  lo  make 
hjs  road  principally,  as  there  had  been  little  intercourse  in  that 
direction,  from  the  settlement  in  Farmington. 

Nathan  Ilerendecn  himself  wintered  iiuhe  new  settlement,  hi.^  son 
Welcome  returning  to  bring  out  the  family,  who  came  in  February, 
01  ;  and  about  the  same  time  other  considerable  additions  were 
made  to  the  settlemenl,  consisting  of  the  families  of  those  who  had 
come  in  the  year  before,  and  new  adventurers.  Brice,  and  Turner 
Aldrich  and  their  families  William  Ca.Iy,  Uriel  Smith,  Benjamin 
Lapham,  were  among  the  number.  A  considerable  nun d)er  of 
them  came  in  company,  witli  ox  and  horse  teams,  were  twenty-one 
days  on  the  route,  the  whole  camping  in  the  woods  eight  nights  on 
the  way. 

The  young  reader,  and  others  who  may  be  unacquainted  with 
Pioneer  life,  in  passing  through  that  now  region  of  wealth  and 
prosperity,  will  h^  sur])rised  to  be  told  that  the  i'ounders  of  many  of 
those  farm  establishments  — clusters  of  neat  farm  buildings,  "sur- 
rounded by  flocks  and  herds,  and  broad  cultivated  fields  — iV  their 
primitive  advent,  plodded  through  snow  and  mud  days  and  \v-eeks, 
with  stinted  means;  at  night,  with  their  families  of  young  children,' 
clearing  away  u.e  snow  and  s[)readiiig  their  cots  upon  the  ground  J 
their  slumbers  often  interrupted  by  the  howl  of  the  caunt  wolf 
prowling  around  their  camp-fires.  Unless  in  that  localitv,  liom  the 
peculiar  character  of  its  inhabitants,  better  ideas  of  rigin  physical 
education  prevails  than  is  nsnn!.  ihom  f..-,.  ,\--,„c.Ui..,-.,  ;..  .V .  >     > 


c  arc  daughters  in  those  abod 


niELii'S    AND    OORnAM's    PURCHASE.  221 

of  comfort  and  luxury  who  shrink  even  from  the  henhhful  breeze 
w  o.se   nv.th.rs   have    prepared    the   frugal    rrnal    l,y    the    winter 
camp-hre,  and  kept  ntu-sery  vigils  where  the  drivin/storm  pelted 
her  and  her  household   through   their  frail  covering.     EJwt 
phy.s.eal  degeneracy,  the  work  of  but  one  and  tw^o  gen  La  ion 
mar  ed  n.  the  sons.     There  are  those  in  the  Genesee  eountr    who 
would  deem  ,t  a  hardship  to  black  their  own  boots,  harness  their 
own  hor.e,  or  make  their  own  fires,  whose  fathers  and  grand-fathers 
have  earned  provisions  to  their  families  upon  their  backs  throurrh 
long  dreary  winter  woods  paths.     Sincere.'v  is  it  to  be  hoped  ih^t 
mental  degeneracy  is  not  keeping  pace  with  all  this,  as  some  ob- 
servers and  theorists  maintain. 

But  we  are  losing  sight  of  the  germ  of  what  became  a  prosperous 
settlement      The  new  comers  were  soon  in  their  log  cabins,  dotted 
down  m  the  forest,  and  making  openings  about  them   to  let  in  tho 
sun.    i\afhan  Comstock  was  regarded  as  surveyor  general  of  roads. 
Mounted  upon  his  old  mare,  he  would  strike  off  into  the  woods  in 
oiilercnt  dn-ecl.ons  where  roads  were  needed,  followed  by  axe-men 
and  a  teamster  with  oxen  and  sled.    The  underl)rush  would  be  cut, 
logs  cut  and  turned  out  of  the  way.  and  thus  the  beginning  of  a 
road  was  n,ade  to  be  followed  up  gradually,  by  widening  out"o  two 
and  lour  rods,  and  bridging  of  streams,  sloughs  and  marshes.    As  an 
evidence  that  they  commenced  in  earnest  to  subdue  the  wilderness 
It  may  be  mentioned  that  there  were  ccnsiderable  fields  of  wheat 
sow-n    ,n  the  fail  of  1790.     Nathan   Aldrich  having  raisvl  .ome 
se.d  wheat  m  that  season.  Welcome  Herendeen  worked  for  him 
thirteen  days  for  two  and  a  half  bushels,  sowed  it,  and  he  used  to 
tell  the  story  when  he  became  the  owner  of  broad  wheat  field, 
remarkmg  that  he  never  had  to  buy  any  after  that.     The  first  set- 
tlers of  larmmgton,  bringing  with  them  apple  seeds,  and  peach 
a.u     plum    Pits,   were   early  fruit    growers  _  soon   had    bearing 
orchards-  and  for  long  years,  the  new  settlers  in  far  off  nei<d,bor! 
hoods,  went  there  for  apples,  and  a  real  hixurv  they  were  in^imi- 
tive  tunes.     larmington  and   Bloomficld  cider,  apples,  and  apple 
sauce,  was  ari  especial  treat  for  many  years  in  the  backwoods  of 
the  Holland  Purchase.     Some  enterprising  keeper  of  a  log  tavern 
would  push  out  when  sleighing  came,  and  bring  in  a  load.     His  re- 
*"■•"  would  be  heralded  over  a 


io 


w  ox  sieds  and  iiorse  sleigh  ride,  th 


Je  district ;  and  the 


n  woult 


J  fol- 


rough  wood's  roads,  rude  feasts 


222 


PHEU'S   AND   GORIIAJl's    PURCHASE. 


and  frolics.     The   pampered  appetites  of  the  present  day  know 
nolhmg  of  the  zest  which  attended  these  simple  luxuries  then. 

J  he  fu-st  marriage  in  Farmington,  was  that  of  Otis  Comstock  to 
lluldah  Freeman,  at  the  house  of  Isaac  Hathaway,  in  1792,  Dr. 
Atvvater,  of  Canandaigua,  officiating.  The  first  birth,  was  that  of 
Welcome  llerendeen,  m  1790,  a  son  of  Joshua  Ilerendeen,  who  now 
resides  m  Michigan.  As  a  specimen  of  this  first  production  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  his  weight  is  now  said  to  be  350  pounds. 
1  he  first  death  of  an  adult,  was  that  of  Elijah  Smith,  in  1793. 

1  he  first  frame  building  was  erected  by  Joseph  Smith  and  James 
U  iMsh  of  Canandaigua,  for  an  ashery,  on  the  farm  of  Welcome 
Herendeen.  The  first  framed  barn  was  built  by  Annanias  McMil- 
Ian  for  Isaac  Hathaway,  in  1703;  and  the  same  year,  McMillan 
bu  It  a  small  framed  grist  mill  on  Ganargwa  Creek,  within  the  town- 
ship, for  Jacob  and  Joseph  Smith.     Settlers  have  been  known  to 

1  he  fns  saw  mill  was  built  by  Jacob  and  Joseph  Smith,  in  1795 
I  he  first  physician  in  Farmington.  was  Dr.  Stephen  Aldridge.  from 
Uxbridge  Mass.  He  died  about  fifteen  years  since,  alter  a  long 
and  useful  career,  both  in  his  profession  and  as  a  citizen 

Almost  the  whole  town  of  Farmington  was  settled  by  emi-rrants 
from  Adams,  in  that  same  county  of  Berkshire  that  has  been  so 
prolific  a  hive,  sending  out  its  swarms  not  only  here,  but  to  all  our 
western   States  and  territories.     The  local  historian  here  and  at 
the  west  has  olten  to  query  with  himself  as  to  whether  there  could 
be  any  body  left  in  Berkshire  ?     It  would  seem  tnat  when  new 
lelds  of  enterprise  were  opened,  new  regions  were  to  be  subdued 
to  the  uses  of  civilization,  legions  went  out  from  its  mountains,  hills 
rnd  valleys -not  "of  armed  men  "-but  of  the  best  of  materials 
^r  the  work  that  lay  before  them.     Berkshire  -  a  single  county  of 
New  England -It  may  almost  be  said,  has  been  the  mother  of  em- 

In  the  iiistory  of  a  wide  region  of  unparalelled  success  and  pros- 
perity, no  where  has  it  been  so  uniibrm  as  in  the  town  of  Farming. 

and  nf    n    T'""  'T  ''°"  ^"■"^'^^  •^"^  ^y  '^''  «'-'S'"^^l  proprietors, 
and  of  all  the  purchasers,  but  one  failed  to  be  a  permanent  citizen 

and  pay  fur  his  land.     The  wholesome  discipline  and  example  of 

the  .Society  of  Friends  preserved  it  liom  the  eflects  of  an  early 

proluse  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  so  destructive  to  early  prosperity 


PiiELi's  AND  oorham's  purchask.  223 

Icqrirecl  ''  ^""'  ^'"  '""^  ^'^^  P'-e-eminencc  that  it  h.. 

The  first  town  meeting  of  the  "  District  of  Fur.nln^ton  "  was  held 
at  the  house  ofNathan  Aldrich,  in  1707;  meotin,  ^^00  ne,  S 
sup.r,ntendea  by  Phineos  Bates,  Esq.,  when  .Tared  Co.nsrc  Z. 
chosen  Supervisor,  and  Isaae  Hathaway  town  clerk.  Otho  town 
offieers:- Joseph  Snu.h.  Nathan  Ilerendcen,  Jonathan  SniT 
O  s  Cc..stock    Asa  Wihnarth,  John  M'Lou.h.  Isaac  II.  thaway 

Kte  s,  .Tob  Howland,  Welcome  Ilerendeen,  Turner  Aldnch  Gid- 
eon Payne,  .Toshua  Van  Fleet,  Jacob  Smith 

in^Lr^Fm   thafSlObep..idfor  the  scalp  of   each  wolf  killed 
Town      Tl     ^  '""'  ™''^  to  defr..y  the  expenses  of  the 

lown.     The  meeting  W..S  adjourned  to  beheld  next  year  at  the 
house  of  Nathan  Ilerendeen. 


PHELPS. 


John  Decker  Robmson,  from  Claverack.  Columbia  co.,  and 
Nathaniel  Sanborn,  were  among  those  who  came  to  the  Genesee 
country  about  the  time  of  the  Phelps  and  Gorhan.  treatv  Mr  San! 
born  was  employed  by  Mr.  Phelps  to  take  charge  ^f  a  drove  of 
cattle  that  he  mtended  for  beef,  to  distribute  among  the  Indians  a 


have  Ho.,t  h.,t,.r  .MiUeria^  to  tS  Si  ^  ""l' Z^  7;,  ^^^  England  could  hardly 
••Hclul.  At  the  period  .,f  omi-n' a  o,  ?  ,?  ,',1  '  f  ^  ^  ^'l"'  '^""'''  '"^^'^  P'"v»-'d  more 
had  .ix  sons  :  Jo.is.  F).  in!.    I  , '  '  '• ,'      ,/'^i^,  '"""^''-  ■''."'.'  ralroon  of  uow  settlement. 


iet  at  Cup;^    .-    3i;r£:^;S  .^Jlf"  -'1  j£     ^„U,a„  ..  the  Piol 

was  construclod.  Jose^,,  J  red  nd Ih  i  we  1  t  .'^  ""'''''^  ^'"T  ^"^'''"^  '^'^  '^'^"^ 
ted,  and  iK.raiiie  tlic  Dror  rietn -^  r.f'  ,    1  .  '^  """"^  »•'* ''»«  C'l""!  wa.s  loca- 

Town,  u.ul  tl,eT..avn.K'   h     c-ri.  f^'".!'^'?"':"  "*  f''^«ite  of  the   present  Upper 

«..uplerc:d  l.eean,e  a  Pioneer  nJar   !  ^nr  '   ,      >7  and  .00.,  alter  the  canal  was 

the  site  of  the  vilia-re  of  A, 1, ■,,,,-.  I"^' "V  '  '"■'«('  <d  Adijnn  Miehi-rnn.  A  part  of 
stock,  was  a  pronl  ::::;f  .^^  ^  ^  :^;;i;;;!:,  ^  l^-''-^.  -'"-I.  if.  -n.  Addi.o„  ^S.ul 
.'oseph,  in  Lock-pert,  in  IH''      \  ,1  -  /j    Vf,. ,/ ^^1'';:;^^^^  18IG  ; 

i^an,  in  1814  a.^l  '5  ;  ancfilis  1,  F  ,  ;  ::^:  ';tl;:^i^'^'^it■'-:•  •'•'^'  1^^'"- i"  Mich: 
^ylu.  xvns  an  earlv  law  student  in  Cairind  W    •    ,)  ,  •      '  ''^'  ™'"^i™'-  "  John, 

ria..,  Michi-an.  The  .ie.scenlantV  .  i?  '  '  "'^.'•f' di'«  4'on  a  farn.  near  Ad- 
tlioir  residences  bein^  urn  n^'  v  in  M  i  1!  /";  "ri^  '^'^T'  '"''  ^*^V'  """'«'•«"«. 
P-nin„on,  is  ada,^h.er  1/ '&  Tl^  lif  y|;,.„  ^li  s!  l^l^lAn,/^"  ^'"^'^  "^ 
Vriia  a tl;u:giitt;rol  Joseph.  -n-^-ci  ^nt.i,  ot  Uuiuu  Spnngs, 


224 


PHELPS  AND  QORIIAM's   PURCHASE. 


the  treaty.     As  soon  ns  land  sales  commr^nccd,  Mr.  Kobinson  Ijought 
lot  No.  14,  T.  1],  R.  1,  (Phelps)  on  the  Canandaigua  outlet,  in  pay- 
ment  for  which  he  erected  for  Phdps  and  Gurhatn,  (partly  of  logs 
and  partly  Ihuned,)  the  building  that  was  used  as  the  primitive  land 
office,  and  lor  the  residence  of  the  agent  of  Mr.  Walker.     In  the 
spring  of  1789,  he  put  his  family  and  goods  on  board  a  battcaux  at 
Schenectady  and  landed  them  at  their  new  home  in  the  then  wilder- 
ness.    Raising  a  cloth  tent  they  brought  with  them,  the  family 
were  sheltered  under  that  until  a  log  cabin  was  erected.     Nine  days 
after  their  arrival,  they  were  joined  by  Pierce  and  Elihu  Granger, 
Nathaniel  Sanhorn  and  his  brother-in-law, Gould,  who  remain- 
ed with  them  a  few  months,  cleared  a  few  acres  on  an  adjoining  lot, 
built  shantees,  and  returned  to  Suiricld  in  the  flill,  leaving'  the  Rob^ 
inson  family  to  spend  the  winter  eight  miles  from  their   nearest 
neighbor.     Mr.  Robinson  opened  a  public  house  as  soon  as  '93,  or  4. 
His  location  was  East  Vienna;  embracing  some  valuable  mill'seats 
on  iMint  creek  and  Canandaigua  outlet.     He  was  one  of  the  most 
enterprising  of  the  early  Pioneers.     His  son  Harry  was  the  first 
male  child   born   in   Phelps;  another  son,   Henry,  H.  resides   in 
Lima. 

Following  the  lead  of  Robinson  and  the  Grangers,  in  1791,  were, 
Thaddeus  Oaks,  Seth  Dean,  Oliver  and  Charles  Humphrey,  and 
Elias  Dickinson. 

Jonathan  Oaks  was  the  primitive  landlord,  erecting  as  early  as 
'94  the  large  framed  tavern  house,  at  Oak's  Corners,  about  the  same 
time  that  Mr.  Williamson  erected  his  Hotel  at  Geneva.     It  was  a 
wonder  in  early  days ;  peering  up  in  a  region  of  log  houses,  it  had 
an  aristocratic  look,  and  its  enterprising  founder  was  regarded  as 
pushing  things  far  beyond  their  time.   ^It  was  the  secon'd  framed 
tavern  house  west  of  Geneva,  and  when  built,  there  was  probably 
not  half  a  dozen  framed  buildings  of  any  kind,  west  of  that  locality. 
It  was  the  house  of  the  early  explorers  and  emigrants,  and  its  fame 
oxtended  throughout  New  England.     It  is  yet  standing  and  occu- 
pied as  a  tavern  in  a  pretty  good  state  of  preservation.     Mr.  Oaks 
died  in  1-804,  leaving  as  his  successor  his  son  Thaddeus,  who  had 
married  a  grand-daughter  of  Elias  Dickinson.     The  father  dying 
at  so  early  a  period,  the  name  of  Thaddeus  Oaks  is  principally 
blended  in  the  reminiscences  of  the  later  Pioneer  period.     He  died 
in  1824  at  the  age  of  50  years;  an  only  surviving  son,  Nathan 


?on  I)ought 
l(!t,  in  pay. 
lly  of  logs 
litivc  land 
r.  In  the 
attcaux  at 
en  vvilder- 
lio  family 
Nine  days 
I  Granger, 
10  remain- 
oining  lot, 
r  the  Rob- 
r  nearest 
s  '93,  or  4. 
mill  seats 
'the  most 
3  the  first 
•esides   in 

'91,  were, 
irey,  and 

s  early  as 
the  same 
It  was  a 
es,  it  had 
rarded  as 
d  framed 
probably 
.  locality, 
its  fame 
nd  occu- 
ilr.  Oaks 
who  had 
er  dying 
incipally 
He  died 
Nathan 


PIIELP3  AND  GORHAm's    PHRCIIASE.  225 

Oakf!,  a  worthy  representative  of  his  Pioneer  ancestors,  inherits  the 
fine  estate,  thn  fruit  of  h's  grand-father  and  father's  early  enterprise. 
He  is  the  P.  M.  at  Oaks' Corners  ;  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  Truman 
Heminvvay  Esq.,  of  Palmyra  ;  a  sister,  is  the  wife  of  Leman  llotch- 
kiss,  Esq.  of  Vienna. 

As  early  as  ISIO,  the  lessees  ..f  the  Oaks'  stand,  were  Joel  and 
Levi  Thayer,  now  of  Buffalo.  About  th=s  period,  the  long  celebra- 
ted Race  Course,  was  established  ujjon  the  broad  sweep^  of  level 
ground,  upon  the  Oaks  farm,  which  passengers  may  observe  from 
the  cars,  in  the  rear  of  the  church.  For  years,  it  was  a  famous 
gathering  place  for  .sportsmen,  and  amateur  sportsmen  ;  race  horses 
came  to  it  from  the  south,  and  from  Long  Island  and  New  Jersey. 
The  annual  gatherings  there,  were  to  western  New  York,  in  a 
measure,  what  the  State  Fairs  now  ai-  to  the  whole  State. 

Philetus  Swift,  a  brother  of  John  Swift,  of  Palmyra,  was  in 
Phelps  as  early  as  '91.  He  was  an  early  representative  of  Ontario, 
in  Assembly  and  Senate  ;  in  anticipation  of  the  war  of  1818,  hold- 
ing the  rank  of  Col,  he  was  ordered,  with  a  regiment  of  volunteers, 
to  march  to  the  Niagara  Frontier,  and  was  with  his  regiment  at 
Black  Rock,  when  war  was  declared.  He  died  in  1820.  He  left 
no  sons ;  an  only  daughter  by  a  second  marriage,  is  wife  of  Alexis 
Russel,  of  Webster,  Monroe  co. 

Seth  Dean,  was  the  Pioneer  upon  the  site  of  the  present  villat^e 
of  Vienna,  building  a  primitive  grist  and  saw  mill,  upon  Fiint  creek. 
His  mill  was  raised  by  himself  and  l:is  son  Isaac  ;  they  being  unable 
to  procure  any  help.  The  Pioneer  died  in  early  years;  liis  son 
Isaac  resides  in  Adrian,  Michigan,  is  the  father-in-law  of  Addison 
J.  Comstock,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  village  of  Adrian.  Mrs. 
Wells  Whitmore,  of  Vienna,  is  a  daughter  of  Seth  Dean.  Walter 
Dean,  a  brother  of  Seth,  came  in  at  a  later  period.  He  was  the 
father  of  L.  Q.  C.  Dean.  A  daughter  of  his  married  Dr.  Isaac 
Smith,  of  Lockport,  deceased,  and  is  now  the  wile  of  David  Thomas, 
of  Cayuga. 

The  first  merchant  in  Phelps,  was  John  R.  Green,  an  En-llsh 


lrv^"m)~d^''''  .^' i"'  '^  '^P^  ^r"«'''  P»t  <^^  fi'-«t  clioesofo  pro.s.s  in  the  Concsce  coun- 
try;  arid  "Ihcrchy  li;iii','S!it;ilo"  — or,  a  hour  .story.  It  was  in  ciio  of  tho  „I,  If.ti  •  V 
out  ,loor  proHsos ;  a  boar  cune  at  night,  and  entirely  devoured  t  ^  hi^t^^ifa;  ,1  Mi- 
empty  chc'csoourl),  boro  wiiiesa  '""'•-'^  ",  «ia  nia  tratks,  and  tlio 


226 


PHELPS   AND  GOPJIAM's   PITKCHASE. 


ii 


man,  located  at  Oaks'  Corner,..     Leman  llolditiss  and  David  Mc- 
Ne,l,  were  the  first  «,erci,a„ts  in  Vienna  ;  a  firm  of  muci,  enterprise 
command.ng.  for  a  long  period,  the  trade  of  a  wide  region.     Ho    h.' 
.ss    was  the  brother  of  the  late  Judge   Hotchkiss^f  Lew^ten 
He  d,ed  ,n  1822.     His  widow  is  now  Mrs,  Joel  Stearns,  of  Vient' 
H,ram,  of  Lvor^  and  Leraan  B.  of  Vienna,  are  his  son.,,    MoNei 
wa   t  e  first   ',M,  ,„  Phe|,„  appointed  in  ISOI,  he  held  the  offic 
re'-lntott:!'"'-     ''''-'  "■"^'--  "-vidow  survives,  a 
l>r.  Joel  I'reseott,  was  the  early  physieian.     He  was  an  early 
surerv.„r  of  the  town,  and  fbr  several    ears  chairman  of  Z  board 
of  superv,sors  ,>l   Ontario.     He  died  during  the  war  of  ISl-     a 
son  of    ,s,  Imly  Preseott,  recently  died  in  Geneva;  Z  d  te  s'be 
came  „e  w.ves  of  Owen  Edmons.on,  of  Vienna,  a^d  Jame    Da  . 
row,  ot  feeneca  county. 

Elder  Solomon  Goodale,  was  the  first  resident  minister  in  Phelps  • 

was  at  Uaks  Corners Prp«  ivtori-.K.       ti       n-   •  ,• 

uxuLi!,      iieso}teiian  —  the  ofiiciatinfr.mm  ster  the 

se  Lorrnve'^r"""   '^'!"''™"^  """  ^''"  ^'^^'^--  ^^ 
settled  over  a  Weld,  congregation  in  Ohio ;  a  grand-dau-diler,  Jane 

Reese,  was  a  poe,es.s  whose  early  effusions  appeared  ind,e  I'a  my 

«est  Of  Seneca  Lake,  that  of  East  Bloon.f.eld  the  first     ]t  wa, 

01  Col.  Co  t    who  proone,!  ,™bseripti„ns,  and  rented  pews    the 
ava.ls  of  winch,  more  than  paid  for  i,s  con.pletion,     Thad  Zoab 

locati™  "'"  '""■"'"•  ™''='"«i"ally  co„,pe,i,„rs  for  the 

Pioneer''!'™ 't  "T  '"  "  ""'^'  »'  '"' '  """^  '"=»-  ""■  "-"  -""^t 

;5f  ^.  ■t^:;e"z.rJJ;,;l:™:Ii~ 
p:^s:zr,^ii-:;:rr-i;:l^:nw;;i'.^f 
e  was  a  large  landholder.    After  accun,  1,  i  g"     ^t  f:  't 

;  r:'po  ^^u  "fr''-''  "-^  """"■>•  ™^»-'"'". ""  as 

ycdis,  upon  a  llevolutionary  nop.^inn      If.  j:.,!  i,,,.      ,• 

J   1 -. !j^  (j,cu  L'ut  u  lew  years 


David  Mc- 
h  enterprise, 
)n.  Hotch- 
f  Lewiston. 

of  Vienna. 
s.  McNeil 
Id  the  ulfice 

survives,  a 

IS  an  early 
)f  the  board 
af  1812;  a 
ugliters  be- 
anies Dar- 

•  in  Phelps ; 
2ed  church 
inister,  the 
'cs,  and  is 
;hter,  Jane 
he  Palmy. 
ey  Durfee, 
icond  built 
t.     It  was 
m  became 
I  in  charge 
pews,  the 
leus  Oaks 
vas  finish- 
Ts  for  the 

than  most 
;novvn  as 
ry  enter- 

>a,sturago 
It,  where 
'State,  he 
his  lasts 
-'vv  years 


PHELPS   AM)   GORIIAM's   PURCHASE.  227 

since,  at  an  advanced  age.*     His  son,  Jonathan  Melvin,  now  resides 
upon  the  old  homestead. 

Wells  Wlntmore  came  in  with  Jonathan  Oaks  ;  married  a  daucrh- 

S'  .         '•',"'"''  ''''  '""  ^"'"'^'  '''''^''  ''^  <^^'°''gi«.  an  J  Mrs. 
JN'orton,  oi  Vienna,  is  a  daughter. 

John  and  Patrick  Burnett,  brothers,  came  in  1795;  Patrick  left 
m  a  lew  years;  John  became  a  prominent  citizen.  He  held  a 
Captam  s  com.nission  in  the  Revolution.  Wm.  Burnett,  his  son 
was  an  early  supervisor,  magistrate,  and  attained  t'le  rank  of  Brier' 
Oen.  of  mihtia.  He  was  in  service  on  the  Niagara  frontier  in  1813 
and  commanded  the  volunteer  force,  called  out  to  repel  the  British 
mvaders  at  Sodus.  He  died  in  1826;  William  Burnett,  of  Ann 
Arbor,  is  his  son  ;  I\Irs.  Benjamin  Hartwell,  and  Mrs.  Bainbridge  of 
1  helps,  are  his  daughters. 

Cornelius  Westfall  came  in  '95;  purchased  500  acres  of  land ; 
died  in  1832.  His  only  son,  Jacab,  a  Captain  of  a  company  of 
riflemen,  was  killed  in  Queenston  battle. 

Elijah  Gates,  came  in  '95 ;  died  in  1835 :  his  sons  Seth  and  Dan- 
iel, reside  at  the  old  homestead. 

Oliver  Humphrey,  one  of  the  earliest,  died  in  1838;  was  a  Major 
of  Mihtia.  His  son  Hugh  Humphrey,  lives  at  the  old  homestead. 
1-1  IS  brother  Charles,  who  came  in  with  him,  died  a  few  years  since  ; 
his  son  John,  resides  upon  the  homestead. 

Lodowick  Vanderniark,  came  in  '94;  erected  one  of  the  earliest 
saw  mills  on  the  outlet.  He  died  just  previous  to  the  war  of  1812  • 
1-  reder.ck  and  William,  of  Phelps,  are  his  sons.  His  brother  Joseph.' 
who  came  in  with  him,  died  in  181(5. 

Deacon  Jessee  Warner,  one  of  the  earliest,  located  on  site  of 
v.lnge  of  Orleans;  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  churches  at 
Orleans  and  Melvin  Hill.  He  died  in  1835 ;  John  Warner  of  Or- 
leans,  is  his  son. 

Solomon  Warner  was  in  Geneva  as  early  as  '88.  He  located 
near,  a;.d  afterwards  became  the  purchaser  of  a  part  of  the  Old 
('astle  tract,  which  he  sold  to  Jonathan  Whitnev.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Oaks.  He  died  in  .1813;  two  of  his  sons 
reside  in  Michigan,  and  two  at  the  homestead;  daughters  became 

»  In  pnssin^nl.o  01,1  Oastlo,  in  an  early  -lay,  l.o  jnrke.l  m.T.^am  loTinrwns  h,^l^ 
now  Hla..dina  along  tharoaJ,  oa  ias'dd  iar:^:'  ""  "  ^°"^  ''  ''^  *""' '  ""  ''^'^  '''' 


228 


PIIELP3  AlfD  GORIIAM's   PURCnASE. 


the  wives  of  Cephns  ShekclLs,  Alfred  Hooker.  William  Jones.  Rev. 

Znl'        Tu    "•,'""  !^"'^"''  ""''"  '''  y^'''  '^^  =^Se,  resides  in  the 
hous.  Ins  father  btnlt  in  '89,  and  in  winch  he  was  forn 

Col  Ehas  Dickinson,  on.s  of  the  original  purchasers  of  Phelps,  was 
from  Conway.  Mass.  II3  died  in  1804,  or  '5.  His  son.  Cdton, 
was  killed  m  raising  the  church  at  Oaks'  Corners,  in  1804  ;  Samuel 
Dickinson,  die  eminent  printer  and  publisher,  of  Boston,  was  a  son 
of  Colton  Dickinson;  he  was  an  apprentice  of  Elias  Hull  of  Ge- 
neva. Another  son  of  the  old  Pioneer,  was  the  founder  of  the 
large  mills  of  Vienna.     He  died  in  early  years 

Col.  Elms  Cost  wns  a  native  of  Frederick  co.,  Maryland,  a  son 
of  Jacob  Cost;  a  sister  of  his,  was  the  mother  of  Wm:  Cost  John- 

Shekel,  and  Abraham  Simmons,  he  came  to  the  Genesee  country 
The  party  travelled  on  horseback,  coming  i„  via  Mr.  Williamson^s 
Nonhumberland  Road;  upon  40  miles  of  which,  there  was.  then 
but  one  house;  stopped  at  the  Geneva  Hotel,  and  continued  on 

lacTw  h7?  '  ''.  ?"'"'  o'""  ''">'^^""^  Mr.' Williamson, 
lef  ttrhn  ;  o      """  ^^""     ''''  >'^'^"S  adventurers  had 

left  their  horses  at  Oa..  tavern,  and  arriving  at  the  outlet,  at  Ly- 
ons, were  ferried  over  upon  the  back  of  a  stout  backwoodsman,  by 
^    name  of  Hunn.     Shekels  and  Simmons,  bought  land  at  the  Sul 
phur  Springs.     The  party  returned  to  Maryland.     The  next  season 
Col  Cost  came  out  and  purchased  land  near  Oaks'  Corners,  where 
he  has  resided  for  half  a  century.     He  is  now  72  years  o^  a^e 
may  almost  be  said  to  be  robust  in  health;  his  mind  retaining^its 
his  native  ^'•■'!''^''>' '  .'^---'■"^  the  fine  social  qualities,  peculiai-  to 
his  na  ive  region.     His  first  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Shekells 
After  her  death  he  married  the  widow  of  Thaddeus  Oaks  and  was 
t  e  an  lord  of  the  Oaks'  stand  for  fourteen  yea:s.     His  darle." 
he  fruits  of  his  first  marriage,  became  the  wives  of  Thomas^John-' 
son    of  Maryland,  and  Lynham  J.  Reddoe.  a  son  of  John  Beddoe, 
Of   Yates  CO.     An  unmmarried   daughter  whose  mother   was  Mrs 
Oaks    supplies  the  place  of  her  mot'  e  ,  (who  died  recentiv,)  in  1 1^ 
hspitabe  mansion.     Col.  Cost  was  upon  the  frontier  in  tl.  wlr  of 

of  As  "1     ^'r^'';-:''\^'  ."^«  -'•'i-  of  Fort  Erie  ;  was  a  member 
ot  Assembly  from  Ontario,  in  1840. 


.>'oiK._C,,,  c.st,  .li,.,}  i„  Ai;rii  hst^^MUt^u^  wurk  was  in  inv,,. 


PHELPS  AND  GOPwIIAMS  PURCHASE. 


229 


Jones,  Rev. 
esides  in  the 

Phelps,  was 
son,  Colton, 
}4  ;  Samuel 
I,  was  a  son 
Hull  of  Ge- 
ader  of  the 

'land,  a  son 
Cost  John- 
h  Benjamin 
ee  country, 
i/'illiamson's 
3  was.  then 
ntinued  on 
ViJiiamson, 
nturers  had 
tlet,  at  Ly- 
xisman,  by 
at  the  Sul- 
lext  season 
lers,  where 
irs  of  a<re  • 
staining  its 
peculiar  to 
.  Shekells. 
s,  and  was 
daughters, 
mas  John- 
n  Beddoe, 
was  Mrs. 
lly,)  in  his 
he  war  of 
giir.cntof 
1  member 


Benjamin  ShaksU,  who33  advent  is  mentioned  in  connection  with 
Col.  Cost,  died  m  1818.  His  son  Richard  resides  in  Hopewell  ;  a 
daughter,  is  Mrs.  Ste[;Iicns  of  Hopewell.  Samuel  Shekell  came  in 
1803 ;  died  in  18'i3  :  his  son  Thomas  in  1894,  and  opened  a  store 
at  Clifton  Spring-; ;  returning  to  Maryland  in  a  few  years  ;  another 
son,  Jacob  M.,  resides  near  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan  ;  another,  John,  in 
Waterloo  ;  another,  Cophus,  in  Milwaukee.  His  daughters  became 
the  wives  of  Col.  Elias  Cost,  Major  \Vm.  Howe  Cuyler,  Alexander 
Howard,  and  Andrew  Dorsey,  of  Lyons.  The  Shekells  were  trom 
Bladensburg,  Maryland. 

William  Hildreth  was  an  early  merchant  and  distiller ;  was  a 
Supervisor  of  the  town,  and  a  member  of  the  legislature.  He 
creeled  mills  on  Flint  Creek,  was  a  large  farmer,  and  in  all,  a  man 
of  extraordinary  enterprise,  carrying  on  for  many  years  an  exten- 
sive business.  He  died  in  1838;  his  widow  survives.  His  sons, 
William  and  Spencer,  reside  in  Vienna. 

Eleazor,  Cephas  and  Joseph  Hawks,  were  early  settlers  in  Vienna. 
Cephas  Hawks,  just  previous  to  the  war,  erected  a  large  woolen 
factory  at  Whitj  Sprin  s,  on  the  Nicholas  (now  Mrs.  Loe's)  f\irm, 
near  Geneva  ;  bought  the  fine  wool  of  the  Wadsworths  ;  sold  cloth 
at  from  85  to  $12  per  yard  ;  made  money  rapidly  ;  but  low  prices 
ond  consequent  failure  succeeded  at'ler  the  war.  He  emigrated  to 
Michigan.     Benjamin  F.  H  iwks,  of  Vienna,  is  a  son  of  Eleazor. 

Luiher  Root  was  the  first  clothier  in  Phelps ;  he  died  25  years 
since  ;  his  widow  and  sons  are  residenis  of  ViiMuia. 

The  town  of  Phelps  was  first  the  "J'istrict  of  Sullivan;"  the 
first  tov/n  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Jonathan  Oaks,  in  1796. 
Jonathan  Oaks  was  cho.sen  Supervisor,  Solomon  Goodale,  Town 
Clerk.  Other  town  ofTiccrs  :  —  Joel  Prescott,  Philetus  Swift,  Pierce 
Granger,  Cornelius  Westfall,  Abraham  F.  Spurr,  Chas.  Humphrey, 
Elijah  Gates,  Augustus  Dickinson,  John  Patton,  Wells  Whitmore, 
Jonathan  Melvin,  Oliver  Humphrey,  Patrick  Burnett,  Jesrse  Warner, 
Oliver  Humphrey,  Phil(>!us  Swift,  Augustus  Dickinson,  Joel  Prescott, 
Oliver  Humphrey,  Solomon  Goodale. 

A  "gratuity  of  four  pounds"  was  voted  for  "every  wolf's  head 
that  shall  be  killed  in  this  district  by  an  inhabitant  thereof." 

At  a  court  of  special  sessions  of  Ontario  county,  in  June,  17CG, 
name  was  changed  to  ''Dist.ict  of  Phelps." 

In  February,  1797,  u  special  town  meeting  was  called  "for  the 


230 


PIIELP3  AND   GOPJIAm's  PURCKASE. 


purpose  Of  establishing  some  regulations  in  roforencc  to  schools." 
After  the  town  had  assu.ned  his  name,  Mr.  Phelps  save  an  enter- 
a.n.ent  at  Oal.-Wn,  and   a  jovial    time  tL  b'ackwLsmen 
had  of  It,  as  but  few  of  them  live  to  recollect. 


GEWEVA. 

While  the  Pioneer  events  we  have  been  recordinjr,  were  jroincr 
on  m  other  localities,  the  little  village  of  Kanadesaga,  at  the  foot  ,3? 
beneca  Lake,  had  been  going  a  head   under  the  auspices  of  Reed 
and  Ryckman    and  the  Lessees.     In  the  compromise  with  Phelps 
and  Gorham,  the  Lessees  had  come  in  possession  of  townships  6,  7, 
and  8  m  the  1st  Range,  and  9  in  the  2d.     These  townships  were 
deeded  to  the  Lessees  under  tlie  name  of  the  "New  York  Com- 
pany ;"  and  a  fifth    township  (No.  9  in  the   1st.)   was  deeded  to 
Benton  and  Livingsto.."  *     "  In  the  fall  of  1788,"  savs  a  manu- 
script m  the  author's  possession,  "number  8  was  divided  into  lots 
and  balloted  lor  at  Geneva;  Benjamin  Barton,  sen.,  at  that   time 
being  agent  for  the  Niagara  (or  Canada)  Company,  drew  the  num- 
ber of  lots   assigned    to  them  ;  and  Messrs.  Benton    and  Birdsall 
being  present,  drew  for  themselves  and  associates  "  f 

In  the  fall  of  1788,  about  the  time  that  the  Pioneer  movements 
were  making  at  Canandaigua,  Geneva  had  become  a  pretty  brisk 
p  ace ;  the  focus  of  speculators,  explorers,  the  Less(>e  Company  and 
their  agents  ;  and  the  principal  seat  of  thelnxlian  trade  tor  a  wide 
region.  Horatio  Jones  was  living  in  a  log  house  covered  with 
bark,  on  the  bank  of  the  Lake,  an.l  had  a  small  stock  of  goods  for 
the  Indian  trade;  Asa  Ransom  (the  afterwards  Pioneer  at  Buffalo 


*  Bui.  the  four  townships  were  included  in  tJ.e  coinproniiso     Benton  ^ind  T  i  in^^f 
were  nroinmont  union"  tlip  L("W'>i^  •  iml  ..^ti,,..-  ., .    '.,',•     ',',"^""  -i""  Unng^toii 

ti» iHt,  „t  ii„s„;  v-rf,-'„;„i  rl:!.  ';::;IJ;  ..'':!.,;'"'"'.'■"■'•■'■.'■  ™j  h  ■••t 


:  o.k iuid  Canada  joint  Lc-sce  Coinpanic.i 


all 


to  schools." 
/a  an  enter- 
kvvoodsmen 


were  going 
the  foot  (>f 
i'.i  of  Reed 
vith  Phelps 
nships  6,  7, 
ships  were 
fork  Corn- 
deeded  to 
.'s  a  manu- 
d  into  lots, 
that  time 
'  the  nuin- 
1  Birdsall, 

lovements 
rettj  brisk 
ipany  and 
'or  a  wide 
ired  with 
goods  for 
at  Buffalo 


1  Living-itoii 

lip   hy  j;iir- 
ig  the  coiiv 

IP,  witli  tlu> 
I!  lots  tlicv 
t,V  thcrcoC." 
I'l.'iiijiM  was 
I  Iho  Liiko 
"t,"  wliich 
B  iiiiniu  of 
Eind  liy  all 


PITELPS   AND  GORnAM's   PURCHASE.  231 

and  Ransom's  Grove,)  occupied  a  hut,  and  was  manufacturing 
Indian  trinkets;  Lark  Jennings  had  a  log  tavern  on  the  baidv  of 
the  Lake ;  the  Lessee  Company  had  a  framed  tavern  and  trading 
establishment,  covered  with  bark,  on  the  Lake  shore,  "near  where 
the  bluff  approaches  the  Lake,"  winch  was  occupied  by  Dr.  Ben- 
ton. There  was  a  cluster  of  log  houses  all  along  on  the  low  grounrl 
aear  the  Lake  shore.  The  geographical  designations  wer°e  '•  hill 
md  bottom."  Peter  Ryckman  and  Peter  Bortle  were  residing 
there,  and  several  others  whose  names  are  not  recollected.  Cot 
Seth  Reed  was  residing  at  the  Old  Castle.  Dominick  Debartzch, 
an  Indian  trader  from  Montreal,  was  rather  the  great  man  of  the! 
country.  His  ])rincipal  seat  was  the  Cashong  farm,  which  he 
claimed  as  an  Indian  grant,  and  where  he  had  a  trading  establish- 
ment ;  though  his  trade  extended  to  the  western  Indians,  among 
whom  he  went  after  selling  his  claim  to  the  Cashong  iarm  to  the 
late  Major  Bsnj.  Barton,  of  Lewiston.* 

The  Lessees  were  then  strenuously  claiming  all  of  the  lands  of 
the  six  nations  up  to  the  old  pre-emption  line.'  A  letter  from  one 
of  the  company  at  Geneva,  to  one  of  the  Canada  associates,  dated 
m  Nov.  '88,  speaks  confidently  of  a  compromise  with  the  State,  "  by 
which  we  shall  be  enabled  to  hold  a  part,  if  not  the  whole  of  "the  lands 
contained  in  our  lease."  To  further  this  object,  it  is  prop.,sed  that 
the  Canada  miluence  shall  bo  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Indians ;  and 
th.it  a  strong  delegation  of  the  chiefs  shall  be  at  Albany  whe'n  the 
legislature  meets,  and  "retnonstrate  openly  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
State,  against  the  late  proceedings  at  Fort  Stanwix,  and  d'emand  the 
restitution  of  their  lands."t  In  April  and  M^iv,  1789,  the  New 
York  company  held  out  to  their  Canada  associates,  the  strongest 
assurances  of  being  enabled  with  their  assistance,  to  induce  the'ln- 
Jians  to  abide  by  the  Lease,  instead  of  their  cessions  to  the  State  • 
hut  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  they  began  to  be  disposed  to  take  what- 
ever they  could  get.     In  September,  one  of  the  auditors  of  the  "  New 


John  FI.  Jom-  y  hu.«.,l  tlie  conf.rn.ahon  of  lliis  ],a,-ai.<.     Mi>jor  Barton,  in  part 
pavwiont,  pulled  .,11  Ins  ovorcnnt,  un.l  ^-.-.v,.  it  to  l),.I,iu-tzdi.     It  Jian  heretofore   beoi 
SMd    hat  In,,  pureluwewiis  iniule  of  Pondry.     ^fr.  Jones  correefs    this,  and  savs  Ih-it 
ondry  at  the  tune  was  a  servant  of  Debarty.ch,  o.va^ioually  a:s,ssi:sting  liinfiu  the 
Indian  trade.     Botli  gloried  m  native  wive.?. 

tin  llio  inoiith  of  Septend)er  preeeding,  tlio  Ononda-aH  had,  at  a  treaty  at  Fort 
btiinwix,eeded  their  lauds  to  the  Slate;  and  in  the  aaiue  month,  tho  Ou-'l^Jas  i<ad 
ceuod  tiieira 


232 


PnELI»S  AND  GOEILUl's  PDIICIIASE. 


I:| 


York  Genesee  Compiny,"  writing  to  tiie  "  Niagara  Gancsee  Com- 
pany,"  says  :— "  Our  business  has  fallen  much  short  of  our  first  idea;" 
and  after  -.yA  ing  their  concurrence  in  a  proposed  compromise  with 
the  State,  the  letter  closes  with,  "  I  am,  with  due  respect,  but  like 
the  rest  of  the  company  at  this  time,  somewhat  dejected,  your  very 
humble  servant." 

All  that  w;;s  done  at  Geneva  previous  to  the  spring  of  1793,  was 
under  the  auspices  of  Reed  and  Ryckman  and  the  Lessees.  The 
little  backwoods  village  th,':t  had  grown  up  there,  the  scattered  set- 
tlements in  the  Lessee  towns  and  upon  the  Gore,  and  at  Jerusalem, 
constiti'.ted  a  majority  perhaps  of  all  the  population  west  of  Seneca 
Lake.  "  'i'hc  district  of  Seneca,"  which,  so  far  as  organization  was 
concerned,  embraced  all  the  region  north  to  Lake  Ontario,  and  the 
Lessee  towns,  had  its  first  town  meeting  in  April,  1793.  It  was  held 
at  the  house  of  Joshua  Fairbanks,  who  still  survives,  a  resident  of 
Lewiston.  Niagara  county.  Ezra  Patterson  was  chosen  Supervisor, 
Thomas  Sisson,  Town  Clerk.  Othor  town  officers,  Oliver  Whit- 
more,  Jas.  llice,  Phineas  Pierce,  Patrick  Burnett,  Samuel  Wheedon, 
Peter  Bortio,  Jr.,  Sanfdrd  Williams,  Jonatlian  Oaks,  David  Smith 
Benjamin  Tuttic,  Win.  Smith,  Jr.,  David  Benton,  Benj.  Di.Kon,' 
Amos  Jenks,  John  Reed,  Caleb  Culver,  Charles  Harris,  Stephen 
Sisson,  W.  Whilmore,  Joseph  Kilbourn,  Seba  Squires. 

In  1791,  Aii.brose  Hull  was  Sup  ■s\  isor.     Store  and  tavern  licen- 
scs  were  granted  to  Graham  S.  Scott,  Thomas  Sergeants,  Joseph 
Annin,  Ilewson  &  Co.     1795,  Timothy  Allen  was  Supervisor,  and 
Samuel  Colt,  Town  Clerk  ;  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Ezr.i  Patterson,  who  was  chosen  Supervisor  of  the  town  for  several 
successive  years.     In  1800,  the  numl'cr  of  persons  assessed  to  work 
on  the  highways  in  the  town  of  Seneca,  was  290. 
^Mr.  Williamson  turned  his  attention  to  Geneva,  in  the  spring  of 
1793 ;  and  as  will  be  observed,  many  of  the  early  reminiscences  of 
the  locality  occur  in  connection  with  him.     In  fact,  Geneva  is  more 
or  less  mingled  with  the  earliest  events  of  the  whole  region.     It  was 
the  door  or  gateway  to  the  Genesee  country,  and  there  our  race  first 
made  a  stand  preliminary  to  farther  advances. 

Herman  II.  Bogert,  conunenced  the  practice  of  law  in  Geneva, 
in  1797,  being  now  the  oldest  resident  member  of  the  profession' 
except  Judge  Ifowell,  in  western  New  York.  His  father  was  Isaac 
Bogert,  a  captain  in  the  Revolution,  attached  to  the  ISow  York  line  ' 


PHELPS  AND  GORnAM's  PURCHASE. 


233 


ncsce  Com- 
r  first  idea;" 
romise  with 
ct,  but  like 
I,  your  very 

'  1703,  was 
isees.  Tile 
atlcred  set- 
Jerusalem, 
;  of  Seneca 
lization  was 
•io,  aad  the 
It  was  held 
resident  of 
Supervisor, 
liver  Whit- 
I  Wheedon, 
ivid  Smith, 
•nj.  Dixon, 
is,  Stephen 

ivern  licen- 
its,  Joseph 
rvisor,  and 
e  house  of 
for  several 
ed  to  work 

!  spring  of 
5cences  of 
va  is  more 
fi.  It  was 
r  race  first 

n  Geneva, 
Profession, 
was  Isaac 


^ork  !i 


nc; 


was  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Stanwix,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  be- 
came  a  merchant  in  Albany.  The  son  was  preceded  in  his  profes- 
sion  at  Geneva,  only  by  Henry  II.  Van  Rensselaer,  who  remained 
but  a  lew  years. 

Mr.  Bogei'  observes,  that  at  the  period  he  came  to  Geneva,  land 
speculations  were  at  their  height ;  high  prices  were  the  order  of  the 
day;  board  was  S  1,00  per  week  at  the  hotel;  and  all  things  were 
going  on  as  swimmingly  as  in  the  later  years,  183G,  '37.  Eligible 
building  lots  of  three-fourths  of  an  acre'>  sold  for  8500 ;  farmin.T 
lands  in  the  neighborhood,  sold  for  85,00  an  acre,  that  afterward" 
brought  but  $2  and  83,00.  .Mr.  Williamson  had  a  slocp  upon  the 
Lake  that  was  engaged  in  bringing  down  lumber.  The  mail  was 
brought  from  Albany  once  in  two  weeks  upon  horseback.  Mr.  Wil- 
liamson's head  quarters  were  then  i)rincipally  at  the  Genera  Hotel. 
In  addition  to  his  other  enterprizes,  he  was  a'ctivelv  engaged  in  the 
construction  of  the  turnpike. 

Mr.  Bogert  is  now  77  years  of  age  ;  his  wife,  the  daughter  of 
John  Witbeck,  of  Red  Hook,  who  also  survives,  is  73.  Charles  A. 
Bogert  of  Dresden,  Yates  county,  is  a  son;  a  daughter  became  the 
wife  of  Derick  C.  Delamater,  of  Columbia  county  ^  another,  of  Her- 
man  Ten  Eyck,  of  Albany ;  another,  of  Godfrey  J.  Grosvcnor,  of 
Geneva. 

Early  lawyers  in  Geneva,  other  than  Mr.  Bogert,  Pollydore  B 
Wisner,  Daniel  W.  Lewis,  Robert  W.  Stoddard,  John  Collins,  Da- 
vid Hudson.  Mr.  Wisner  was  an  early  District  Attorney.  He 
died  in  1814.  He  was  from  Orange  county;  studied  law  with 
Richard  Varick ;  at  one  period  member  of  the  Legislature.  Mr. 
Lewis  died  within  a  few  years  in  Buffalo,  leaving  no  chikircn.  An 
adopted  daughter  of  his  was  the  wife  of  Stephen  K.  Grosvenor,  and 
IS  now  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Shelton,  of  BufTlilo.  Mr.  Stoddard 
died  in  1847.  A  son  of  his  is  a  practicing  lawver  in  Brooklyn,  and 
another  son  is  an  officer  of  the  navy.  Mr.  Collins  is  now  a  prac- 
ticing lawyer  in  Angelica.  Mr.  Hudson  still  survives,  and  contin- 
ues a^resjdent  of  Geneva.     Mr.  Parks  is  yet  a  practicing  Attorney 

NoTE.-Mr.  T!oi,rcrt,aiu.n.g^.thor  interesting  reininisccnoe.s  of  early  tiiiios,  wlii^ 
V-!l7  "'tT  ''""^  "'  "^•^";«'"'"-'«i""^.  «]'«>k.  of  a  niavke.1  evont-a'\l,under!  o  ,     ' 

Zo   Zir^'P'Tn"*'''^  'l""'"^  succession,  of  tiunuler;  not  nnlike  the  rc- 

hudtw  I'u'aiiek  '" '  ''"'  ^  '""'''  of  grandeur  and  terror,  U.at  h-a. 

15 


234 


PHELPS  AND    GORIIAm's   PURCHASE. 


in  Geneva.  He  studied  law  with  Lewis  and  Collins,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  1814.  In  the  war  of  1812,  he  was  upon  the 
frontier,  and  in  the  battle  of  Queenston,  in  command  of  a  company 
of  volunteers. 

The  early  merchants  of  Geneva,  other  than  those  who  were  loca- 
ted there  under  Indian  and  Lessee  occupancy,  were :  Grieve  and 
Moflat,  Samuel  Colt,  Richard  M.  Williams,  Elijah  H.  Gordon, 
Richard  M.  Bailey,  Abraham  Dox.  Grieve  &  Motlatt  established 
the  first  brewery  in  all  this  region.  Mr.  Grieve  was  in  the  employ 
of  Mr.  Williamson,  in  the  earliest  years,  as  it  is  presumed  Mr.  Mof- 
fat wa-',  as  his  name  occurs  in  connection  with  the  early  move- 
ments at  Sodus.  Mr.  Grieve  was  out  in  the  war  of  1812,  a  colonel, 
under  Gen.  McClure.  He  died  in  1835.  Mr.  Moffat  removed  to 
Buffalo.  Richard  M.  Williams  became  a  farmer  in  Middlesex,  On- 
ta-  io  county,  (or  in  Yates  county)  where  he  died  a  few  years  since  ; 
a  son  of  his  was  lately  in  the  Senate  of  this  State.  Mr!  Colt  was  a 
lirothcrof  Joseph  Colt,  the  early  merchant  of  Canandaigua,  Auburn, 
and  Palmyra.  lie  removed  to  New  York,  and  on  a  visit  to  Ge- 
neva, attending  tiie  com'mencement  at  the  College,  he  died  suddenly, 
at  the  Hotel,  in  1831.  Mr.  Baily  is  still  living.  He  entered  the 
regular  army  in  1812;  had  a  staff  appointment,  was  taken  prisoner 
at  the  battle  of  Queenston;  went  to  Quebec  in  company  with  Gen. 
Scott,  where  he  was  parolled. 

Elijah  H.  Gordon  is  one  of  the  three  or  four  survivors  of  all  who 
were  residents  of  Geneva  previous  to  1798 ;  is  in  his  80th  year. 
His  goods  came  in  early  years,  from  Schenectady,  via  the  usual 
\vater  route,  costing  for  transportation,  generally  about  $3  per  cwt. 
Barter  trade,  in  furs  especially,  constituted  his  principal  early  busi- 
ness ;  potash  and  ginseng  was  added  after  a  icw  vears. 

Mr.  Gordon  was  a  Judge  of  Ontario  county  courts  in  early  years ; 
and  the  second  Post  Master  at  Geneva,  succeeding  Walter  Grieves,' 
who  was  the  first.  His  two  sons,  John  H.,  and  Wm.  W.  Gordon,' 
reside  in  Washington,  Louisana. 

Dr.  Adams  was  a  physician  in  Geneva  in  the  earliest  years  of 
settlement.  Dr.  John  Henry  and  Daniel  Goodwin,  were  the  ear- 
liest permanent  physicians.  Dr.  Henry  died  in  1812.  Dr.  Good- 
win removed  to  Detroit,  where  he  died  a  few  years  since.  Stephen 
A.  Goodwin,  an  attorney  at  law,  in  Auburn,  is  a  son  of  his ;  another 
son,  Daniel  Goodwin,  is  an  attorney  in  Detroit. 


M 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAm's   PURCHASE. 


235 


ind  was  ad- 
is  upon  the 
a  company 

were  loca- 
Grieve  and 
[I.  Gordon, 
established 
the  employ 
d  Mr.  Mof- 
'arly  niove- 
I,  a  colonel, 
removed  to 
Idlesex,  On- 
,'ears  since ; 

Colt  was  a 
iH,  Auburn, 
visit  to  Ge- 
d  suddenly, 
intered  the 
en  prisoner 
.'  rtith  Gen. 

;  of  all  who 
80th  year. 
I  the  usual 
83  per  cwt. 
early  busi- 

arly  years ; 
er  Grieves, 
V".  Gordon, 

t  years  of 
re  the  ear- 
Dr.  Good- 
Stephen 
3;  another 


A  Presbyterian  society  wa  orjranized  in  Geneva,  as  early  as 
1798.  In  July  of  that  year,  a  meeting;  was  held ;  John  Fulton  and 
Oliver  Wliitmore  presided ;  Oliver  Whitmore,  Elijah  Wilder,  Sep- 
timus Evans,  Ezra  Patterson,  Samuel  Latta,  Wm.  Smith,  jr.,  and 
Pollydore  B.  'Winner,  were  chosen  trustees.  The  Rev.  Jedediah 
Chapman  became  the  first  settled  minister,  continuing  as  such, 
until  hi3  death  in  1813.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Henry 
Axtell.     The  society  built  a  church  in  1811. 

In  180G,  "  nineteen  persons  of  full  age,  belonging  to  the  Protest- 
ant  Episcopal  church,  assembled,  and  there  being  no  Rector,  John 
Nicholas  presided."  Trinity  church  was  organized  by  the  election 
of  the  following  officers :— John  Nicholas  and  Daniel  W.  Lewis, 
Wardens;  Samuel  Shekel!,  John  Collins,  Robert  S.  Rose,  Richard 
Hughes,  Ralph  T.  Wood,  David  Nagler,  Jas.  Reese,  Thomas  Pow- 
ell, Vestrymen. 

The  Rev.  Davenport  Phelps  was  the  first  officiating  clergyman ; 
was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Orrin  Clark,  who  officiated  for  many 
years.  He  died  in  1828.  The  society  erected  a  church  in  1809, 
which  was  removed,  and  its  site  occupied  by  the  present  Trinity 
Church,  in  1845. 

Baptist  and  Methodist  societies  were  organized,  and  churches 
erected,  soon  alter  the  war  of  1812,  but  the  author  has  no  farther 
record  or  information  concerning  them. 

Among  the  earliest  mechanics  at  Geneva,  were  :  Wm.  Tappan, 
John  and  Abraham  B.  Hall,  John  Sweeny,  Elisha  Douner,  Moses 
Hall,  W.  W.  Watson,  John  Woods,*  Lucius  Gary,  Jonathan  Doane,t 
Foster  Barnard,  Richard  Lazalere,  Jacob  and  Joseph  Backenstose.'j 

John  Nicholas,  emigrated  from  Virginia,  and  settled  at  Geneva 
m  1804.  He  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  but  had  retired  from 
practice.  He  was  for  several  terms,  a  member  of  the  State  Senate, 
and  a  Judge  of  the  courts  of  Ontario.     He  engaged  extensively  in 


*  Mr.  Wood,  was  also  an  eai'Iy  landlord. 

t  He  erected  the  primative  cliurclies ;  was  the  father  of  Bishop  Dcano  of  Xew  Jer- 
sey, who  received  his  primary  education  in  Oenevii. 

t  Thev  were  brothers,  came  to  Geneva  in  tlio earliest  years.  Thev  were  the  pioneer 
tailors  of  the  Genesee  country.  Time  was,  when  to  wear  a  coatlVoiu  (heir  press  board 
marked  the  wearer  as  an  aristocrat.  Men  going  to  Ct)ngreHs,  or  the  Legislature  (jen- 
cnilly  got  it  coat  liom  a  "(lenevii  milor,"  but  never  before  election.  "GeiR>rals''~and 
"Colonels"  sotnelimes  indulged  insucli  an  extravagant  lu.\ury.  Tlie  surviviu"-  sons  of 
Jacob,  are  :— John  Harkenstore  a  mercliant  of  Geneva,  and  Jacob  and  Frederick,  of 
iiloomtield.    Jacob  Barkcustorc  yet  survives,  a  residout  of  LocJijiort. 


t 


236 


rilELPS   AND  OOUIIAm's   PUUCIIASE. 


agricultural  pursuits,  owning  nnd  occupying  llio  large  farm  after 
wards  iMirchased  by  Cidcm  Loo.     Judge   Nicholas  died  in   1817. 
iris  surviving  sons  arc  Rol)ert(J.  Nicholas,  Lavvson  Nicholas,  Gavin 
L.  Nicholas,  John  Nicholas ;  a  daoghter  became  the  wife  of  Abra- 
ham Dox,  and  another  the  wife  of  Dr.  Leonard,  of  Lansingburg. 

Robert  S.   Rose,  a  broth<'r-in-law  of  Judg(^  Nichr.las,  emigrated 
with  him  from  Virginia.     He  located  upon  a  finm  on  the  oirposite 
side  of  Seneca  Lake,  where  for  many  years,  he  was  one  of  the 
largest  farmers  in  westc-rn  New   York.     Roth  he  and  Judge  Nich- 
olns,  wore  at  one  j.eriod  extensive  wool  growers,  and  did  much  to 
promote  the  imi)n)vement  of  sheo[)  husbandry  in  this  region.     He 
was  for  (.ik;  or  two  terms,  a  rei)resentativo  in  Congress.  "  He  died, 
suddenly,  :.t  Waterloo,  in  1815.*     His  widow,  who  was  of   the 
Virgmiu  family  of  T.awsons,  so  liighly  esteemed  for  her  quiet  and 
unobtrusive  charities,  and  especially  for  her  zealous  aid  to  the  Epis- 
copal church,  whose  doctrines  she  adorned  through  life,  died  in 
1817,  or  '8.     The   surviving  sons,  are:  — Dr.  Lawsmi  C.'roso  cf 
Geneva;    John  an<l  Henry  lios*.,  of  Jerusalem,    Yates   county; 
Robert  L.  Rose,  of  Allen's  Hill,  Ontario  county,  late  a  representative 
m  Congress,  from  the  Ontario  and  Livingston  district,  and  Charles 
Rose,  ol  the   town  of  Rose,  Wayne  county.     A  daughter  became 
the  wile  ol  Robert  C.Nicholas;  nnother,  the  wife  of  Hopkins  Sill 


i;;! 


Bill i:v  REMIN ISCKXCES. 


From  old  nowspnper  fil,..^  ]m^^ovvcd  by  James  Bogart  Es,,.,  nn  early  and 
wortl.y  ,.on.  .,..(,„•  of  (l,e  ,K.usp...,,..r  press  i„  Ontnno.ounty.  ' ^W  sJsonic 
ac...,.Ml  u       ...  early  prin(..rs  and  edif.rs  of  (he  (!en,  sec  eonntry. 

In  Hath  (.azette   17!)!),  by  an  advertisement,  it  woul.l  seen,  il.at  the  "  Uath 

iH.a  re    was,,,  l„h  UtH.     The  plays  annunnee,!,  arc  tho  "Mock  Doctor,  or 

the    ),,,,.,  J.,,  ye,,,vd'      "  A  peep  into  the  Se,.aglio."     -Pit,   six  .hilii,,  >.; 

(.alley  three  .slnlhngs."     In  same  pape,',  (Jeo,'go  M'Chiro,  announees  that  lie 


*  In  iwlv  lif,.  lu-  li;ul  eM(vi-(ai,.(..l  a  iM-eser.tin.etit  of  ,su.M<.|i  .lei.Ui,  arisi,«-  fn.m  sonu- 
.sor,.u„/,a„n„  ,n  ,)„.  ,-...um  ..f  ,1...    lK,,rt.     Jlany  y..;.rs   j-iovious  ,  ,  l,is  .K.    l/   .      ul 

.1  t  ..t  st..,,,„„-  ,nt,.  I„.s  sii.,.;!,  to  refii,-,,  l.o.ne,  l\.ll  nm\  .s,„m,  expi,v,l      So  iluJi,,  \  '  s 


farm  affcr 
d  in   1817. 
jlas,  Gavin 
0  of  Abra- 

emigrated 
le  opposite 
t)nc  of  the 
idge  Nich- 
ifl  Miuch  to 
gion.  He 
He  (lied, 
:as  of  the 

quiet  and 
3  the  Epis- 
e,  died  in 
'.  Rose,  of 
s  county ; 
esentative 
id  Ciiarles 
sr  became 
)pk ins  Sill 


PlffiLPS   AND    GOKIIAm's    PUIICIIASE. 


237 


1  early  and 
'"  Soo  some 

the  "  Jjatl! 

l)oct(ir,  or 
v  .^liilliiu^'s; 
u'cstiiat  lie 


C  fn>m  sonic 
I'.-ilh  lie  ]i;i(l 
I  with  siinu- 
and  in  the 
itiiiliii!,'  «'a.s 

ill!  CXi'^t']!- 


l>a«  r^K.m..l  a  "  house 'of  ontert^iinmont,"  at  IJath.     Bath  races  arc  advertised. 
"iN..rlliiiinl,-rl;iiirl  and  Siinhiirv   (iazcttc  "   lino-       rJ„„.|,  •   w,\v 

per  aero  to  actual  settlors."     H..  says:  — "A    vill...c  ell    l    i/- jV       ,' 
islaid  oatat  „K.  j.,.K.tion   of  the  i.a....^  ^H  '^^     '    o  ^^^'tZ 

ihe  Mla^.,  ^v,il  l.ayo  the  advantage  of  asci.ool,  chureh,  dro."  "MechanL 
;v""te.  ,  to  whom  vi  lage  lots  will   lu,  donated."      "Mr.'  W  liiam  .n  lo^ 
eavo  t.,  n,tunM  th.  (icru.an  settle,  in  JVnnsylvania,  that  h.  ..pel  Z    2 
o     he  annal  of  400  Saxons  fion.  (J.rmany,  who  havetak...  u,  land    in   it 
Oene,s,.o  o.Minli y.     Th.y  sailed  tVnm  Hamifun^  in  April  la.t  "  * 

M  t    .t  .hey  vv.ll  contract  the  n.aking  of  a  turnpike  from  Onondaga  llollol 
U)  Gc.ncva,  anc   n>ake  payn.u.t  for  the  same  "in  g.,.d  land."     In  s^„,e  „  Z 
It  .s  announced  that  "Sloop   Seneca,   will  sail  fmm  (icneva  <-Nery  lUZ 
^vndand  wvather  pcrn-,i„in.,   fur  the  head  of  the  Lake,  andwiV^lT; 

tained'hv'')  ^7u  u""^'  ^J"""'  !«"«  =  -  "I^<-tive  proof  has  been  ob- 
;  d    ■  ,?  '"^     "•  .^^'l^'^/"orr.ey  o-eneral  for  Keaitncky  district,  that  Burr 

Ind  fon /in';    ']{r';'^'^M  ^^f-^  ^var  against  Si-ain,  invadiLg  Mexico, 
and  toiijiing  a  distuict  empn-o  m  the  western  "country." 


JAMES  REESE. 


In  all  our  country  there  are  but  few  survivors  of  our  Revolution- 
ary  period -not  one.  perhaps- certainly  not  in  our  local  region, 
survives,  who  was  so  familiar  with  its  stirring  events  as  the  venera- 
ble .James  Reese,  of  Geneva,  now  in  his  87th  year.     Enterin-  the 
counting  house  of  Willing  &  Morris,  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  memora- 
ble year  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  he  remained  thereuntil 
tlie  close  of  the  long  struggle  that  ensued.     Transferred  from  the 
commercial  department  of  the  firm  to  the  private  desk,  and  confi- 
dence, of  one  of  its  partners,  Robert  Morris,  then  so  blended  with 
and  so  particiinitnig  in  all  that  was  transpiring,  it  may  well  be  con- 
ceived that  his  yet  vigorous  mind  is  a  rich  storehouse  of  historical 
reminiscences.     The  man  survives,  a  citizen  of  our  own  local  region 
who  was  a  witness  of  the  interviews  that  often  occurred  between 
Geo.   VVashmgton  and  Robert  Morris ;  when  he  who  wielded  the 


: i::'^£rir:;:i^i::::;::{::S'z^^     ^^^  ^^^^^  -  that  the  eatc^ns. 


238 


PHELPS  AKD    OORIIAM'S   PURCHASE. 


■i    ' 


1-1 


sword,  would  meet  him  who  wielded  the  purse,  and  the  two,  with 
painful  anxiety,  surrounded  by  embarrassments  —  with  an  unclothed 
and  unpaid  army,  and  an  empty  treasury  —  would  discuss  the  por- 
tentuous  questions,  the  ways  and  means  of  our  nation's  deliverance. 
When  unpaid  armies,  disheartened,  wore  down  by  fatigue  and  pri- 
vation,  would  threaten  dispersion  and  a  return  to  their  long  neglect- 
ed  homes ;  when  even  their  sicit-hearted  leader  would  temporarily 
yield  to  despondency,  and  almost  in  despair  appeal  to  him  whose 
financial  expedients  were  seemingly  exhaustless,  for  council  and 
aid. 

The  printed  notes  of  hand  that  Mr.  Morris  issued  in  several 
emergencies  during  the  Revolution,  — especially  those  used  in  addi- 
tion to  the  sum  borrowed  of  the  French  to  enable   Wa.-^hington  to 
put  the  army  upon  its  march,  preparatory  to  the  battle  of  Yoiitown, 
were  filled  up  and  afterwards  cancelled   by  Mr.   Reese.     Of  the 
hundreds  in  Mr.  Morris'  employment  at  that  period,  in  all  his  com- 
mercial relations  — as  Superintendent  of  the  finances,  and  Secre- 
taryof  the  Treasury  — Mr.  Reese  alone  survives.     His  position 
brought  him  in  contact,  and  made  him  acquainted  with  the  leaders 
or  both  the  American  and  French  army,  and  the  officers  of  the 
Navy,  of  those  whose  memories  are  embalmed  in  a  nation's  heart. 
He  names  them  with  all  the  familiarity  of  recent  intercourse  ;  but 
there  are  few,  if  any,  in  the  long  list  that  have  not  gone  to  their  final 
rest^     He  is  one  of  the  few  remaining  links  that  connect  the  Past 
with  the  Present  — and  his  is  not  only  in  reference  to  our  national 
history,  but  to  the  Pioneer  history  of  our  local  region. 

Mr.  Reese's  first  visit  to  this  region  was  as  clerk  or  secretary  to 
the  commissloutM;s  for  holding  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  at   " Big 
Tree, "  commonly  called  the  Morris'  treaty.     Returning  to  Phila- 
delphia he  acquired  an  interest  in  the  new  region,  and  in  1798,  he 
removed  his  family  to  Geneva,  where  he  has  since  resided,  with' the 
exception  of  one  year  spent  in  Bath,i>.  connection  with  the  land  of- 
fice there.     When  Mr.  Williamson  canje  out  as  the  Pultnev  agent 
his  first  business  was  v^ith  Mr.  Morris,  where  Mr.  Reese  became 
one  of  his  earliest  acquaintances  in  this  country.     On  arriving  here, 
he  entered  into  his  agency  service,  and   after  that,  was  his  private 
agent  until  he  returned  to  England. 


le  two,  with 
n  unclothed 
iss  the  por- 
loliverance. 
jue  and  pri- 
)ng  neglect- 
temporarily 
him  whose 
iouncil  and 

in  several 
!ed  in  addi- 
shington  to 
York  town, 
!e.  Of  the 
ill  his  com- 
and  Secre- 
is  position 
the  leaders 
ers  of  the 
on's  heart. 
Durse  ;  but 
I  their  final 
t  the  Past 
ir  national 

cretary  to 
I,  at  "  Big 
;to  Phila- 
1  1798,  he 
I,  with  the 
e  land  of- 
ley  agent, 
le  became 
ving  here, 
is  private 

of  the  work 


PHELPS  AND   GORIIAM's    PURCHASE.  239 

He  was  appointed  cashier  to  the  old  Bank  of  Geneva  when  it 
went  into  operation.  He  was  in  service  during  the  war  of  ISiy,  as 
a   Deputy  Quartermaster  of  the   Northern   Division  of  the  Army  • 

StiTlnrv^T'  l"  ''"%""''''  ^'"^  *^^'^^'"*'  I^^"k  Conunissioner  of 
otato,  and  Postmaster  at  Geneva. 

In  a  work  devoted  to  other  objects,  but  a  brief  space  can  be  spared 
lor  iicvolutionary  reminiscences -even  those  as  full  of  interest  as 
are  those  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.     Speaking  of  Mr.  Morris,  he 
observes:  — "His  commercial  transactions  were  immense,  extend- 
ing  over  the  greater  portion  of  the  commercial  world ;  and  to  all 
this  was  added  the  onerous  task  of  providing  for  an  army  in  the  field, 
and  an  armed  force  upon  the  ocean.     He  brought  all  his  energies 
ot  mmdand  body  in  requisition  for  the  Herculean  labor;  wasactrve 
vigilant -at  tunes  sleepless,- and  all  in  his  employ  were  kept  in 
motion      1  here  was  no  man  who  could  have  filled  his  place      He 
wielded  an  immense  amount  of  wealth ;  had  an  extraordinary  facul- 
ty to  inspire  confidence ;  he  unloosed  purse  strings  that  no  one  else 
could  have  unloosed.     Even  those  of  the  society  of  Friends,  their 
principles  forbidding  an  immediate  or  remote  participaton  in  war 
or  any  of  its  relations,  who  constituted  at  that  period  a  large  class  of 
Phdadelphia  capitalists,  lent  him  money;  in  one  especial  instance, 
«6,000  in  specie,  in  a  pressing  emergency  of  the  armv,  with  an  in- 
junction of  secrecy.*     The  relations  between  him  and  Washincrton 
during  the  whole  of  the  Revolution,  was  one  of  great  intimacy,  con- 

Z7T  -r^'^''^-  There  was  no  one  individual  upon  whom 
the  1  ather  ol  his  country  so  much  relied,  in  all  the  terrible  conflict 
that  won  our  national  Independence 

As  the  clerk  of  Mr.  Morris,  Mr.  Reese  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  Washington  under  circumstances  which  enable  him  to 
speak  familiarly  of  him.     "  He  always,"  says  he.  "received  me  and 

anfact"witrh-''""TT'"''""  ''  ""^•"^'  "^^"  '  ^^'  ^"^-^  ^o 
t  ansact  wuh  him.     He  was  mild  and  courteous  -  sedate  -  not 

Mr.  Reese  observes  Ihat  Mr.  Morris'  sudden  reverses  were  in  a 


^40 


VIIELPS   A^D   fiORHAM's    PUECIIASE. 


-reat  measure  consequent  upon  what  he  re^rardecl  as  lus  forf.nv.t 
investments!  in  ♦i.«  /<  ""  "-o""^'^" 'is  njs  lortunate 

«:£i  :;■:, ;«;- -s  ,;".;v,::: 


CHAPTER  II. 


,t  ii. 


MLE  OP  P,„„.  „„  „.,„„,„  ^„    „„„^„  „„„,^  _„^_ 


A  »A.«  intimaielj,  bla,id,d  will,  tl,„  whole  history  of  Iho  Revo 
reg,o„.     What  could  well  Imnid,  the  material  for  an  elabonte  ht 

successor     J^f   ,h>  ,  ■"""  ""=  P""""  "^  ^'^ '""  "''i 

successor.     At  the  breakmg  out  of  the  Revolution,  althou-h  en 

gaged  m  an  extensive  mercantile  and  eonnnercial  l,u  ines      ra  .  e' 

z*  '"irmrh;"^  "^="™ "  °"-  - »-™  i«'i^-  i"  ;'e 

=>"u     le.    m  1776,  he  was  a  member  of  Con<rress  from  P,.nnc,  i 
van,a,  and  one  of  the  signers  of  the  DeCaratirof  XenSe: 


PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAM's    PURCHASE. 


241 


s  fortunate 
His  irolden 
ir  Willijirn 
ope  as  the 
"  and  with 
he  Union, 
e  from  af- 
h  dignity, 
his  u.seful 


TO  ENG- 


le  Revo- 
ititude  is 
struggle 
h  all  this 
rate  his- 

0  his  in- 
cvuntry. 
While  a 
litimore. 
ideiphia, 
son  and 
ugh  en- 
that  de- 

1  ill  the 
onnsyl- 
ideiice. 


In  the  previous  year,  soon  after  the  battle  of  Trenton,  General 
Washington,  in  a  pressing  emergency,  had  realized  from  him  a  tern- 
porary  loan  for   the  army.     Again,   money   was   wanted    by  the 
commander  in  chief,  and  he  supplied  it;  the  army  was  destitute 
of  bread,  and  the  doors  of  his  store  houses  were  opened  for  their 
relief;  it  was  without  lead  for  bullets,  — stripping  the  lead  fixtures 
from  private  dwellings  for  that  purpose,  —  when  the  ballast  of  one 
of  his  vessels  supi)lied  the  deficiency.     Invested  with  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  an  empty  Treasury —  becoming  the  financier  of  the 
poorest  country  that  ever  kept  an  army  in  the  field,  or  armed  ships 
upon  the  ocean  —  his  own  means  were  put  in  requisition,  and  his 
almost  unbounded  credit  freely  used.     With  a  tact,  as  a  financier, 
never  excelled,  when  money  must  be  had,  he  obtained  it.     When 
other  men  or  bodies  of  men  failed,  he  would  succeed.     When  the 
rich  bankers  of  Amsterdam  knew  no  such  new  creation  as  the 
United  Stales,  or  its  Congress ;  or,  knowing  them,  had  no  confi- 
dence in  their  engagements,  they  trusted  him  on  his  private  re- 
sponsibility  with  millions,   which  he  used  in  the  public  service. 
And  when  the  great  struggle  was  drawing  to  a  close  —  when  a 
last  and  desperate  blow  was  to  be  struck,  and  the  army  that  was  to 
doit,  was  in  New  Jersey,  without  pay,  and  destitute  of  comfortable 
clothing  and  rations,  *~  when  even  its  stout  hearted  commander- 
in-chief  was  almost  yielding  to  the  embarrassments  with  whic'i  he 
was  surrounded,  and  upon  the  point  of  leading  his  army  the  wrong 
way,  because  he  could  not  command  the  means  to  move  it  where 
it  should  go  — the  active,  patriotic  financier  hastened  to  his  camp, 
and  by  assuring  him  that  he  would  supply  all  immediate  wants,  en- 
couraged him  to  put  his  army  in   motion.     The  destination  was 
Yorktown ;— the  defeat  of  Cornwallis,   the  crowning  act  of  the 
Revolution,  was  the  result.f     Mr.  Morris  died  in  New  Je-sey,  in 
1800.     He  was  eventually  reitnburscd  by  Congress  for  all  of  his 
expenditures  and  losses  in  the  Revolution,  though  not  for  the  sacri- 
fices of  time  and  abstraction  from  his  private  business,  that  his  pub- 
lic services  made  necessary.    He  was,  however,  eminently  success- 


*"lHiiwthat  army  wlicn  it  i.iiHsod  tliniiit;],  I'liihuldphin,"  sjiys  flio  venorablo 
JameH  lli't-s,, ;  "au.l  a  inoiv  nmire,!,  bIdoIoss,  aiul  sad  looking  one,' lias  soldom  been 
[lilt  iiiwii  the  inaivh  lu  tlio  diicotiou  of  an  I'lifiiiy." 

t  Tl...  mn„.-y  i-,  «n.,oi,,>,  that  hi.  h:id  pr«n.i...d,  wud  bonwcd,  aiid  paid  to  tho  army. 
Init  a  lew  days  bulore  tJiu  attack  upon  Cornwallis.  ' 


'fill 


I 

Hi 


i|i! 


24:2 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAm's  PURCHASE. 


ful  in  his  commercial  affairs,  and  at  one  period,  was  by  far  the 
wealthiest  man  in  the  United  States ;  but  engaging  enormously  in 
land  purchases  —  other  than  in  this  region  —  he  became  embar- 
rassed, and  the  country  he  had  so  well  served,  had  the  sore  morti- 
fication of  seeing  him,  toward  the  close  of  his  useful  life,  the  tenant 
of  jail  limits.  * 

Mr.  Morris'  extended  commercial  affairs,  had  made  him  in  a 
measure,  a  citizen  of  the  world,  instead  of  that  of  the  new  republic. 
Such  was  his  credit  at  one  period,  that  in  most  of  the  commercial 
cities  of  Europe,  his  private  notes  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  with 
all  the  confidence  that  would  have  been  had  in  the  issues  of  a  sound 
bank.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  an  immense  quantity  of  wild 
lands  were  thrown  into  market,  speculation  became  rife,  and  Mr. 
Morris  entered  into  it  upon  an  extensive  scale.  Mr.  Phelps,  during 
the  Revolution,  having  been  connected  with  the  commissary  depart- 
ment of  the  Massachusetts  line,  and  Mr.  Gorhnm,  being  a  promi- 
nent merchant  in  Boston,  Mr.  Morris  had  made  their  acquaintance, 
and  when  they  sought  a  purchaser  for  their  unsold  laiids  in  the  Gen- 
esee country,  they  applied  to  him.  Little  was  known  in  the  com- 
mercial cities  of  all  this  region,  other  than  what  had  been  gathered 
from  maps,  and  from  those  who  had  accompanied  Sullivan's  expedi- 


NOTE, 

of  Lini  in  I 


TIio  DiiK  Liiinconrt,  who itiiide  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Morris,  and  speaks 
lan^'UMgc  of  rc'sjic'ct  and  cstocn),  montionH  anioni,'liis  ![rii,'antic,  l)n,sinfss  oiier- 
ations,  Ins  investniouts  in  the  city  of  Wasliington.  Tlie  c-ipital  \vaa  located  in  an  era 
of  speculation  and  inllation,  and  niiijjii I ficcut  expectations  wew  entertained  in  reference 
to  the  city  that  would  grow  up  anjund  it.  In  company  with  Messrs.  Nicholson  and 
Greenleaf,  of  I'hiladelpliia,  he  i)urchased  G.OOO  lots  at  f  80  per  lot,  with  the  condition 
that  there  should  be  built  upon  thoni  ILH)  two  story  brick  houses,  within  seven  years. 
This  purcliase  was  made  of  commissioners;  the  company  bought  about  an  euuai 
number  of  lots  of  original  proprietors  of  the  ground.  Successful  sales  followed,  ijart 
of  the  buildings  were  erected,  but  the  bubble  burst  and  added  to  the  embaiTassinents 
of  Mr.  Jlorris,  ruining  manv  others  of  the  large  capitalists  of  the  United  States.  The 
city  of  "  brickkilns,"  and  "magnilicent  distances,"  as  Mr.  Randolph  called  it,  abounds 
with  tlie  relics  of  tlio  extravagant  views  entertained  at  an  early  period. 

The  iirivatc  notes  tliat  Mr.  Morris  issued  during  the  Kevolul'ion,  were  railed  "  Lon- 


J3ob8,"Saiid  "  liort  Bobh ;"  having  reference  to  the  drawer's  name,  and  the  periods  of 
their  maturity.  Jttgs-  For  a  more  extended  biographical  sketch  of  Robert  Morris  see 
History  of  Holland  Purchase.  ' 


*An  unthinking  Sliylock  at  a  public  watering  place,  during  the  last  summer,  in  W. 
X.  Y.,  gave  it  as  his  sage  and  ])rofound  oinuion,  that  no  "  worthy,  (h'servin"  man  «' 
eversulFered  by  the  operations  <if  tlie  old  law,  which  imprison(Hl  for  lU'bt ;  and  added 
the  wish,  tJiat  it  could  be  restored.  The  .'nithor  nuist  here  not<!  what  occurred  to  him 
nt  the  time  ;  —  The  man,  without  whose  individual  exertions,  the  Revolutionary  strug- 
gle woidd  have  been  a  failure  ;  and  the  man  who  projected  the  overland  route  of  that 
groiit  dispenserof  wealth  and  prosjierity  to  rnillinns  — the  Erie  Canal  — were  victirtw 
of  that  relic  of  an  iron  age,  which  strangely  enough  had  found  at  this  late  period  one 
advocate.  '        ' 


PHELPS  AND    GORHAM's  PURCOTASE. 


243 


tion.  Mr.  Morris,  however,  sought  the  means  of  further  informa- 
tion. Ebenezer  (or  Indian)  Allan,  was  then  located  as  an  Indian 
trader  on  the  Genesee  River,  at  what  is  now  Mount  Morris,  and 
was  in  the  habit  of  making  yearly  visits  to  Philadelphia  for  the  pur- 
chase of  goods.  Samuel  Street  who  resided  at  the  Falls  on  the  Can- 
ada side,  had  also  visited  Philadelphia.  From  them  Mr.  Morris  ob- 
tained information,  which  induced  him  to  accede  to  a  proposition  of 
Messrs.  Phelps  &  Gorham.  Their  deed  of  conveyance  embraces 
their  entire  final  purchase  of  Massachusetts,  of  about  two  millions, 
two  hundred  thousand  acres,  excepting  such  towns  and  parts  of  town- 
ships as  they  had  sold,  being  in  all,  about  one  million,  one  hundred 
thousand  acres.  The  consideration  and  actual  price  paid  by  Mr. 
Morris,  was  thirty  thousand  pounds  New  York  currency. 

At  an  early  period  after  the  purchase,  Mr.  Morris  employed  Maj. 
Adam  Hoops  to  exolore  the  country,*  who  reported  that  "  in  respect 
to  soil,  climate  and  advantageous  navigation,"  it  was  equal  to  any 
portion  of  the  United  States.  Measures  were  immediately  adopted 
for  the  survey  of  such  portions  as  vtas  unsurveyed.  The  celebra- 
ted David  Rittenhouse  was  then  just  perfecting  some  surveyor's  in  • 
struments,  and  he  was  employed  to  fit  out  Major  Hoops'  expedition.f 


«>•?•' MrEbo™\tfn  )l  "^  n  T'^^l^''  P"'"f  "■'^'*'''  ^'"^  ""  '"«  "g'^"*  i"  London, 
tJiat    Mr.  Ji.l(iiczai  Allan  tlu^  oldest  settler  in  that  country"  had  .issured  him  "that 

3,Xfs  onr:o'fi^'  "■' l'"t  '  '^  "'  ™"'P»■'^'•»'"1  '^troni  an.l  that  he  K  ra  sod 
loity  busholh  ot  the  htiesi  ;vheat  he  ever  .saw,  an.l  so  of  otlier  articles  in  like  abund- 
ance.  Ho  a.s,sert.s  that  the  forest  trees  about  Philadel,>hiu  are  not  larger  la  th  bran- 
ch,  s  of  trees  i„  h,s  neighborhood."     In  another  letter  he  assures  his  agen     ha   he  has 

Si  H^ml-f.  Hi''''''"-;  '''''%"''•'  "^'"?  ^""'^'^"  P'"-'''''''^"'  f--""'  «'"«"  who  belonged  to 

the  iM  lend  s  settlen.en    oa  fccncca  Lake,  tliat  had  returned  to  Pennsylvania  on  a  vi^t 

o  their  connc^xion.     He  n.ssures  him  that  he  has  from  all  quarttTS  Srsuerfuor  - 

ble  accounts  of  the  couutry,  that  were  he  a  young  man,  he  wldd  "  pifcl,  Ids  tent  there  i" 

Jf  fhiu  "','T  '''■'''  "'''• '"1?  ';,";'■"■  I'''"«''''lplii-'i-  Ho  had  been  in  the  army  through- 
«fy-W '■;'•''';'"' '"''%"'  «""'™"'>'  c.i'npMign,  and  at  one  period,  belonged  oAe 
staff  ot  W  ashmgton  ;  and  was  one  of  the  aid's  of  Gen.  Sullivan,  \n  his  expedition  to  the 

^Tm  'Z''''-  f}'-  '""'i  ^""•'T^*'^  ''''''^'  the  earliest  surveys  of  aFl  ^  region 
\\hen  Mr  Morris  nf  erwards,  purchased  all  the  regions  west  of 'Phelps  and  Gorha  "s 
^'hjiT';  T^T^:"""^  .t  and  commenced  the  surveys.  In  1801.  he  i'^  1^  w  h 
Lbenezer  I<  .Norton,  purchased  the  most  of  the  township  of  Olemi.     They  la^d  out 

Sud.:;?  a?n  weSSS'^Sf^s  :^>r''-  ^^^'^^^  ^°  «^-"-  ^  ^^ 

toUSi^/miJ'l^lirdr^  1?h^he'i;K3i:JT'  7r'i  *"''^°°1 

i.,strumems.  in  anticipLtion  of  the  t.anS  ofVi:, ill^'h  ttSll^dlS'j^St 
be  present  and  enjoy  a  view  of  it  Among  the  res  he  had  iuv  e  a  re  pectaWe  far- 
mer from  tho  ccmntry.  who  knew  far  more  about  raising  crops,  than  hTSd  about 


244 


PHELPS    AND    GOmiAJi's   PURCHASE. 


In  Mr.  Morns'  extensive  land  operations,  he  had  a-ents  in  all  the 
principal  cities  of  Europe.     His  agent  in  London,  was  Win   Tern- 
pie  Franklin,  a  grand-son  of  Dr.  Franklin,  to  whom  he  had  .^iven 
an  inadequate  idea  of  its  real  value.     Just  as  he  became  fully  ap- 
prized ot  Its  value,  and  was  in  active  preparation   to  bring  it'  into 
market  for  settlers,  un<ler  his  own  auspices,  he  received  news  from 
Mr.  Franklin,  that  he  had  sold  it.     The  purchasers  were  an  '-Asso- 
ciation," consisting  of  Sir  Wm.  Pultney,  John  Hornbv  and  Patrick 
Colquhoun.     The  first  was  a  capatalist,  and  at  that  peHod  occupied 
a  high  position  as  a  citizen  and  statesman.     He  resided  in  the  city  of 
London.     The  second,  had  been  governor  of  Bombav,  and  was  a 
retired  London  capitalist.     The  third  was  eminent  in  his  dav,  as  a 
statesman  and  philanthropist.*      The  price  paid  for  wliat  was  sup- 
posed to  be  about  one  million  one  hundred  thousand  acres,  but 
which  in  fact  amounted  to  almost  one  million  two  hundred  thousand 
acres,  was  thirty  five  thousand  pounds  sterling.     Mr.  Morris  had 
written  to  Mr.  Franklin  previous  to  the  sale,  a  letter  from  which  he 
would  have  inferred,  that  he  intended  advancing  on  the  price,  but 
the  sale  was  made  previous  to  the  reception  of  the  letter.     In'that 
letter  he  says:  — "I  have  applications  in  all,  for  250,000  acres  of 
the  Genesee  lands,  and  they  are  daily  increasing.     This  winter  has 
disclosed  the  real  character  those  lands  deserve.     Many  genteel 
families  arc  going  to  settle  there,  and  as  I  have  determined  to  settle 
my  son  there,  no  one  can  doubt  the  favorable  opinion  I  entertain  of 
the  soil,  climate  and  rapidity  of  settlement."     "  I  consider  that  the 
southwestern  Indian  war,  will  eventuallv  be  of  advantage  to  the  set- 
tlements of  the  Genesee  country."     "  There  is  now  in  this  city  a  Mr. 
Jackson,  who  lives  on  the  borders  of  Seneca   Lake,  who  is  accom- 
panied by  an  Indian.     They  assured  me  that  before  they  left,  while 
there  was  snow  on  the  ground,  every  night  thirty  or  forty  Iknilics 
arrived  at  his  place,  (Friends  settlement,)  on  their  way  to  settle  the 
lands  that  had  been  bought  before  my  purchase."     "  All  our  public 
affairs  go  on  well.     This  country  is  rushing  into  wealth  and  impor- 


\i 


,,n,  ^'^'I'^f.  ^^^l'**  «'"ect«J  i»  front  f.f  the  Pro«byterian  cliurch  in  Caiiamlai.nm  fo 
pcrpctuaUj  ]U8  moniory,  Im  i,p„„  it  an  insoriptiou  wliicli  rociriiiz,..  the  pWnc  pal 
evontH  ot  lu«  us.  Ml  l.fo.  He  ^vaK  a  „ativo  of  Glas^.nv,  an.!  .li,.!  in  Lon.lon,  i,I  l,>^!i() 
ago<l  .bycaiu  iMny  men  liavo  coiitrilnitod  more  to  tlu-  ivfonuatioii  of  criMiiiial  law-' 
to  Ik.  i.mmj.tion  ot  tiado  and  c.ninicvo.in  foundinir  syst.Mus  for  lH.n<-tiuin..-ll,t.  poor' 
and  tor  public  edurNition  ,n  Entfland  and  Soolland.  in  son.e  of  Jus  vorn^^v.mLwc 
,  «  -Vw,  "'^.^''.•' ;■'""'"••.•  '>•'  "H.ntiouK  liaviuLf  sp,.nt  .oinf  tin.o  in  Anieriiu  iMrvi- 
ous  to  I  I'M  :  iiti  i.s  iiil..nvd.  lu  somu  of  thi'  Siiuthcrn  Stati's. 


PIIELPS   AND    GORHAMri   PUKCIIASE. 


245 


tance  faster  than  ever  was  expected  by  the  most  sanguine  of  the 
sanguineus."  My  Genesee  lands  are  infinitely  prelerable  to  any 
American  lands  that  can  be  offered  in  Europe."  After  he  had 
been  apprised  of  the  sale,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Colquhoun :  —  "Those 
iracts  which  Gorham  and  Phelps  had  sold  previous  to  my  purchase, 
are  settling  very  fast,  and  the  first  settlers  are  raising  enough  to 
supply  the  new  comers."  "  I  am  now  at  New  York,  on  my  return 
from  Boston,  where  I  saw  several  people  from  the  Genesee  country, 
and  it  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  reiterate  the  account  which  you 
have  already  had,  of  that  fine  country.  On  my  way  through  Connec- 
ticut, I  met  Mr.  Wadsworth  who  has  settled  in  the  Genesee  country, 
with  whom  I  had  much  conversation,  and  who  I  find  like  every 
other  person  who  has  visited  the  country,  is  in  raptures  with  it. 
Mr.  Wadsworth  is  extremely  intelligent,  and  one  upon  whose 
veracity  the  utmost  reliance  can  be  placed.  The  reports  made  by 
him  and  others  in  New  England,  has  turned  the  attention  of  all  who 
think  of  em-igration,  towards  the  Genesee,  and  every  man  who 
pitches  his  tent  there,  adds  to  the  value  of  your  purchase." 

IMajor  Hoops,  prosecuted  the  surveys  under  the  new  proprietors, 
by  an  arrangement  with  Mr.  Morris.     He  early  discovered,  what 
had  been  suspected,  a  material  error  in  the  running  the  Pre-emp- 
tion  line.     As  this  is  a  matter  which  it  will  be   necessary  for  the 
reader  to  understand,  in  connection  with  after  events,  it  may  be 
here  stated,  that  the  State  of  New  York   ceded  to  Massachusetts, 
all  the  territory  west  of  a  line  to  be  drawn  due  north  antl  south 
from  the  82nd  mile  stone  on  the  Pennsylvania  line.     Before  the 
running  this  line,  it  could  of  course  be  but  mere  conjecture  where 
it  would  fall,  as  far  north  from  the  starting  point  as  Seneca  Lake. 
Seth  Reed,  the  afterwards  founder  of  the  settlement  at  Presque 
Isle,  CErio.)  Pa.,  the  grand-father  of  the  present  ChnHes  M.  Reed, 
and  Peter  Ryckman,  both  of  whom  had  been  Indian  traders,  ap- 
plied to  the  State  of  New  York,  for  a  remuneration  for  services 
rendered  in  some  previous  negotiations  with  the  eastern  portion  of 
the  Six  Nations,  and  proposed  to  take  a  patent  for  a  tract,  the  boun- 
daries of  which  should  "begin  at  a  tree  on  the  bank  of  the  Seneca 
Lake,  and  run  along  the  bank  of  the  Lake  to  tho  south,  until  they 
should  have  IG.OOO  acres  between  the  Lake  and  tho  east  bounds  of 
the  land  ceded  to  Massachusetts."     Their  request  was  acceded  to, 
and  a  patent  issued.     Thus  situated,  they  proposed  to  Messrs.  Phelps 


246 


I 


A' 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAm's  PUECIIASE. 


and  Gorham,  to  join  them  in  running  the  Pre-emption  Line,  each 
party  furnishing  a  surveyor.    "  A  Captain  Allen,"  says  one  authority, 
"  Mr.  Jenkins  "  says  another,  was  selected  by  Reed  and  Ryckman, 
and  Colonel  Maxwell,  by  Phelps  and  Gorham.     In  the  mean  time, 
the  Lessees  assuming  that  their  transactions  were  valid,  took  an  in- 
terest in  the  matter,  and  as  Messrs.  Reed  and  Ryckman  were  both 
share  holders  in  their  company,  the  matter  was  mutually  accommo- 
dated between  them.     The  line  was  run,  which  is  known  as  the 
"Old   Pre-emption   Line."     Messrs.   Phelps   and   Gorham,   were 
much  disappointed  in  the  result,  suspected  error,  or  fraud,  but  made 
no  movement  for  a  re-survey,  before  they  had  sold  to  the  English 
Association.     Their  suspicions  had  been  at  first  excited  by  an  offer 
from  a  prominent  member  of  the  Lessee  Company,  for  "  all  the  lands 
they  owned  east  of  the  line  that  had  been  run."     They  were   so 
well  assured  of   the  fact,  that  in  their  deed  to  Mr.  Morris,  they 
specified  a  tract,  in  a  gore  between  the  line  then  run,  and  the  west 
bounds  of  the  counties  of  Montgomery  and  Tioga,  those  counties 
then  embracing  all  of  the  military  tract. 

Upon  a  superficial  ej^amination  of  the  line,  Major  Hoops  was 
convinced  of  its  inaccuracy.  Mr.  Morris  having  in  his  convey- 
ance to  the  English  purchaser-s,  stipulated  an  accurate  survey  of  all 
he  conveyed,  instructed  Major  Hoops  to  correct  the  line.*  Mr 
Elhcott  with  his  two  brothers,  Joseph  and  Benjamin,  had  then  just 
finished  the  survey  of  Washington  city.  The  transit  instrument, 
for  surveymg  by  means  of  astronomical  observations,  havlwr  just 
been  invented  in  Germany,  Mr.  Ellicott  availed  himself  of  It,  !  is 
brother  Benjamin  superintending  its  construction.  Upon  arriving 
in  this  country,  Mr.  Ellicott  was  joined  by  the  late  Judge  Porter,  who 
was  then  a  surveyor  in  the  employ  of  Messrs.  Phelps  &  Gorham  ; 
a  corps  of  axe-men  were  employed,  and  a  vista  thirty  feet  wide 
opened  before  the  transit  instrument,  until  tlie  line  had  reached  the 
head  of  Seneca  Lake,  when  night  signals  were  employed  to  run 
down  and  over  the  Lake.  So  much  pains  were  taken  to  insure 
correctness,  that  tne  survey  was  never  disjjuted,  and  thus  the  "  7iew 
Pre-emption  Line"  was  established  as  the  true  division  line  between 


11 '  a 


*  In  a  letter  to  Mr  Colquhovn,  Mr.  Morris  says:  "These  tliree  brother*"  CAn- 
d  ew,  Joseph,  and  Benjamin  Ellirott,)  "are  of  tJio  number  of  l,ein.s  on X,'.  n  lU.  e 
Sh  t'l''"  ^T''-  J '7  '"\S''^^  ">Hthen,aticiaMS  as  well  as  nR.ehanical  ge  u  os  to 
Wlucli  they  have  addocf  much  practical  experience,  and  good  moral  character^'" 


PHELPS    AND    GORHAM's    PUECIIASE. 


247 


% 


the  lands  of  the  State  of  New  York  and  those  that  had  been  ceded 
to  Massachusetts.  In  examining  the  old  survey,  Major  Hoops  had 
discovered  the  precise  points  of  deviation  to  the  westward.  It  had 
commenced  s6on  after  leaving  the  Penhsylvania  line,  gradually 
bearing  off  until  it  crossed  the  out-let  of  the  Crooked  Lake,  where 
an  abrupt  offset  was  made,  and  then  an  inclination  for  a  few  miles, 
almost  in  a  north-west  course  ;  then  as  if  fearful  that  it  was  running 
west  farther  than  was  necessary  to  secure  a  given  object,  the  line 
was  made  to  incline  to  the  east,  until  it  passed  the  foot  of  Seneca 
Lake,  when  it  was  run  nearly  north  and  south  to  Lake  Ontario.  All 
this  will  be  observed  upon  any  of  the  old  maps.  It  will  at  once  be 
perceived  that  the  site  of  Geneva,  the  1G,000  acres  of  Reed  and 
Ryckman,  and  the  supposed  interests  of  the  Lessees,  had  caused  more 
than  a  usual  variation  of  the  surveyor's  compass.  Judge  Porter's 
explanation  is  as  follows:  "Geneva  was  then  a  small  settlement, 
beautifully  situated  on  the  Seneca  Lake,  rendered  quite  attractive 
by  its  lying  beside  an  old  Indian  settlement,  in  which  there  was  an 
orchard."  * 

The  old  pre-emption  line,  terminated  on  Lake  Ontario,  three 
miles  west  of  Sodus  Bay,  and  the  new  line  very  nearly  the  center 
of  the  head  of  the  Bay.  With  the  exception  of  the  abrupt  varia- 
tions that  have  been  noticed,  the  old  line  parting  from  the  true  merid- 
ian about  five  miles  south  of  the  Chemung  river,  bears  off  gradually 
until  it  reaches  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario.  The  strip  of  land  between 
the  two  lines  was  called  "  The  Gore."  In  addition  to  the  patent 
granted  to  Reed  and  Ryckman,  the  State  had  pre-^umed  the  origi- 
nal survey  to  be  correct,  and  made  other  grants,  and  allowed  the 
location  of  military  land  warrants  upon  what  had  been  made  dispu- 
ted territory.  We  shall  see  what  was  the  final  disposition  of  the 
matter. 

After  Mr.  Morris  had  made  the  purchase  of  Phelps  and  Gorham, 
he  had  once  endeavored  to  promote  the  settlement  of  the  Genesee 
lands,  entering  into  negotiations  with  individuals,  and  with  those 
who  proposed  founding  settlements  or  colonies,  but  he  had  perfected 
nothing;  though  some  sales  he  had  in  progress,  were  consummated 


*  In  speaking  of  this  fraiul,  to  tlie  author,  Jiul,i,'o  Porter  eutiroly  exonerated  Col 
Maxwell,  tor  whom,  in  common  with  all  who  knew  him,  ho  eiit<>rtained  a  lii^h  res- 
pect. In  fact,  it  turned  out  that  Col.  Maxwell  was  sick  and  ^Mhvd  to  tnist  the  lino 
to  his  associate  at  the  time  the  fraud  was  committed. 


248 


PHELPS   AND    GORUAm's    PURCHASE. 


II 


II; 


II' 


by  his  successors.     His  plan  of  settlement  contemplated  principally 
emigration  from  Pennsylvania  ;  but  there  were  formidable  difficul- 
ties in  the  way.     A  wide  forest  separated  his  lands  from  the  most 
advanced  settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  over  the  mountains   and 
across  the  streams,  of  which  no  avenue  had  been  opened  ;  and  the 
still  greater  difliculty  was  the  fear  of  Indian  wars.     The  Six  Na- 
tions  were  looked  upon  as  but  in  a  state  of  armistice,  as  having  re- 
luctantly  yielded  to  necesssity,  and  paused  in  their  stealthy  assaults  ; 
but  far  from  being  reconciled,  ready  to  again  take  up  the  tomahawk 
and  scalping  knife,  upon  their  own  account,  if  opportunity  was   of- 
fered,  or  at  the  bidding  of  those  who  were  yet  brooding  over  their 
revenge  behind  the  walls  of  Forts  Oswego  and  Niagara,  and  in  their 
Canadian  retreats.     The  borderers  of  Pennsylvania  had  seen  and  felt 
too  much  of  the  horrors  of  Indian  wars,  to  feel  willing  to  place  them- 
selves  again  in  a  position  to  be  harrassed   by  them.     News  had 
reached  them  of  Indian  murders  of  surveyors  and  emigrants  near 
Presque  Isle,  and  of  surveyors  in  this  region  ;  of  solitarv  cases  of  a 
renewal  of  Indian  hostilities  upon  the  Susquchannah/ and  rumor 
had  vastly  magnified  the,  apprehended  danger.     A  society  of  Men- 
onists  in  Pennsylvania,  had  contracted  with  Phelps  and  Gorham 
for  a  township,  and  were  negotiating  with  Mr.  Morris  for  a  larger 
purchase,  to  enable  them  to  settle  their  sons  in  this  country,  but 
gave  up  the  project  in  consequence  of  the  fear  of  Indian  war.     Mr. 
Morris  writes  to  Mr.  Colciuhoun  soon  after  he  had  sold  to  the  As- 
sociation,  that  "  these  worthy  but  timid  people  had  grown  afraid 
smce  the  Indian  wars  at  the  westward  had  become  so^general  as  it 
IS,  to  let  their  sons  go  out  even  to  the  townships  tliev  have  bought, 
lest  the  Six  Nations  should  become  parties,  and  attack  the  Gcne'see 
settlements.     Now  as  there  is  not  the  least  danger  of  this  happenino-, 
the  Six  Nations  having  decided  already  for  peace,  yet  these  timid  peo- 
ple wdl  await  their  own  time.    I  will,  however,  announce  to  them  that 
[  can  supply  them  with  the  lands  they  wanted,  and  as  I  think  the 
[ndian  war  will  be  of  short  duration,  there  is  little  doubt  but  thev 
will  buy  it  when  it  is  over." 

In  a  letter  from  Mr.  Morris  to  Mr.  Colquhoun,  dated  in  June. 
1791,  he  gives  a  general  statement  of  wild  lands  in  the  United  Slates! 
dien  m  market.  Sjjcaking  of  his  own  operations  he  savs,  he  has 
50,000^acres  in  Otsego  county,  that  he  had  bought  of  the  St.itc  of 
\'ew  York;  and  he  mentions  that  the  State  of  New  York  iias  yet 


mi 


PHELPS  AND  GOEUAm's    PUPwCIIASE. 


249 


principally 
ble  difficul- 
tn  the  most 
iitains  and 
d  ;  and  the 
ho  Six  Na- 
liaving  re- 
ly  assaults  : 
tomahawk 
ty  was   of. 

over  their 
lud  in  their 
^en  and  felt 
ilace  them- 
News  had 
rants  near 
cases  of  a 
md  rumor 
y  of  Men- 
id  Gorhani 
)r  a  larger 
untry,  but 
■var.     Mr. 
to  the  As- 
wn  afraid 
neral  as  it 
fe  bought, 
3  Genesee 
lappening, 
timid  peo- 
them  that 
think  the 

but  they 

in  June, 
}d  States. 
f,  lie  has 

!  Stiitc  nf 

:  has  yet 


000,000  acres,  but  he  knows  of  a  "company  who  intend  to  buy  it. 
1  he  fetate  asks  four  shillings  per  acre,  and  want  cash  down,  the  ap- 
pheants  want  credit,  an.l  a  lou'er  price,  and  as  yet  the  land  remains 
unsold.     On  the  Molr.iwk  river,  lan.ls  are  worth  from  £5  to£l5 
per  acre.  New  Englan<l  currency."    He  mentions  "  that  in  company 
with  Govcrncur  Morris,"  (who  was  then  in  Europe,  endeavorincr  to 
sell  lands,)  "  and  his  brother-in-law,  I  have  a  190  thousand  acres°on 
the  river  Sf.  Lawrence."     "  In  Pennsylvania  the  lands  belonging  to 
the  State  are  reduced  by  sales  and  settlement  to  an  inconsiderable 
quantity."     "  The  vacant  lands  in  Virginia,  from  a  vicious  practice 
in  the  land  office,  and  a  more  vicious  practice  of  the  surveyors,  are 
rendered  so  i)recarious  in  title,  that  people  are  afraid  to  buy  them 
and   therefore  they  are  olfered  at  Od  per  acre,  and   no   buyers" 
•'Lands  west  of  the  Ohio  are  now  out  of  the  question,  until  the  In- 
dian war  IS  over;  they  are  also  too  remote  from  any  market" 
'•Lands  in  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  may  be 
cheap,  but  the  climate  is  too  warm  for  rapid  settlement." 


CHARLES  WILLIAMSON. 


As  soon  as  the  London  Associates  had  completed  their  purchase 
of  Mr.  Franklin,  the  agent  of  Mr.  Morris,  they  entered  upon 
measures  for  the  sale  and  settlement  of  what  they  had  acquired. 
Sir  Wm.  Pultney,  in  the  earliest  years,  was  in  a  great  measure  a 
silent  partner;  the  concerns  of  the  Genesee  lands  .seem  to  have 
devolved  principally  upon  Mr.  Colquhoun.  He  devoted  himself 
earnestly  to  the  work;  availed  himself  of  all  the  information  he 
could  acquire;  projected  improvements  ;  and  made  himself,  by  an 
active  correspondence  with  Mr.  Morris  and  others,  in  this  country, 
.amil.ar  with  this  region.  He  was  ambitious  to  make  it  a  lucrative 
operation  for  himself  and  associates,  and  at  the  same  time  to  make 
himselt  and  them  the  founders  of  prosperous  settlements.  His 
correspondence  are  perfect  specimens  of  method,  and  high  business 


tliorel,.,.,  u.  tLi.  rc,u.,,  dul  not  coase  with  U.  ^d.  to  Sir  Wiu.  i'miuoy  aul  ™tL 


250 


rilELPS   AND   GORlI^^l's   PUKCIIASE. 


qualifications ;  exhibit  great  foresight  and  prudence  ;  and  touching 
the  interest  of  those  upon  whom  was  to  devolve  tlie  hard  task  of 
subduing  the  wilderness,  there  is  blended  in  all  of  it  a  spirit  of  phi- 
lanthropy,  and  fair  and  honest  dealing,  which  would  well  justify 
nmch  that  has  been  said  of  him  on  the  tablet  that  has  been  raised 
to  his  memory  in  Cahandaigua.  And  with  nothing  to  judge  from 
but  his  business  letters,  instructions  to  agents,  &c.,  it  is  impossible  to 
form  any  other  conclusion  with  regard  to  Sir  Win.  Pultney,  but  such 
as  are  creditable  to  liim,  as  one  whose  capital  had  made  his  own 
interests  and  those  of  new  settlers,  mutual. 

And  here,  with  a  knowledge  that  the  author  has  acquired  by  a 
perusal  of  masses  of  correspondence  that  have  passed  between  the 
foreign  land  holders  of  most  of  all  Western  New  York  and  their 
agents  — letters  written  in  all  the  confidence  that  would  accrue  from 
such  a  relation— he  is  constrained  to  remark,  that  the  country 
could  hardly  have  fallen  into  better  hands.     Both  the  English  and 
the  Dutch  companies,  under  whose  auspices,  as  proprietors,  three 
fourths  of  the  whole  country  west  of  Seneca  Lake   was  settled, 
were   composed   of  ca5)italists   who    made    investments   of  large 
amounts  of  money,  in  the  infancy  of  this  republic,  when  its  stabil- 
ity was  by  no  means  a  settled  point ;  and  they  were  satisfied  with 
reasonable  returns  Ibr  their  vast  outlays  ;  and  patient  under  the  de- 
lays of  payment,  as  all  must  concede.     With  reference  to  both 
companies,  in  all  their  correspondence  with  their  agents,  no  wish  or 
mdication  escapes  them  of  a  disposition  to  have  the  new  settlers 
oppressed,  or  to  have  their  business  conducted  in  any  other  than  a  fair, 
honest,  and   liberal  manner.     If  any  Avrong  policy  was  pursued  it 
was  a  fixing  of  too  high  prices  upon  land,  and  in  that  matter  they 
generally  were  guided  by  the  advice  of  their  agents ;  but   long,  in 
many  instances,  almost  interminable   credits  were  given ;  and  that 
enabled  men  to  possess,  and  finally  pay  for  land,  who  could  not  have 
done  so,  if  payment  at  a  very  low  rate  had  been  demanded  in  hand. 
There  is  not  in  the  history  of  the  world  a  better  example  of  the 
advantages  of  credit  than  is  furnished  in  the  settlement  of  all  this 
region.     It   has   conferred   homes   and  competence  upon   tens  of 
thousands  who  would  not  have  had  them  if  pay  down  had  been  the 
order  of  early  days.     There  was  no  considerable  class  of  actual 
settlers  when   most   of  the  Genesee  country  was    brought    into 
market  that  could  pay  down  even  twenty  five  cents  per  acre.     The 


PIIKLP9    AND   OCRirAM's    POCCIIASE.  251 

present  system  of  sellmg  the  wild  land,  of  the  UnLed  States  would 

one  then        '  ™       =  "  °"'  ""^  ""=  '"'"■  '•""""  '<'«-  was 

The  Association,  as  a  first  step  after  purchase,  looked  for  an  a-ent 
to  manage  ,,.  The  choice  feii  npon  Charles  Williamson  o^e  Ih" 
was  destined  to  nave  his  name  prominently  and  honorably  idenlZ 
w,th  all^Uje  carhos.  history  of  settlement  and  progress  i'n  Cem 

frie*8cT;i!:r°H::;:tiT'ii:;:„S™^[  ■"  '"^  --r^^™- 

tarv  of  ,h.  P„l    f  u  Alcxande.  Wi||,amson,  was  the  Secre- 

tary «f  (he  Earl  of  Hopcton.    At  the  commencement  of  the  Revo 
im.on.  he  held  a  captain's  commission  in  .ho  British  servTce   and 
was  ordered  to  this  conntry  with  his  rogi.nen,,  though  a'  'hap 
pened  w.thout  any  service.     The  ship  Tn  whi  h  he°saiM    when 

newbnrypo  1,  and  transferred  to  the  depot  at  Boston,  where  he  re 

."red  to'iz'd""'^', "'  ^'°" "'  "'^  "»^' "-  ™-™d  Id ;:: 

turned  to  bcotlund.     lie  improved  his  stiv  in  <h«  *      >         ■ 

lectins  much  information,  and    eft  it  v  1  hilh  e        ?  i'^'  ""^  ''°'- 
ference  to  ;i>  ,),.  ,■  ■         ■  ■  Sti  expectations  h  re- 

lerence  toits  dcst  n.es,  which  were  fully  confirmed  by  the  success 

IZZT""!  "'  ""^  "■•"•  "'■  ''"  ""™''"-"-    After  m  Mug   he" 

:::i^^trr^rz?f^:;Ssin^Erp-'  "r  '^^ 

qualities  attracted  thettentn  o    Mr't  '^dU    001^  T'^' 
thensherin-of  Wes,„,i„ster.  and  with  then  '  he  befame  v  X  M 
mate,  wh.ch  was  only  ended  by  the  death  of  thenar.  e7  Mr 
W,ll,^mson  had  a  strong  desire  to  return  to  this  country  wh  ch  ™ 
gm uficd  by  h,s  appointment  as  agent  of  what  was  a't  f  s  taW 
The,  Assocatton,  ■  and  afterwards  the  Pultney  Estate.     Leav  „1 
London,  he  repaired  to  Scotland,  and  after  arranging  his  affairs  there 
sailed  for  this  country,  accompanied  by  his  fiimilv    ind  t  vo       n 
educated  and  intelligent  ScotcLen.  /ohn  jl"  Le  a  d  ch-'- 
Cameron,  who  came  out  as  his  assistants.     After  a  long  voyage  the 
party  arrived  at  Norfolk,  and  going  ,„  Baltimore,  Mr  W  I  ramson 
provided  quarters  for  his  family  for  the  winter.    From  tZi  dty  he 
wrote  to  his  principals  Iha.  aii  things  looked  well  in  the  nw    out 


252 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's   PURCHASK. 


try;  that  the  city  was  so  full  of  newly  amved  emigrants  that  he 
found  it  (lifllcuU  to  ,<ret  accommodations.  Preceding  his  companions, 
he  went  to  Philadelphia,  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Morris,  and 
availed  himself  of  his  knowledge  of  the  Genesee  country,  and  his 
remammg  mterest  in  it,  in  projecting  some  improvements,  the  open- 
ing  of  a  dn-ect  road  to  the  purchase,  and  a  general  plan  of  commen- 
cing the  settlements;  at  the  same  time,  after  having  become  natural- 
ized  he  took  from  Mr.  Morris  deeds  in  his  own  name,  his  principals 
being  aliens  and  non-residents.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Colquhoun  from 
Baltimore,  Mr.  Williamson  had  foreshadowed  some  of  his  ideas  of 
what  should  be  done.  He  states  that  he  had  just  met  with  a  gentle- 
man who  had  "traversed  the  Genesee  lands  in  several  directions  ;  " 
and  his  account  corresponded  with  their  most  favf.rable  anticipa- 
tions :  —  "  He  declares  that  even  the  worst  are  superior  to  any  he 
ever  saw."  Mr.  Williamson  adds:-"  These  disinterested  ac- 
counts, from  diirerent  people,  put  the  quality  of  the  land  in  the  ftdrest 
view.  The  next  object  then  is  to  take  some  liberal  and  decisive 
steps  to  bring  them  to  their  value.  Want  of  communications  is 
the  great  draw  back  on  back  settlements  distant  from  the  rivers 
that  run  into  the  Atlantic.  Remove  this  difficulty  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  gentlemen  of  the  Association  will  reap  an  advan- 
tage fifty  times  their  outlay  ;  and  come  to  their  purpose  many  years 
sooner.  Nothing  will  draw  the  attention  of  the  people  of  America 
more  readily  than  the  idea  of  their  settling  under  the  protection  of 
an  association  who  will  take  every  means  To  render  their  farms  con- 
venient and  profitable.  "  In  the  samo  letter  he  proposes  a  plan  for 
advancing  £J0  to  "poor  settlers  to  induce  them  to  settle  down  on 
the  worst  part  of  the  tract  where  wealthier  people  might  hesitate  to 
make  a  beginning., 

Mr.  Williamson  spent  the  most  of  the  winter  of  1791,  '2,  with 
his  party  in  Northumberland,  Penn.  In  February,  however,  he 
made  a  flying  visit  to  the  Genesee  country,  going  around  via  Now 
York  and  Albany.  He  writes  to  Mr.  Colquhoun  that  he  passed 
through  "an  uninhabited  wilderness  of  more  than  100  miles  before 
reaching  Geneva,  which  consisted  of  a  few  straggling  huts." 
"There  is  not  a  road  within  one  hundred  miles  of  the  Genesee 
country,  that  will  admit  of  any  sort  of  conveyance,  otherwise  than 
on  horseback,  or  on  a  sled,  when  the  ground  is  covered  with  snow." 
"  The  price  of  land  has,  in  a  few  instances,  exceeded  2s.  per  acre ; 


Its  that  he 
^inipanions, 
tlorris,  and 
ry,  and  his 
;,  the  opon- 
f  commen- 
ne  natural- 
;  principals 
ihoun  from 
lis  ideas  of 
h  a  gentle- 
rections ; " 
5  anticipa- 
'  to  any  he 
'rested  ac- 
the  fiurest 
d  decisive 
licaticns  is 
the  rivers 
lere  can  be 
an  advan- 
lany  years 
f  America 
)tection  of 
farms  con- 
a  plan  for 
e  down  on 
hesitate  to 

'1,  '2,  with 
wever,  he 

I  via  New 
he  passed 
iles  before 
ng  huts." 
Genesee 
wise  than 
th  snow." 
per  acre ; 


PIIELPS   AND    GORIIAm's   PirRCHASE.  253 

some  few  farms  of  first-rate  quality  have  been  sold  on  a  credit  for 
4s.  per  acre."     Returning  to  Baltimore,  he  decide.!  upon  opening  a 
conur.unication  with  the  Genesee  country  from  the  southward  "it 
was  Ironi  that  direction  he  expected  his  principal  emigration  ;"and 
he  looked  to  the  Susquehannah  and  its  branche.^  and  Chesapeake 
IJay,  as  the  prospective  avenues  of  trade  from  all  this  recrion  •  and 
to  Baltimore  as  its  great  emporium.     To  the  eastward °from  the 
Genesee  country,  every  thing  had  a  discouraging  look  — a  woods 
road  through  the  wide  wilderness  that  separated  the  recrion  from 
the  old  settlement  dn  the  Mohawk,  which  when  improv^ed,  would 
furnish  but  a  long  and  expensive  land  carriage ;  and  the  imperfect 
and  expensive  water  communication   afforded  by   the  Mohawk 
Wood  Creek,  Oneida  Lake,  Oswego,  and  Seneca  Rivers,  afforded 
the  best  prospects  that  existed  in  that  direction.     Takin-  care  to 
excite  a  good  deal  of  interest  in  Baltimore,  by  holding  out^the  fine 
prospects  for  trade  with  the  Genesee  country,  he  returned  to  North- 
umberland  and  organized  a  party  of  road  survevors.     Pioceedincr 
via  Loyalsock,  the  party  went  up  the  Lycoming  to  the  "house 
of  one  Kyle,"  who  was  then   the  farthest    advanced    settler  — 
Sending  out  the  hunters  to  explore   ahead,   and  return   and  re- 
port, the  party  by  slow  progress,  camping  and  breaking  up  their 
camps,    proceeded    until    they   had    located    a   road   from   what 
was  then   "  Ross  Farm."  now  Williamsport,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Canascraga  Creek,   on   the  Genesee   river,   a   distance  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  *     Application  was  made  to  the  State 
ot  Pennsylvania  for  assistance  to  open  the  road ;  but  little  more  was 
obtained  than  authority  to  build  it  through  that  State.     Measures 
were  immediately  commenced  for  opening  the   road.     Before  it 
could  be  opened,  a  ship  with  merchant's  goods  that  Mr.  Colquhoun 
had  consigned  to  Mr.  Williamson,  arrived  at  Baltimore.     The  con- 
signee informed  the  consigner  that  there  was  no  other  way  to  get 
them  to  the  Genesee  country,  but   by  "pack  horses  and  Indian 
paths,  except  in  freshets  ;"  but  finally  concluded  to  sell  off  the  heavy 
goods  at  Baltimore,  and  send  on  the  lighter  ones  via  New  York 
and  Albany.     Before  the  close  of  1792,  Mr.  Williamson  had  deter- 


■  *     -  "•-  '-•' i..i<«<;a  to  Uenedcc nvcr. 


of 

vi 


I 

I 


254 


PHELPS    AND    GOKHAm's   PURCHASE. 


mined  upon  commencing  his  first  settlement  at  the  termination  of 
his  road  on  the  Genesee  river,  and  in  pursuance  of  that  decision, 
had  laid  out  a  village,  which  he  called  Williamsburg,  ploughed  80 
acres  of  flats,  and  built  a  long  row  of  dwellinfrs. 

The  dwellings  and  ploughed  ground  were  intended  for  the  use  of 
a  German  colony.  As  "  Williamsburg"  and  "  the  Germans," 
formed  a  distinct  feature  of  all  tliis  region,  in  an  earl}  day,  some 
account  of  them,  their  advent,  and  alter  hegaa,  must  be  given 
here.  It  was  an  untoward  commencement  of  settlement,  or  rather, 
of  European  colonization  in  the  Genesee  country. 

Soon  after  the  Association  had  sent  out  Mr.  Williamson,  there 
appeared  in  London  an  itinerant  picture  merchant  from  Germany, 
by  the  name  of  Berezy.  With  a  good  deal  of  tact  and  gentlemanly 
address,  he  had  won  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Colquhoun,  and  prevail- 
ed  upon  him  to  let  him  head  an  expedition  which  contemplated  the 
bringing  to  this  country  a  colony  of  poor,  industrious  Saxons — 
colonizing  them,  and  holding  them  here  as  redempt-onists.*  In- 
stead of  following  his  instructions,  he  went  to  the  city  of  Ham- 
burgh and  jjicked  up  idlers,  indifierent  mechanics,  broken  down 
gamblers  and  players, — in  Hict,  just  about  the  worst  materials  that 
were  ever  collected  for  the  practical  uses  of  a  new  settlement.! 
They  consisted  of  about  seventy  ftunilies.  From  their  very  start, 
they  began  to  be  the  source  of  enormous  expense,  Arriving  at 
London,  they  were,  after  a  great  deal  of  tnjuble,  put  on  board  two 
chartered  vessels  and  consigned  to  Robert  Morris.  They  finally 
^. rived  at  Northumberland  just  about  the  time  that  Mr.  Williamson 
commenced  opening  the  road.  Axes,  spades  and  hoes  were  provi- 
ded for  them,  and  they  set  to  work:  nnd  bad  work  enough  they 
made  of  it.  They  had  to  be  first  taught  the  use  of  their  tools,  and 
were  far  from  learning  easily.  An  old  gentleman  who  came  over 
the  road  in  an  early  day,  says  th6  trees  looked  as  if  they  had  been 
"gnawed  down  by  beavers."    Their  labor,  however,  made  the  road 


NoTR.— On  nrriving  at  Gcnesoo  rivor,  Mr.  Williamson  found  that  T.  8,  R  7,  now 
Groveland,  had  boon  wild  to  an  agont  ol  a  Society  of  Mcnonists,  in  Pct)nsylvaiiin,  by 
PljolpH  and  (iiiiliani.  lie  purtluiaeil  the  town.ship.s  of  llio  agent,  paying  iho  thou  high 
price  of  ono  dollar  per  aero. 

*  Persona  hekl  to  service  to  pay  all  expensos  uttondhig  their  enuOTation  and  settle- 
ment, 

t  They  were,  says  the  French  Duko  Lianconrt,  "  of  the  crowd  of  foroigneri,  whom 
poverty,  idleness,  and  uocoaaitius  of  every  kind,  induce  to  resort,  to  HaniLurgh  wiUi  a 
view  to  umigratiou." 


PIIELI'S    AND    GOEHAM's   PURCHASE. 


2nn 


iib 


principally,  to  where  Blossburgh 


They 


1         .    V>  .       ,  -r.  " '  "°^  *^-     ^^^^y  were  irien  laKen 

down  to  Painted  Post,  and  ren.ained  there  until  the  sprin.  of  '93 
when  they  were  located  at  the  home  provided  for  them  at  William.', 
hurg.  Each  family  had  a  house  and  fifty  acres  of  land  appro- 
priated to  Its  use  ;  necessary  farming  tools  ;  a  stock  of  provisions  ■ 
and  there  were  distributed  among  the  whole.  27  yoke  of  oxen  4o' 
cows,  BO  hogs,  300  sheep.  Even  their  household  utensils  wore 
provided  them.  Beside  all  this,  they  had  their  minister  and 
physician. 

The  city  training,  and  idle  habits  of  the  expensive  colonists,  soon 
began  to  be  exhibited.     They  were  both  idle  and  improvident   the 
women  made  as  bad  use  of  the  provisions  that  had  been  furnished 
as  the  men  of  the  farming  implements  that  were  pu       to  their 
hands.     An  eye  witness  informed  the  author,  that  thcN  ^  .od  their 
pork  and  then  threw  it  away,  supposing  the  grease  only  intended  for 
use;  and  he  gave  other  .similar  specimens  of  their  domestic  econo- 
my.    The  whole  fiddled  and  danced,  and  drank  whiskey ;  even  the 
minister  proved  a  bad  specimen  of  his  cloth.     It  soon  turned  out 
that  most  of  them  had  been  deceived.     Berezy  to  sw^>Il  his  num- 
bers,  and  gratify  his  ambition  to  be  tlie  head  of  a  colonv,  had  prom- 
ised them  fine  times  in  America ;  had  assured  them  that  his  patrons 
being  rich,  they  should  want  for  nothin-g,  and  as  they  were  to  be 
the  founders  of  a  city,  they  could  each  choose  such  employment  as 
was  best  suited  to  their  tastes  and  habits.     That  they  were  to  dig 
and  delve  in  the  dirty  earth,  was  not  in  the  bond,  according  to  th.ir 
under.«tandinff.  * 

Mr.  Williamson  soon  became  convinced,  that  he  had  at  least  one 
bad  job  upon  his  hands,  as  the  founder  of  new  settlements.  One 
stock  of  provisions  was  consumed,  and  another  had"  to  be  supplied ; 
the  fallows  that  had  been  provided  for  them,  lay  undisturbed;  th. 
sheep  and  hogs  that  were  intended  as  breeders,  and  th.  cows  that 
were  intended  to  furnish  milk -all  obtained  at  great  expense  and 
t.oube-one  after  another  disappeared,  and  were  found  upon  the 
shambles;  the  city  appetites  of  the  hopeful  colonists  cravin-  occa- 
sional alternations  between  salted  and  fresh  provisions.  The  very 
seeds  that  Mr.  Williamson  provided,  instead  of  going  into  the 
ground,  went  into  the  pot.  And  what  was  worse  perhaps  than  all, 
Berezy,  by  indulgence  and  other  artful  management,  had  oMain^ 
ed  complete  control  of  the  colonists,  and  set  ^himself  above  Mr 


256 


PHELPS    Aim    GORIIAM's   PURCHASE. 


t'l 


Williamson,  claiming  to  have  brought  his  authority  directly  from 
head  quarters  in  London.  A  store  had  been  established  at  Wil- 
liamsburg, which  was  under  the  care  of  Mr.  John  Johnstone,  and 
Berezy  and  the  Germans  had  used  its  goods  and  provisions  lavishly ; 
and  besides.  Berezy  had  contracted  debts  for  supplies,  especially 
with  the  Messrs.  Wadsworth.s,  assuming  that  he  was  acting  for  the 
Association,  and  not  under  the  authority  of  Mr.  Williamson. 

After  having   humored   the  whole  matter,  until  some   decisive 
measures  became  necessary,  Mr.  Willinmsnn  visited  his  refractory 
colony,  taking  with  him  from  Canandaigua,  his  friend  Thomas  Morris, 
determined  to  have  some  reform.     He  had  a  house  at  Williams- 
burg, then  occupied  by  James  Miller,  where  he  kept  a  desk  contain- 
ing all  his  papers  that  had  reference  to  that  locality ;  and  tlierc  he  and 
his  friend  took  up  their  quarters.*     Sending  for  Berezy  he  had  an 
interview  with  him,  which  ended  by  displacing  him  as  an  agent, 
and  forbidding  him  to  exercise  any  authority  over  the  Germans. 
Calling  the  Germans  together,  he  mformed  them  of  their  new  rela- 
tions, and  proposed  measures  of  further  assistance  to  them,  condi- 
tioned upon  their  going  tb  work,  and  trying  to  help  themselves.   At 
first  they  were  disposed  to  listen  to  his  proposals,  but  the  superior 
influence  of  Berezy  soon  prevailed,  and  riot  and  mutiny  succeeded. 
Sunday  intervened,  and  Mr.  Williamson  says,  "  Berezy  and  the 
minister  were  all  day  pow-wowing  in  every  house  in  the  settlement." 
Monday  came,  and  Mr.  Williamson  found  the  (piarters  of  .himself 
and  friends  besieged.     The  Germans  had  collected  in  a  body,  and 
under  the  influence  of  Berezy  were  making  extravagant  demands 
as  the  terms  of  peace,  and  a  continuance  in  the  colony.     Mr.  Wil- 
liamson retreated  into  the  house  with  his  friends  Morris,  Johnstone, 
and  several  others,  in  all,  a  force  vastly  inferior  to  the  refractory 
colonists.     "  Driven  into  a  corner  between  two  writing  desks"  says 
Mr.  Williamson,  "  I  had  luckily  some  of  my  own  people  near  me, 
who  were  able  to  keep  the  most  savage  and  daring  of  the  Germans 
ofl;  though  the  cry  was  to  lay  hold  of  me.     Nothing  could  equal 
my  situation,  but  some  of  the  Parisian  scenes.     For  an  hour  and  a 
half  I  was  in  this  situation,  every  instant  expecting  to  be  torn  to 
pieces."     Berezy  finding  the  storm  he  had  raised,  raging  too  vio- 


•Thortwlcr  nhonU  iindorMt.'uul  tliiit  Wiriiarnsliurt,',   tlui  sifo  of  <his  oarlv  German 

Snr'^'  'f  ,T  '  p'"' A'-' "",  '"Tr   -V""^';  '''  t''"  "  Hornutage ;  "  U.y  inwnt  fknn  and  n"" 
wcncti  ol  Uic  liDii.  Cuarlos  II.  Carroll. 


PHELPS  AND   GORIIAm's    PUECIIASE. 


257 


lently,  quelled  it ;  but  rapine  took  the  place  of  personal  assault.  The 
cattle  upon  the  premises  were  driven  ofT,  or  killed  to  furnish  a  feast 
for  a  general  carousal.  The  mutiny  and  plunder  lasted  for  several 
days ;  there  being  no  authority  or  superior  force  to  quell  it.  At 
one  time,  the  physician  of  the  colony,  who  had  taken  sides  with 
Mr.  Williamson  became  the  object  of  the  fiercest  resentment.  He 
was  seized,  and  in  attempting  to  rescue  him,  Messrs.  Morris  and 
Johnstone  were  assaulted  and  their  lives  placed  in  jeopardy ;  but 
finally  made  their  escape. 

Present  in  all  the  affray  was  Mr.  Richard  Cuyler,  then  acting  as 
Mr.  Williamson's  clerk.  He  was  dispatched  to  Albany  with  a 
requisition  upon  Gov.  George  Clinton,  for  a  force  sufficient  to  quell 
the  riot  and  apprehend  the  rioters.  Berezy  with  a  few  of  the  Ger- 
mans, departed  for  Philadelphia,  for  the  double  purpose  of  escaping 
arrest  and  enlisting  Mr.  Robert  Morris  on  their  side.  Gov.  Clinton 
issued  an  order  to  Judah  Colt,  who  had  been  appointed  Sheriff"  of 
the  new  county  of  Ontario,  commanding  him  to  summon  a  posse 
for  the  arrest  of  the  rioters.  A  posse  eq'ual  in  numbers  with  the 
German  colonists  was  no  easy  matter  at  that  early  period  of  settle- 
ment. But  fortunately  some  boat  crews  and  new  settlers,  had  just 
arrived  at  Bath.  Thoy  made  a  forced  night  march  through  the 
woods,  and  joined  by  others,  succeeded  in  arresting  those  who  had 
been  foremost  in  the  riot.  They  were  taken  to  Canandaigua  and 
light  fines  imposed ;  the  principal  object  being  the  assertion  of  the 
supremacy  of  the  laws.  Unable  to  pay  the  fines,  they  were  hired 
out  to  new  settlers  in  Canandaigua  and  the  vicinity,  to  earn  the 
money.  Their  defence,  was  some  of  the  earhcst  practice  of  the 
late  Gen.  Vincent  Matthews. 

Berezy,  going  from  Philadelp*hia  to  New  York,  put  the  Germans 
and  himself  under  the  auspices  of  a  German  benevolent  association, 
who  had  made  arrangements  with  Gov.  Simcr  ?,  for  settling  emi- 
grants at  what  is  now  Toronto,  and  in  the  townships  of  Markham. 
They  went  down  and  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river, 
and  were  temporarily  the  early  neighbors  of  VVm.  Hencher.  When 
the  boats  came  from  Canada  to  take  them  away,  a  boatman  was 
drowned  in  the  river.  His  was  the  first  death  and  funeral,  after 
settlement  commenced,  in  all  of  what  is  now  Monroe  county. 

Another  formidable  attempt  at  colonization  from  Europe,  did  not 
progress  so  far,  or  rather  took  another  direction.    Donald  Stewart, 


258 


PItELPS    ANT)    GORHAM's    PUECIIASE. 


an  enterprising  Scotcliman,  of  "  Achnaun  by  Appin,  in  Argyle.hire  " 
soon  after  the  purchase  of  the  Association,  had  organized  a  colony 
m  his  neighborhood,  the  destination  of  which  was  Cumberland  N 
Carohna.     He  received  a  proposition  from  Mr.  Colquhoun  too  late 
fo  change  the-r  direction,  the  colonists  having  embarked  and  sailed 
but  following  them  soon,  Mr.  Stewart  came  to  explore  the  Genesee 
country,  with  the  intention,  if  suited  witii  i!,  to  bring  his  colony 
here.     He  spent  several  weeks  traveling  on  horseback,  with  Mr 
U  ilhamson,  got  a  small  specimen  of  the  ague  and  fever;  the  new 
country  m  its  primitive  roughness,  had  to  him  a  forbidding  look  •  he 
turned  his  back  upon  it  rather  in  ill  humor.*     There  were  many 
other  schemes  of  the  proprietors  in  London,  and  J\f  r.  Wil]iam<^on  to 
colonize  this  region,  none  of  which  succeeded,  except  that  of  the 
persevering,   and   finally  eminently  successful    one,   at  Caledonia 
Springs.     And  here  it  may  well  be  observed,  that  in  reference  gen- 
erally to  founding  new  settlements  in  the  United  States,  the  AssvDci 
ates  in  London,  and  their  agent  here,  had  many  impracticable  views 
at  first,  of  which  they  became  finally  convinced,  by  a  pretty  ex 
pensive  experience.  ,  -       f      j' 

The  getting  the  Norlhumbe^'and  road  through ;  the  commence- 
mentof  a  settlement  at  Williamsburg,  and  the  building  of  a  saw 
mill  on  the  Canascraga  creek,  near  the  present  town  of  Ossian  oc- 
cupied the  business  season  of  1792.  Mr.  Williamson  himself  iiav- 
ing  settled  his  family  at  Northumberland,  was  upon  the  move  • 
visited  New  lork,  Baltimore;  travelled  in  the  interior  of  Mary' 
land  and  Pennsylvania,  beating  up  for  emigrants;  and  explored 
pretty  thoroughly  the  whole  region  over  which  his  agency  extended 

In  tlie  spring  of   1793,  operations  were  commenced  at  Bath  f 


*  A  e;oo(l  anecdote  panic  of  it  however,  wliirli  it  is  sni()  1,-uI  on,>,oH-      .1 
his  dislike  of  11,0  eountiy.     Threadi,,.^  tl  e  rorest  oif  1  0,1  ^"^T  )vV''  ^"  "^'''^ 

his  eo,niK„,io„  wove  a(tr;lc,edl,y  the  ;H,is;"/^S,""-nr^^M^^^^ 

p..  oi:e'h:^u:'i;:Sn;::tt  ^:i:l::ikj!;^ti-  ••?•' r '^^ 

Highland  ('olony,  was  not  early  intHHliiwd   into  lhi,s  reL'ion      The  read  rim  1   ^ 
h.irn,i.-.ed,  that  the  i,artj  were  viewing  Clifton  Springs?   ^  "  ''-'"^''  '^'"  ^'■'"' 

t  Name  from  ttio  daughter  of  Si--  Wn,.  ruUncy.  who  was  Couutc«s  of  Bath. 


PHELPS  AND   GORIIAm's  PUECHASE 


259 


Two  boats  with  workmen,  provisions  &c.,  came  up  the  Susquehan- 
nah  to  Tioga  Point,  where  they  left  one  boat  and  half  the  load  of 
the  other,  and  reached  Bath  April  15,  1793.  Mr.  Williamson  ar- 
rived via  Northumberland  road,  two  days  after.  Some  shantees 
were  thrown  up,  a  village  plat  survpyed,  a  log  land  office  was  built ; 
and  during  the  season,  about  twenty  other  log  buildings  were  erect- 
ed. As  would  be  said  in  this  later  day  of  refinement  in  language, 
the  Pioneers  had  a  "distinct  view  of  the  elephant."  Provisions 
failed,  and  they  were  at  one  time  three  days  without  food ;  as  they 
cleared  away  the  forest,  the  fever  and  ague,  as  it  was  wont  to  do, 
walked  into  the  opening,  and  the  new  comers  were  soon  freezing, 
shaking,  and  then  burning  with  fever,  in  their  hastily  constructed 
cabins.  It  was  Mr.  Williamson's  introduction  into  the  hardships 
and  [)rivations  of  the  wilderness.  "  He  would  lay  in  his  hut,  with 
his  feet  to  the  fire,  and  when  the  cold  chills  of  ague  came  on,  call 
for  some  one  to  lie  close  to  his  back,  to  keep  him  warm."  To  other 
improvements  during  the  year,  at  Bath,  Mr.  Williamson  added  a 
log  tavern,  which  was  opened  and  kept  by  John  Metcalf  Bath 
having  been  fixed  upon  as  the  centre  of  all  the  southern  portion  of 
the  Associates'  purchase,  farther  improvements  were  commenced. 
Mr.  Williamson  built  a  saw  mill  and  a  grist  mill ;  emigrants  from 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  soon  began  to  be  attracted  there.  It 
became  the  permanent  residence  of  Mr.  Williamson.  The  Dulte, 
Liancourt,  who  visited  him  in  the  summer  of  1795,  says:  —  "The 
habitation  of  the  Captain  consists  of  several  small  houses,  formed  of 
trunks  of  trees  and  joiners'  work,  which  at  present  forms  a  very  ir- 
regular whole,  but  which  he  intends  soon  to  improve.  His  way  of 
living  is  simple,  neat  and  good  ;  every  day  we  had  a  joint  of  fresh 
meat,  vegetables  and  wine.  We  met  with  no  circumstances  of 
pomp  or  luxury,  but  found  good  ease,  humor  and  plenty."  Perhaps 
it  is  the  fairest  eulogium  I  can  pass  upon  his  free  and  easy  urbanity 
to  say,  that  all  the  time  of  our  stay,  he  seemed  as  much  at  his  ease 
as  if  we  had  not  been  present.  He  transacted  all  his  business  in 
our  presence,  and  was  actively  employed  the  whole  day  long.  We 
were  present  at  his  receiving  persons  of  different  ranks  and  des- 
criptions, with  whom  the  appartment  he  allots  to  business  is  generally 
crowded.  He  received  them  all  v/ith  the  same  attention,  civility 
and  good  nature.  They  came  to  him  prepossessed  with  a  certain 
Confidence  in  him,  and  they  never  leave  him  dissatisfied.     He  is  at 


260 


PIIELP3  AND   GOKTT.Ul's    PURCHASE. 


ir  I 


all  times  ready  to  converse  witli  any  who  have  business  to  transact 
with  him.     He   will  break   off 


a  conversation  with  his  friends,  or 


sake  of  dispatching  those  who  wish 


even  get  up  from  dinner  for 
to  speak  to  him. 

h\  the  spring  of  1791,  improvements  were  commenced  at  Geneva, 
the  first  and  principal  one  being  the  erection  of  the  Geneva  Hotel. 
It  was  comi)lcted  in  December,  and  opened  with  a  grand  ball,  which 
furnished  a  memorable  epoch  in  the  early  history  of  the  Genesee 
country.     The  Hotel  was  talked  of  far  and  wide  as  a  wonderful  en- 
terprise ;  and  .such  it  really  was.     Even  now,  after  the  lapse  of  fifty- 
six  years,  when  fine  hotels  have  arisen  in  all  of  our  cities  and  prin- 
cipal villages,  the  okl  Williamson  Hotel,  as  it  is  often  called,  in  its  fine 
location,  with  its  large  open  park  in  front,  is  ranked  as  one  of  the 
first  class.     Imagine  how  it  was  when  it  had  no  competitors  in  all 
the  region  west  of  Utica,  save  perhaps  three  or  Ibur  moderate  sized 
framed  taverns  ;  when  log  taverns  were  generally  the  order  of  the 
day.     It  was  an  Astor  House  then  ;  and  even  this  comparison  falls 
short  of  conveying  an  idea  of  its  then  comparative  magnitude.    Mr. 
Williamson  wrote  to  his  principals,  proposing  such  "a  house,  and 
urged  that  as  it  would  stand  in  the  doorway  or  entrance  to  the 
Genesee  country,  it  should  be  respectable  ;  so  designed  as  to  make 
a  favorable  impression ;  and  urged  beside,  that  such  a  house,  where 
all  the  comforts  of  a  good  English  inn  could  be  realized,  would 
mvite  respectable  people  to  the   country.     And  so  perhaps  it  did. 
How  many  readers  of  these  early  reminiscences,  will  remember 
the  house,  the  landlord,  and  all  belonging  to  that  early  halting  place, 
in  the  long  and  dreary  journles  that  used  to  be  made.   Blended  with  it 
in  memory,  is  the  old  stage  coach  ;  chilled  and  drowsy  with  long  night 
rides,  over  hubs  or  poached  clay  roads,  there  would  be  the'^smart 
crack  of  the  driver's  whip,  the  trundling  of  the  wheels  upon  a  stone 
pavement,  the  squaring  up  to  the  door,  the  getting  out  and  stretching 
of  almost  torpid  limbs ;  the  ushering  in  to  well  warmed  and  com- 
fortable apartments,  the  smell  and  the  taste  of  smoking  steak  and 
hot  coffee,  and  other  "creature  comforts,"  that  it  will  not  do  to 
speak  of  now.     Your  modern  travellers  know  nothing  of  the  ex- 
tremes of  pain  and  pleasure  of  the  old  fashioned  way  of  traveling 
from  Albany  to  Bufl'alo.     For  landlord  to  his  new  Hotel,  Mr.  Wib 
liamson  selected  Thom;..;  Powell,  whom  he  had  known  in  London, 
connected  with  the  celebrated   "  Thatched  Cottage,  the  rct^uH  of 


PHELPS   AND   GOmiAll'a   rURCHASE. 


261 


to  transact 
friends,  or 
who  wish 

-t  Geneva, 
va  Hotel. 
»nll,  wliich 

Genesee 
der'ul  an- 
sa ot'fifty- 
and  prin- 
in  its  fine 
ne  of  the 
lors  in  all 
'ate  sized 
er  of  the 
ison  falls 
ide.    Mr. 
3use,  and 
!e  to  the 
to  make 
^e,  where 
:1,  would 
IS  it  did. 
Mneinher 
ng  place, 
d  with  it 
'ng  night 
le  smart 

a  stone 
retchinji 
id  com- 
3ak  and 
t  do  to 
the  ex- 
•aveling 
[r.  Wil- 
-.ondon, 
sort  of 


statc.^imen,  politicians  and  wits."  *     He  had  previously  emigrated  to 
this  country,  and  opened  a  house  at  Lansirigburg. 

Although  Mr.  Williamson's  house  was  at  Bath,  a  large  proportion 
of  his  time  was  spent  at  Geneva,  attending  to  mailers  connected 
with  the  northern  division  of  the  purchase.  The  company  that  he 
drew  around  him,  made  a  very  considerable  business  for  the  new 
hotel ;  and  it  was  the  early  home  of  the  young  men  without  fami- 
lies, who  located  at  Geneva;  the  principal  stopping  place  for  enu- 
grants,  who  could  afford  the  comforts  of  a  good  iim.  Under  the 
auspices  of  Reed  and  Ryckman,  Joseph  Annin  and  licnjamin  Bar- 
ton had  surveyed  a  small  village  plat,  which  was  superseded  under 
Mr.  Williamson's  auspices  by  a  new,  cnlrM-t^ed  survey,  generally 
as  now  indicated,  except  that  the  new  survey,  i\ir.  Willian)son"s 
plan,  contemplated  that  the  whole  town  should  be  built  up  frjnting 
the  Lake;  the  space  between  the  mam  street  and  the  Lake,  was 
intended  for  terraced  parks  and  gardens.  Ii  a  few  words,  Geneva 
is  now,  though  beautiful  in  all  its  appointments,  more  upon  the  utili- 
tarian order,  than  Mr.  Williamson  intended.  He  had  seen  the 
original  in  his  travels  upon  the  continent,  and  associating  Seneca 
Lake  with  "  Lake  Leman,"  had  in  view  an  imitation,  in  a  wilder- 
ness of  the  new  world.  In  reference  to  this  as  well  as  other  of  his 
projections,  his  ardent  and  sanguine  temperament  lad  him  to  sup- 
pose that  villages  and  village  imprfivements,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
could  precede  a  general  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Experience  has 
shown  that  they  must  follow  by  slow  steps  after  it. 

The  Hotel  was  but  a  part  of  Mr.  Williamson's  enterprises  at 
Geneva. 

Before  the  State  had  acknowledged  the  correctness  of  the  new 
pre-emption  line,  as  in  the  case  of  the  site  of  Geneva,  and  Reed 
and  Ryckman,  patents  had  been  issued,  covering  nearly  the  whole 
of  "  the  Gore,"  Mr.  Williamson,  through  the  agency  of  Mr.  John 
Johnstone,  having  purchased  all  the  patents,  had  so  fortified 
the  claim  of  his  principals,  that  he  had  ventured  upon  exercising 
ownership;  though  title  was  yet  an  open  question.  In  March, 
1705,  while  a  bill  was  pending  in  the  legislature,  providing  for  run- 
ning a  third  line,  by  the  Surveyor  General,  and  if  the  one  run  by 
Mr.  Ellicott  should  prove  correct,  to  give  the  associates  other  lands 

*  Mr.  Powell  became  an  early  stajro  propiictor.  After  keepiiiir  the  Hotel  for  many 
years,  lie  removed  to  Sclieuuclutiy,  uiid  was  succeeded  by  Lia  broLher,  Win.  rowcll. 


[■ 


262 


PIIELPS   AND    OOKIIA^il's   Pr KCIIASE. 


in  lieu  of  those  that  had  been  patented  upon  the  Gore ;  Philhp 
Schuyler  introduced  amendments,  which  prevailed,  makinrr  it  dis- 
cretionary  with  the  Surveyor  General,  allnvvins  Irm  to  w.-dve  the 
runnmg  of  a  new  line,  if  he  satisfied  himself  that  Mr.  Ellicott's 
Ime  was  correct;  and  leave  it  to  the  commissioners  of  the  land 
office  to  arrange  matters  between  the  holders  of  patent?)  and  the  as- 
sociates, or  Mr.  Williamson,  holding  as  he  did,  by  purchase,  most 
of  the  patents,  to  perfect  the  title  to  "the  Gore,"  nearly  84,000 
acres.  As  an  equivolent  for  what  he  had  paid  in  the  purchase  of 
patents,  the  commissioners  of  the  land  office  conveyed  to  him  about 
the  same  quantity  of  land  embraced  in  the  patents,  off  from  the 
military  tract,  in  what  is  now  Wolcott  and  Galen,  in  Wavne 
county. 

The  reader  will  have  seen  that  the  first  location  of  "  The  Friend'' 
and  her  followers,  was  upon  «  The  Gore."  Their  titles  were  all 
confirmed  by  Mr.  Williamson,  upon  terms  generally  satisfactory. 

Sodus  was  the  next  site  chosen  for  the  foundation  of  a  settle- 
ment—or in  Aict,  for  the  founding  of  a  commercial  villa^ro  —not 
to  say  city.     In  all  Mr.  Williamson's  plans  for  settling  The  coun- 


wl.oa,e  nm.w,n  thvHmiTtT^?  w'  *'?-"  "PP?'-t""i'y.  ^«  I't  thee  know  ««;  wishes, 
t"  ri ,  "  ,  tffsS  '  /v  {;""n<l's  «<^ttk.Mu.Ht  in  Jonisaler,,,  i„  the  coiuUy  of 
fr  eS  Wi  h  s  .  fS  w/  r  ^  "'■''■  ^^''  ^'"^  ^"I'S'^'i'^^'s.  ^vish  lo  take  deeds  iVora 
Our  desires  kX  e  w  I  "V  l^Vrov^'T'^t.^i  ,,„,  rather  than  any  other  person. 
^1.0  are  on  ihe  hmd  ""'  ^''^'"'"  "^  '^'"  '^""'^  '"  '^"^  "^'^''^  P"-^""  ^ul  to  us, 

Ehiatlian  Botsford, 

Daniel  Iiiirraljani, 

Richard  Matthews, 

Ehiathan  Bot.st'ord,  jr., 

Asaliel  Stnne, 

Samuel  Doolittle, 

Jdlin  Davis, 
-  Benedict  Robinson, 

pu^tt  "■  ;St'"k '""]  ?"!?''='; ''"\~  -^'"thcrsof  the  Friend,  ..thesame 
out  reserve- _''?t  it  1,1    -1    ^'?']*'","  ^^  'Hi.t'"^""  "  iiito  hie  family  atlairs,  with- 


Beiiajah  Botsford 
Eleazor  Ingrahatii, 
Solomon  In(^riJiain, 
Richard  Smith, 
Abel  Botsford, 
Enoeli  Malin, 
Williatn  Davis, 
John  Briggs, 


Philo  In^aljam, 
Elisha  Inf,'rahain, 
Samuel  I'arsons, 
Jonathan  Davis, 
E\iy,)li  Malin, 
Thos.  Hathaway, 
Mary  Aldrieh." 


PHl'Xl'S   AND  GOEHAM's    PURCHASE. 


263 


try,  and  his  projections  of  internal  improvements,  laid  from  time  to 
time  before  his  principals,  he  had  looked  to  the  Conhocton,  the 
Caniste,  Tioga  and  Susquehannah  rivers,  as  the  avenues  to  market 
from  the  southern  district  of  the  Genesee  purchase ;  and  to  Balti- 
more as  its  commercial  mart.  With  those  views,  he  had  founded 
Bath.  *  Looking  to  Lake  Ontario,  the  Oswego  river,  Oneida  Lake. 
Wood  Creek,  the  Mohawk  and  the  Hudson  river,  and  the  St.  Law- 
rence, as  avenues  to  the  New  York  and  Montreal  markets,  for  the 
northern  district  of  the  purchase,  he  selected  Sodus  Bay  as  the 
commercial  depot. 

Early  in  the  winter  of  1793,  he  determined  upon  improvements 
there,  and  in  the  spring  of  '04,  he  had  roads  cut  out  from  Palmyra 
and  Phelpstown,  to  get  access  to  the  spot  from  those  points.  It 
was  his  first  appearance  in  the  Lake  Ontario  region,  and  his  pre- 
sence there,  with  his  surveyors,  road  makers,  builders,  and  all  the 
retinue  necessary  to  carry  out  his  plans,  created  a  new  era  —  in- 
spired new  hopes  with  the  scattered  backwoods  settlers.  It  had 
looked  before  he  came,  as  if  for  long  years,  no  one  would  be  bold 
enough  to  penetrate  tlie  dark,  heavy  forests,  that  in  a  wide  belt,  were 
stretched  along  the  shores  of  the  Lake.  They  entertained  before 
no  hopes  of  realizing  for  years,  any  better  facilities  for  trans- 
portation to  market,  than  was  afforded  by  Ganargwa  Creek, f  the 
outlet  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  and  Clyde  river.  He  had  preceded 
the  enter['rise  by  a  written  announcement  of  the  plan  of  oper- 
ations :  —  It  contemplated  the  survey  of  "  a  town  between  Salmon 
Creek  and  Great  Sodus  Bay,  and  a  spacious  street,  with  a  large 
square  in  the  centre,  between  the  Falls  on  Salmon  Creek  and  the 
anchorage  in  the  Bay,  and  mills  are  to  be  built  at  the  Falls  on  Sal- 
mon Creek."  He  adds  :  —  "  As  the  harbor  of  Great  Sodus  is  ac- 
knowledged to  be  the  finest  on  Lake  Ontario,  this  town,  in  the  con- 
venience of  the  mills  and  extensive  fisheries,  will  command  advan- 
tages unknown  to  the  country,  independent  of  the  navigation  of 


•  It  shiiiild  be  (ib>c'rvo(l,  tliiit  Ik-  ronteniplatcil  ilio  iinpvovotneiit  of  t]w  iiavii^atioii 
of  those  livers,  and  projuctuil  a  caiud  to  connect  tiie  lioga  and  Delaware  rivers,  in 
order  to  reach  Philatlelphia. 

tMud  Creek,  until  rec(ii\tly.  Tlie  old  name  was  Mended  witli  tin-  lecnllection  of 
staj^nant  waters,  liof^s,  chills  and  i'ever.s.  When  its  whole  a,spect  liad  been  rlian!i;ed  by 
tlie  hiind  of  ini])rovt'inent,  and  it  became  even  picturesque  and  bcatitii'ul  in  its  inean- 
derintrs  throUi,'li  ('idtivated  ticlds,  and  a  rural  sc(  nery  seldom  i  quailed,  the  dwellers  in 
its  valley  werc^  enabled,  witli  the  help  of  Lewis  Morgan,  PJsq  ,  of  Rochester,  to  couiu 
ul  itaancieat  Scuecu  name,  wliich  they  adopted. 


ivm. 


2G4 


PIIELP3  AND    GORlIAil's  rURCIIASE. 


I>  I 


the  Great  Lake,  and  the  St.  Lawrence."  The  town  was  surveyed 
by  Joseph  Colt.  Tlie  plan  was  as  indicated  above.  The  in-lot3 
contained  a  quarter  of  an  acre,  and  the  out-lots  ten  acres.  The 
whole  was  upon  a  scale  ofmagnificoncc  illy  suited  to  that  primitive 
period;  and  yet,  perhaps,  justified  by  thru  pr'^poctive  events; 
and  more  than  all,  by  the  capacious  ar.d  hcnutiliil  Bay,  the  best 
natural  harbor  upon  our  whole  chain  of  Lakes,  a  view  of  which, 
even  now,  e.xcites  surprise  that  it  has  not,  ere  this,  more  than  reali- 
zed the  always  sanguine  expectations  of  Mr.  Williamson. 

The  in-lots  in  the  new  town,  were  ofFered  for  one  hundred  dol- 
lars; the  out-lots,  for  four  dollars  per  acre  ;  the  farming;  l.iuds  in 
all  the  neighborhood,  at  one  dollar  fifty  cents  per  acic.     Thomas 

Little  and MolFat,  were  the  local  agents.     A  tavern  house  was 

erected  at  a  cost  of  over  $5000,  and  opened  by  Moses  and  Jabez 
Sill.  *  JMiJLs  were  erected  at  the  Falls  on  Salmon  Creek  ;  a  plea- 
sure boat  was  placed  upon  .the  Bay  ;  and  several  other  improve- 
ments made.  In  roads,  surveys,  buildings,  die,  over  820,000  was 
expended  in  the  first  two  years. 

The  first  difficulty  encountered  was  the  ague  and  fever,  that  early 
incubus  that  brooded  over  all  of  Pioneer  enterprise,  upon  the  Lake 
shore.  When  the  sickly  season  came,  agents,  mechanics  and  labor- 
ers, could  only  work  upon  "  well  days.  "  Mr.  Williamson  soon  be- 
gan to  realize  that  there  was  something  beside  the  "  romantic  and 
beautiful,  "  about  the  "Bay  of  Naples"  he  had  found  hid  away  in 
the  forests  of  the  Genesee  country.  And  another  trouble  came. 
DO^  See  British  invasion  of  the  Genesee  country,  at  Sodus. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Williamson  had  perfected  his  title  to  the  Gore, 
the  junction  of  the  Canandaigua  out-let  and  Ganargwa  creek,   the 

fine  flats,  hemmed  in  by  hills  and  gentle  swells  of  upland the 

facilities  aflbrded  for  navigation  with  light  craft,  —  attracted  his  at- 
tention. Fancying  the  outlet  and  the  creek  to  be  miniature  repre- 
sentations of  the  Rhone  and  the  Sayone,  and  struck  with  a  coinci- 
dence of  landscapes,  he  bestowed  upon  the  location  the  name  of 
Lyons.  lie  had  been  preceded  here  by  some  of  the  earliest  Pioneers 
of  the  Genesee  country.     In  May,  1789,  a  small  colony  consisting 

*Mosos  Sill  (lied  in  D;ui,svillo,  in  1849.  Jalicz  Sill  died  at  Wilkcsbarre,  iti  1844. 
Th(!  lattdi-was  an  oarly  pmjirictor  at  I'lidcaiix,  "  IJrudiidck's  Bay."  His  son,  Uaiiiol 
Sill,  is  the  forlutiaU;  Caliioi'iiia  adventurer  from  DansviJIe. 

IJ^* For  Konu!  .•icconiit  of  the  Sill  family.  Bce  History  of  Wyoraliig,  and  Mrs.  Ellott's 
"  Woraon  of  the  lluvolutiou." 


PHELPS  AND  GOIUIAllS  PURCHASE. 


265 


of  twelve  persons,  were  piloted  up  the  Mohawk,  and  by  the  usual 
water  route,  by  Weinple,  the  Indian  trader  who  has  been  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ivirkland.     Arriving  at  what  was 
then  the  principal  head  of  navigation,  especially  for  batteaux  of  any 
considerable  size,  they  located  and  erected  log  huts  half  a  mile  south 
of  the  present  village  of  Lyons,  whore  James  Dunn  lately  resided. 
The  heads  of  families,  were  :  —  Nicholas  Stanscll,  William  Stansell, 
and  a  brother  in-law,  John  Featherly.     They  had  been  inured  to 
iiardships,  toil  and  (I;inger,  as  border  settlers  upon  the  Mohawk,  and 
in  Otsego  county  ;  Wm.  Stansell  had  been  to  this  region  in  Sulli- 
van's expedition.     Their  nearest  neighbors  were  Decker  Robinson 
and  tlie  Oaks  family ;  the  same  season,  a  few  families,  located  at 
Palmyra.     The   Stansells  and  Featherly  may  be  regarded   as  the 
Pioneers  of  all  the  northern  part  of  Wayne  county.     They  ground 
their  corn  in  a  small  hand  mill  "until  a  German  named  Baer  put  up 
a  log  mill  where  Waterloo  now  is. "     Jointly  with  the  Pioneers  of 
Phelps,  they  opened  a  woods  road  to  that  neighborhood  and  in  the 
direction  of  the  mill  at  Waterloo.     The  father  of  the  Stansells  died 
in  the  earliest  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  absence  of  any  funeral 
rites  ;  there  being  no  one  to  conduct  them.     A  few  weeks  previous 
to  Wayne's  victory,  the  early  Pioneers  became  alarmed  ;     made  up 
their  minds  they  must  flee,  or  see  a  second  edition  of  the  scenes 
that  tliey   had  passed  through  upon  the  Mohawk ;  the  old  batteaux 
that  brought  them  into  the  wilderness  was  re-corked  and  pitched  to 
take  them  out  of  it ;  they  were  upon  the  point  of  starting,  when  news 
came  that  '•  Mad  Anthony  "  had  humbled  the  western  nations,  and 
smothered  the  llame  that  had  threatened  to  break  out  in  the  Gene- 
see country.     These  early  adventurers  depended  much  upon  the 
"  products  of  the  forest ;  "  not  such  as  comes  under  that  head   in 
our  modern  canal  statistics;  but  upon  wild  game;  deer  principally, 
Nicholas  Stansell  was  a  hunter,  and  would  go  out   and  kill  from 
eight  to  ten  deer  in  a  day.     Nicholas  Stansell,  a  surviving  son  of 


Note.  — This  curly  colony  hronslit  in  with  tlicin  some  ling,s.  and  the  rosult,  with 
other  i^iniilar  oiic-j  thiit  will  bo  noted,  coiifinnR  Hk;  fact  that  oui-'doniostioatcd  ho^  will 
if  tnriu'd  into  the  forest,  to  share  it  with  wild  atiinials  alor.c,  gu  hack  U>  his  primitive 
condition  in  one,  or  two  years,  at  farthest.  A  Iwar,  of  this  primitive  stock  changed 
ni  foiiii,  liecame  a  wild  racer,  liis  tusks  grew  to  a  frightful  length  ;  he  became  more 
than  a  match  fi>r  bears  and  wolves  ;  and  finally  a  terror  to  the  new  settlers,  until  he 
Wius  hunted  and  shot.  The  first  progeny  of  tliis  primitive  stock  when  caught  could 
not  be  tallied,  oiid  geuurull^  had  £u  be  hunted  like  otlier  game. 

17 


J66 


PHELPS  AND  GOIUIAM's  PURCHASE. 


one  of  the  two  Pioneer  brotlicrs,  who  now  resides  in  Arcadia 
Wayne  county,  says  :  —  "  After  our  first  stock  of  provisions  was 
exhausted,  we  saw  hard  times ;  got  out  of  corn  once ;  went  and 
liourrht  of  Onondaga  Indians.  For  days  we  were  without  any  pro- 
visions other  than  what  the  forest,  the  streams,  and  our  cows  aflor- 
ded.  We  eat  milk  and  greens.  Venison  and  fish  we  could  always 
have  in  plenty.  My  father  hardly  ever  missed  when  he  went  out 
after  a  deer.  Salmon,  bass,  pickerel,  speckled  trout,  ducks  and 
pigeons,  were  in  abundance. " 

A  small  patch  of  corn  and  potatoes,  raised  by  the  Stansells  and 
Featherly,  on  the  old  Dorsey  farm,  in  17S9,  were  the  first  crops 
raised  in  Wayne  county. 

Nicholas  Stansell  died  in  1817  ;  his  surviving  sons  are,  William 
-  Stansell,  of  Arcadia,  and  George  vStansell,  who  lives  a  mile  south 
of  Newark.  John  Featherly  died  a  few  years  since  in  the  town 
of  Rose,  aged  80  years.  Nicholas  Stansell,  changing  his  residence 
in  1800,  l)ecame  the  proprietor  of  lands  upon  which  the  village  of 
Lockville  has  grown  up. 

Mr.  Williaiuson  commenced  operations  at  Lyons,  in  the  summer 
of  171)1.  He  made  Charles  Cameron  his  principal  local  agent. 
Reserving  nearly  a  thousand  acres,  which  was  afterwards  sold  to 
Judge  Dorsey,  a  house  and  barn  were  built  for  Mr.  Cameron;  the  first 
framed  house  in  that  region.*  Mr.  Cameron  had  the  village  surveyed, 
and  built  a  store  house  and  distillery.  Before  the  close  of  1790, 
Henry  Tower,  as  Mr.  Williamson's  agent,  had  erected  and  com- 
pleted wiiat  was  long  known  as  "  Tower's  Mills,"  at  Alloway. 

The  mills  must  have  been  of  more  than  ordinary  magnitude,  for 
that  early  period,  as  the  author  observes  that  the  cost  was  over 
twelve  thousand  dollars.  In  addition  to  other  improvements,  Mr. 
Cameron  cleared  land,  a>id  cunnnenced  making  a  farm. 

Next  to  Sodus  Bay,  Mr.  Williamson  had  regarded  Prideaux 
(Braddock's)  Bay  as  a  favorable  position  upon  the  Lake.  He  made 
some  surveys  there  for  a  town,  but  did  little  towards  startins;  it. 
In  his  correspondence  with  his  principals  in  London,  he  often  men- 
tioned the  mouth  of  Genesee  River,  but  not  in  a  way  to  indicate  a 
high  oi)inion  of  its  k)cality.  His  aim  was  to  improve  only  such  spots 
as  were  surrounded  bv  the  lands  he  held  in  charge.     Those  nearest 


It  is  uuw  !^ta^ldiul^  in  a  tolerable  state  of  prcsen'atiou,  on  the  bank  of  the  outlet 


riiELPs  AJND  goeiiam's  pukciiase. 


2G7 


the  mouth  of  the  River  and  the  Falls,  had  been  sold  by  Thelps  and 
Gorham,  before  their  sale  to  the  London  Associates.     In  1794  he 
visited  the  Falls,  Prideaux  Bay,  and  spent  a  day  c"-  ;•'•.   with  Wm. 
Hcnchcr.     He  soon  after  purchased  of  Samuel  l!.  Ogde;,  the  Allan 
Mill,  and  the  Hundred  Acres,  with  a  view  i ->  con.  ..jncing  some 
improvements  upon  the  present  site  of  the  cit'  -A'  V  chester.     Al- 
lan had  sold  the  property  to  Benjamin  Barton,  sen  o  ■ ;    ,nd  Barton  to 
Of];dcn.      DCT  See  deed,  or  title  paper,  in  Library  of  Rochester 
Athenaeum  and  Mechanic's  Association.     At  tlit  fima  of  William- 
son's purchase,  the  mill,  a  frail  structure  origuially,  with  no  cus- 
tomers to  keep  it  in  motion,  had  got  much  out  of  repair.     He 
expended  upon  it  some  five  or  six  hundred  dollars— put  it  in  tolera- 
ble rei)air— but  unfortunately  there  were   no  customers.     It  was 
dilTicult  of  access  from  the  older  settlements,  and  mills  more  con- 
venient for  them,  were  soon  erected.     The  purchase,  repair,  and 
sale  of  the  mill  and  mill  tract,  was  about  the  extent  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liamson's enterprises  at  the  "  Falls  of  the  Genesee  River,"  where 
the  aspect  of  things  in  that  early  day,  was  any  thing  but  encouraging. 
In  1798,  a  party  of  emigrants  from  Perthshire,  Scotland,  cmfgra. 
ted  to  America,  landing  at  New  York,  and  coming  west  as  far  as 
Johnstown,  IMontgomery  county,  halted  there  to  determine  on  some 
permanent  location.     Mr.  Williamson  hearing  of  the  arrival  of  his 
countrymen,  made  a  journey  to  see  them.     He  found  them  poor 
in  purse  — with  nothing  to  pay  for  lands  — and  but  little  even  for 
present  subsistence ;  but  they  came  from  the 

Land  of  the  forest  and  tlie  rock, 

Of  dark  Ijlue  hike  and  mighty  river. 
Of  mountains  reared  aloft,  to  mock 

The  storm's  career,  the  lightning's  shock ; 


.X  r  <^^'".''^^''">' '""y  '">  r'-osumod  to  bo  the  first  business  letter  that  was  ever 
written  fn.m  tlie  site  ul  the  present  eity  of  ]{„chost<.r.  Christopher  Du-au  nwried  a 
sister  ot  Lbenezer  Allan,  and  was  put  in  charge  of  the  mill  by  him  : 

„,  .„  ^    ,  ,       ^,  i'ALLS  Of   t^EXESEE,  Aiig.  9,  1791. 

The  null  erected  by  Ebenezer  Allan,  which  I  am  informed  vou  have  purchased  is 
n  a  bad  situation  luuch  out  of  repair,  and  unless  atientiou  is'paid  to  itTwiU  so„n 
fc.ke  Its  voyage  to  the  Lake.  I  have  resided  here  for  .several  ve;n  .,  aud  ke  t  U  ehTnd 
war,  ,  w.thout  ee  e.r  recompense ;  and  am  please.l  to  hear  *t  hat  t  has  t;  lien  So  the 
bajuts  o  a  gentleman  who  is  able  to  repair  ii',  and  whose  character  is  sue  1  a  1  firm  y 
x.heve  he  wdl  not  allow  an  old  man  to  suffer  without  rew.anl  lor  his  exertions  I  w2 
lo  have  you  come,  or  send  some  one  to  take  care  of  the  mill,  as  my  sit^^  at  ou  is  S 
as  makes  it  necessary  soon  to  remove.     I  am  sir,  with  respect  your  mos 


OiiAiiLKa  WiLLi.-iiisox,  Esq, 


obedient  humbl 


e  servant. 


CUIUSTOPHEU  DUGAN. 


268 


T'HELPS  AND  GOKIIAm's   PURCHASE. 


they  were  rich  in  courage,  in  a  spirit  of  perseverence,  in  habits  of 
industry ;  in  all  the  elements  that  Ilk  in  the  wilderness,  and  success 
in  It,  requn-cd.     Mr.  Williamson  became  to  them  not  onlv  a  patroon, 
but  a  benefactor.     "A  Scot  had  met  a  brithcr  Scot."  '  He  offered 
them  a  favorite  loration,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  "  Big  Springs," 
(Caledonia) ;  -  land  at  three  dollars  per  acre,  payable  in  wheat  It 
SIX  shillings  per  bushel ;  a  reasonable  pay  day;  and  besides,  to  fur- 
nish them  with  provisions  until  they  could  help  themselves.     Four 
of  their  number  were  sent  out  to  view  the  lands;  were  pleased 
with  the  allotment  that  Mr.  Williamson  had  made  ;  on  their  return, 
met  him  on  his  way  from  Geneva  to  Canandaigua  ;  he  drew  up  a 
writing  on  the  road,  and  the  bargain  was  thus  closed.     In  March, 
1799,  while  there  was  yet  sleighing,  the  Scotch  adventurers  came 
from  Johnstown   to  the  "Big  Springs."*     Those  who  first  came 
were:— Peter  Campbell   and  wife,  Malcolm  .MLaren  and  wife, 
John    M'Naughton  and  wife;   and   Donald  M"Vcan   and   Hugh 
M'Dormid,  single  men.     In    the   fall  of  the  same  year,  they  were 
joined   Ly    their  countrymen,    John   M'Vean,   John   M'Pherson, 
John  Anderson,  Duncan  Anderson,  all  single  men  "but  M'Vean! 
During  the  next  year  they   were  joined   by  Donald  M'Piiersoni 
Donald  Anderson,  Alexander  Thompson,  and  their  families.     Those 
whose  names  have  been  given,  except  Thompson  and    M'Vean, 
had  crossed  the  ocean  in  the  same  ship.     They  are  to  be  regarded 
as  constituting  the  primitive  settlers  at  Caledonia,  though  for  s°cveral 
years  after,  other  of  their  countrymen  joined  them. 

The  Springs,  being  on  the  great  trail  from  Tioga  point  to  Fort 
Niagara,  had  long  been  a  favorite  camping  ground.f  Previous  to 
the  Scotch  advent.  Fuller  and  Peterson,  had  become  squatters  there, 
built  log  houses,  and  entertained  travelers.  This  furnished  the 
Scotch  settlers  a  temporary  shelter.  John  Smith,  one  of  Mr.  Will- 
iamson's surveyors,  soon  arrived  and  surveyed  their  lands,  so  j^lan- 
ning  the  surveys  that  each  allotment  would  have  a  front  upon  the 
streams.  Log  houses  were  soon  erected  in  the  primitive  manner, 
small  patches   of  summer  crops  planted ;  and  the  Scotch  settlers 


™no      Vm       '''"  ^V, ""»!'',:■  *^  *''''  hcaVdy,  even  a.s  far  back  ns  (he  first  Engl Lsh  occu- 
pancy „f  Nia-Mva.     Mi-.  W  illianison  gavo  it  thu  new  niuno  of  Caledonia. 

t  Au  old  C.'inrulian  cniifrrant,  and  a  frequent  traveler  upon  the  trail  abont  the  close 

1  Id  l";\"'"".""'  ""r  ''"'  ?"'r''"i^'  "."^^'^^^^  '^  fr'-'l"'^"^,  that  the  firen  of  one  party 
would  be  burning  when  anulhor  arrived,  *      ' 


PnELP3  a™    aORDAJl's  PCRCnASE.  269 

Zil^ZTr"'"'; "'""°' "™""'"'"  "'"■ '""''' '--'  «s--t 

Mel";,   I    '"",'"'  r'"''"'   ^"'"   """"  •"  Alexander 

lor  supplung  some   provisions.     Wheat  was  procured  at  Dans 

vile  and  ground  nuhe  Mes.rs.  Wads,vor,hs'   ml  at  Co,  esus    and 

pork  was    drawn   from    the  store   at  Williamsbur.      Mr    W 1 

^an,»„„  ako  furnished  them  with  some  cows.    And' how  dM™ 

manage  for  yo,„.  early  team  work  ?  was  the  author',  enouir    of'the 

bv  hi  t     ,      "  f'-^'^^-S'""".  "°w  in  his  80,h  vear..    „  Lnded 

and    ro.;';":;?"'  """"'f,  °^™'-  hi^gamersfilled  to  overflowing, 

"C  o     steX"  Ti''"'^""''  P™-i-S'"'-e  abundance 

rive,'  it  T  ";     '"'  "■"' "«  """^'^  -^P"".  f"  ^«'l«-x  on  the 

pu,ts        h!  e   "T  "?  :"'^'"=''  »»"  «fty  »--  for  school 
r,r        ,./      ["^  "'  ""^  *P""S'  •■'  S"^'  '-""I  S'""  mill,  which 

This  is  so  far  as  Mr.  Williamson  was  directly  connected  with  the 
P.oaecr  settlers  at  Caledonia.  Their  after  progress  will  be  m  n*d 
w,d,  event.,  „a,-ra.od  in  succccling  portions  of  the  work  " 

The  reader  of  the  present  d.ay  will  smile  at  the  idea  of  ■■  Fairs  " 
and  Race  grounds  ,„  back  woods  settlements,  at  a  time  when 
settlers  generally  had  but  just  made  small  openings  in  the  forest  anS 
stood  n,o,.e  ,n  need  of  log  causeways  over  streams,  boa  ds  fo  ter 
blr:;-  'tr  '"J'rr'^^-  'h-  of-o^  dorses  or  imp,,  td 

»eef,ha  „  tti      "r"l  T^"'""   "''-"'«"-  Scotchman  had 
seen   ihQse  thmgs  m  England  and  Scotland,  and  supposed  them 

ments,  and  as  ,    will   be  observed  he  had  ulteiior  object,  in  view 
mprcssed  w.tl,  the  idea  that  the  region,  the  settlemen   of  whic  To 
«a   cndcavoiang  to  promote,  was  nearly  all  it  had  m-„ved  to  ),! 

cnlhusi.islic  even  inhiseflrats-  h„l,.,t        i  ^  '"' ■ 
niselloits,  he  had  made  up  hjs  mind  that  the 

Uio  hi„    l„„,„„  i]i,„h  Cli„ml„.,l  ,"„".„»,  :""l,,'}^'-  ■'!';'•"'"';  ":«•  ll»  wiaon-of 


270 


PHELPS    AOT)    GORIIAMS    PURCHASE. 


Genesee  country  need  only  be  seen  to  be  appreciated.     In  travelling 
through  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  Pennsylvania,  he  had  endeavored 
to  bring  niei-  of  wealth  and  enterprise  to  view  the  country,  but  had 
generally  failed.     It  was  too  secluded,  too  far  off  from  civilization, 
too  much  threatened  with  Indian  wars ;  liad  in  it  too  much  of  the 
elements  of  chills  and  fevers,  to  be  attractive,  to  men  who  were  not 
under  the  necessity   of  encountering   such  formidable   difficulties. 
But  he  had  discovered  that  those  he  wanted  to  come  and  see  the 
country  were  fond  of  races  and  holiday  sports,  and  he  resolved  upon 
instituting  them  in  ad<lition  to  the  attractions  he  had  held  out.     In 
1794  he  had  laid  out  a  race  course  and  fair  grounds,  near  the  pres- 
ent residence  of  the  Hon.  Charles  Carroll,  on  the  forks  of  the  Can- 
ascraga  creek  and  Genesee  river,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  was 
had  there   a  fair  and    races.     Extensive  preparations   were  made 
for  the  event.     Mr.  Williamson's  anxiety  to  have  all  things  in  read- 
iness is  manifested  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Wadsworth.     He  says  ;  —  "As 
you  have  manifested  much  interest  in  the  exhibition  at  Williams- 
burg, do,  my  friend,  attend  to  it,  and  push  the  getting  a  bridge  from 
Starr's  or  thereabouts,  to  the  flats,  in  time ;  Mr.  Morris  will  give 
£10  and  I  will  give  £lO.     The  appointed  day  came,  and  there  was 
a  gathering  from  all  the  new  settlements  of  the  Genesee  country  ; 
from  as  far  east  as  Utica;  and  of  sportsmen  and  land  explorers  from 
Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.     The  two  small  taverns  of 
Starr  and  Fowler,  at  Williamsburg,  and  the  deserted  log  houses  of 
the  Germans,  were  vastly  inadequate  to  the  accommodation  of  the 
crowd.     The  few  buildings  at  Geneseo,  and  all  the  log  tenements  of 
the  neighborhood  were   put  in  requsition,  and  yet  the  Fair  ground 
had  10  be  an  encampment.     In  the  language  of  an  intbrmant  of  the 
author,  who  was  present :  —  "  Here  met  for  business  and  pleasure, 
men  from  all  parts  of  the  purchase ;  stock  was  exhibited  and  pur- 
chases made.     Here  also  were  seen  for  the  first  time,  the  '  ^liday 
sports  of  "  merry  Englnnd,  "  such  as  greasing  a  pigs  tail ;    ..imbing 
a  greased  pole,  &c.  "     Care  had  been  taken  for  the  gratification  of 
visitors,  to  have  a  general  attendance  of  the  Indians;  and  as  it  was 
just  after  Wayne's  victory,  it  was  perhaps  very  wisely  c:onsidered 
that  it  would  help  them  in  their  then  growing  inclinations  to  be  at 
peace  and  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  their  new  neighbors.     They 
were  present  in  great  numbers,  and  joim  rl  in  the  sports  with  great 
relish.     Their  own  foot  races  and  ball  plays,  were  added  to  the 


PHELPS  AND  GOEUAJl's   PUECHASE. 


sn 


amusements.  It  all  went  oft'  well ;  all  were  pleased ;  the  southern- 
ers and  Pennsylvanians  vvere  delighted  with  the  entertainment  and 
with  the  country  ;  made  favorable  reports  when  they  returned  home  ; 
and  with  many  of  them  it  led  finally  to  emigration.  The  Fair  and 
Races  were  held  next  year  at  Williamsburg,  and  at  Bath  and  Dans- 
ville,  in  a  few  successive  years ;  Mr.  Williamson  had  himself  some 
fine  race  horses  ;  and  in  the  way  of  oxen,  such  was  the  magnitude 
of  his  operations  in  different  portions  of  the  purchase,  that  at  one 
time  he  had  eighty  yoke  wintering  on  the  Genesee  flats. 

In  addition  to  the  enterprises  of  Mr.  Williamson,  that  have  been 
named,  he  was  active  in  procuring  the  passage  of  the  act  for  laying 
out  the  old  State  Road  from  Fort  Schuyler  to  Geneva,  and  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  for  locating  it.  In  1798,  when  Mr.  Elli- 
cott  had  commenced  the  survey  of  the  Holland  Purchase,  he  joined 
him  in  making  what  was  at  first  called  the  "Niagara  Road,"  west 
of  Genesee  river.  He  made  the  road  from  the  river  to  Col.  Gan- 
son's,  within  a  mile  of  Le  Roy,  expending  upon  it  $2,000.  *  He 
assisted  in  making  the  road  from  Lyons  to  Palmyra ;  from  "  Hope- 
ton  to  Townscnds;"  from  "  Seneca  Falls  to  Lyon's  Mills;"  from 
"  Cashong  to  Hopeton."  There  are  few  of  the  primitive  roads  in 
Yates,  Steuben,  and  the  south  part  of  Livingston,  that  he  did  not 
either  make  or  assist  in  making.  He  built  mills  at  Hopeton,  ou 
the  Hemlock  Lake,  and  at  Williamsburgh.  He  added  to  the  hotel 
at  Geneva,  the  "Mile  I'oint  House  and  Farm,"  on  the  bank  of 
Seneca  Lake,  which  he  intended  for  a  brother,  the  "  Hopkins'  House 
and  Farm,"  and  the  "  Mullender  House  and  Farm,"  at  the  Old  Castle. 
His  enterprises  at  Williamsburg  embraced  an  extensive  farm  which 


NoTF  —  Tlic"\Villianison  Fair  niul  Raoes, "  am  .■uiionf;  the  cherished  leniiiiisccuees 
oi  the  "oldest  iidiabitaiits,  "  and  in  t'ael,  it  is  uuly  tlie   oldcwt  wlio  survive  to  remem- 
ber them.     Frolie,  sports,  recreation,  witli  the  meii  of  that  period,  were  tilings  done  in 
earnest  liki-  everything  else  they  undertook,     (ien.  George   M'Clure,  an  early    I'ioneer 
at   Batli,   .low  re.siding  at  j;igiii,  Illinois,  writing  to  liis  old  ti lend  Charles  Cameron, 
now  of  (Irceiie,  Chenango  eo.,  during  the  present  year,  savs  in  allu.sion  to  some  liistor- 
icalreniiniscem>eshe  is  g:ithei'ing  up: — "  It  wont  doto  tt-f  of  all  of  our  doings  in  those 
ilays  of  '  Lang  Syne. '   1  jiresnnie  you  liave  iiot  forgot  .     'lie  night  we  spent  in  Dunn's 
hotel  when  we  roasted  th't  cpiarterof  beef."     "Give   i  ,"  v>>...    'go  and  any  thing  else 
you  can    tliinkof     This  is  a   llouri.shiiig  town.     The   Chioaj.,..    nd  (i.-deim   rail  road 
jw.sses  through  it.     Why  cant  you  come  and  ni.'ike  iis  n  visit.     You  can   come  all  the 
way  by  steam.     1  am  now  in  my  MItli  year,  anil  enjoy  good  lu'ilth. 

*  In  connection  with  this  (-nterprise,  theauth:!  hassmne  items  of  account,  shomng 
the  cost  of  thiiigH  at  that  primitive  period  :  -  !•  .  ,st.f  18  to  take  a  common  waggon 
load  from  Cenevato  Le  Hoy.  2  bbls.  of  |)(,iK  and  2  i)bls.  of  whiskey  cost,  deliverecl, 
(at  (ianson's)  ;«<l;>0.  The  only  urind-stoiie  in  all  the  region,  was  one  owned  by  the 
Indians  at  Cunawagus,  and  tlie  uso  of  it  cost  $1,50.  • 


272 


PHELPS  AKD    GOEHAm's    PURCHASE. 


aa&'ai-  'StuMii 


he  called  the  "  Hermitage  Farm."  Beside  this,  he  had  a  larrre  fonr 
on  the  Canascraga,  a  few  miles  below  Dansville,  and  several  farms 
in  Steuben. 

Connected  with  all  these  improvements  in  the  way  of  agencies, 
clerkships,  mechanics,  surveyors,  road  makers,  &c.,  are  many  fami- 
liar Pioneer  names:  — Among  them,  those  of  William  Wliite,  John 
Swift,  Jonathan  Baker,  "Capt.  Follett,"  Reed,  Buskirk,  Fitzsim- 
mons.  Woodward,  Griswold,  Henry  Brown,  Ralph  T.  Woods,  Peter 
ShaeiTer,    Fiancis    Dana,    Solomon   Earl,   Williams   and    Frazee, 
Gordon  and  Evans,  James  Bardin,  Jonathan  Woods,  Francis  Dana, 
Jonathan  Mathews,  B.  Lazclere,  David  Miloer,  William  Mulhallen, 
Jacob  Hartgiile,  Elisha  Brown,  Leonard  Beaty,  Daniel  Nicholson, 
Woods   and  Pratt,  Thomas  W^ilbur,  Nathaniel  Williams,  Judah 
Colt,  Caleb  Seely,  Thomas  W.  Williams,  E.  Hawkes,  David  Abbey, 
King  and  Howe,   Joseph  Merrill,  Charles  Dutcher,  Jonatiian  Bur- 
nett, Robert  Burnett,  Peter  Lander,  David   Fish,  Daniel  Britain, 
E.  Van  Winkle,  Gideon  Dudley,   Norman  Merry,  David  Abbey, 
Obadiah  Osburn,  George  Humphrey,  Annanias  Piatt,  Wm.  Angus, 
John  Davis,  Grieve  and  Moffatt,  John  Carey,  James  Beaumont, 
Joshua  Laig,  George  Goundry,  Elisha  Pratt,  Pierce  Chamberlain, 
Joseph  Roberts,  Thomas  Howe,  David  Dennett,  Jeremiah  Gregory, 
Darling  Havens,   Daniel  P.  Faulkner,  Jonathan    Harker,    ifenry 
Bro\vn,  Asa  Simmons,  Peter  Rice,  W.  M'Cartney,  James  Hender- 
son, Rufus  Boyd.      These  are  but  a  moiety;    i'or   a  considerable 
period,  in  one  way  and  another,  a  large  proportion  of  the  new 
settlers  were  connected  with  his  enterprises. 

He  was  a  large  subscriber  to  the  Canandaigua  Academy,  to  the 
first  library  established  at  Geneva,  and  aided  in  some  of  the  first 
movements  made  in  the  Genesee  country,  in  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion. After  he  had  extended  his  road  Irom  Northuinberland,  Penn., 
to  Williamsburg,  on  the  Genesee  river,  he  soon  established  a  mail, 
on  foot  sometimes,  and  sometimes  on  horseback,  between  the  two 
points,  thus  opening  a  communication  with  Philadelphia  and  Balti- 
more.    A  branch  mail  went  to  Canandaigua,  Geneva  and  Sodus. 

■lu^,"^''"'""''^^'""^  ^'"'  •'""'  "^  "^''  I'l-ojortion  of  tlie  Stntc  Roiul  west,  of  Romo,  Mr. 
VVilliaiiisun  WHS  n.linn;  iipnii  Jahut  Islnn.l,  in  cr.Min.'inv  witli  Jlo  WitI  Cliiiton  wlio  re- 
iiiiivkuiL'  upnti  llio  KiMo,,|}incs.s  <.f  tliii  roiid.  siii.l  \n  .Mr.  W.;  — "If  you  liiul  such  ro.-uls 
to  your  ooiiiJtry  I  would  iiiiiko  you  avisit."  — "It  cnii  lie  donowith  propor  e.\urtioiis" 
Mr.  (huloii  pioniiscd  liini  liis  co-opcralioM.  and  afterwards  assisted  in  procuring 
the  nu'orporatioii  .,f  tlie  Genera  Turninke  fonipany,  in  which  the  State  Itoau  was 
tiicrg<'d.    Mr.  I'hnicui's  iirst  visit  to  tliis  region,  -was  in  I&'IO. 


PIIELPS    AND    G0RIIAM8    PURCHASE. 


273 


new 


For  several  years  after,  a  better  understanding  was  had  with  Gov. 
Simcoe  and  his  successors  by  means  of  these  mail  facilities ;  they 
received  their  letters  and  papers  from  Europe  and  the  Atlantic 
cities,  through  this  primitive  medium.  It  is  presumed  that  he  had 
something  to  do  with  putting  on  the  first  mail  and  passenger  wagon 
from  Albany  to  Canandaigua,  as  the  agent  at  Albany  procured  and 
charged  to  him  a  wagon  and  harness  for  that  purpose. 

Mr.  Williamson  was  elected  to  the  legislature  from  Ontario 
county,  in  1700  ;  and  for  three  successive  years,  while  in  that  capa- 
city, he  contributed  with  great  energy  and  perseverance  to  dif- 
fei'ent  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the  region  he  represented,  which 
was  all  of  Western  New  York.  He  was  a  Judge  of  Ontario  county  ; 
in  the  early  military  organizations  in  what  is  now  Steuben,  equipped 
an  independent  company  at  his  own  expense  ;  and  rose  from  the 
rank  of  Captain  in  his  Britannic  Majesty's  service,  to  that  of  Col. 
of  a  regiment  of  backwoods  militia  in  the  Genesee  country. 

The  manufacture  of  pot  and  pearl-ash  was  prominent  in  his  view, 
as  one  of  the  resources  of  the  new  country ;  he  gave  some  en- 
couragement to  it ;  but  the  means  of  transportation  to  market  at 
that  early  day,  was  a  great  drawback  upon  the  enterprise.  *  The 
manufacture  of  maple  sugar  was  also  an  object  of  interest  with 
him ;  and  in  fact,  was  an  anticipated  source  of  great  revenue  to 
the  country,  by  many  of  the  earliest  adventurers.  They  failed  to 
appreciate  the  competition  it  had  to  encounter  in  the  sugar-cane  and 
cheap  hibor.  One  of  the  earliest  enterprises  of  Mr  vYilliamson, 
was  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Conhocton  and 
Canisteo,  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  and  the  carrying  of  it  to  Bal- 
timore, in  periods  of  high  water. 

In  all  this  career  of  Pioneer  enterprise  that  has  been  passed  over, 
it  may  well  be  anticipated  that  much  money  was  required.  There 
was  little  money  in  the  country  —  hardly  enough  for  the  purchase 
of  the  common  necessaries  of  life  —  of  course,  not  enough  to  make 
any  considerable  land  payments.  Lands  liad  to  be  sold  upon  credit, 
payments  of  instalments  postponed  ;  most  of  his  enterprises  were 


*  Writiiip:  to  Mr.  Colqulunm  snon  after  his  aifival  in  tliis  country,  lie  slak'fl  that 
Judfjo  Cddpor,  I'atlicr  of  .1.  i'VimiiiKiro  Cdopcr,  who  was  tlicn  just  foundii.  ;•  ;i  settlo- 
iiKMit  on  llic  <)tsc),'o  Lak(>,  was  (greatly  pronioliiif^  salcH  of  land  and  sottlt'niciit,  by 
furnishing;  Ihe  new  wltliTS  with  pot-as^h  kcUlc^rt  to  a  largo  amount.  Ho  Kjjoal.s  of  the 
aftor  horo  of  backwoods'  roinaiico  —  "Judge  Tenijjlo," — as  a  proruiiioiit  co-workoriu 
|:jroinoti!ig  settlunii'iits. 


I 

I. 


274 


PHELPS  AND  GOPJIAm's   PUECnASE. 


ahead  of  the  time  and  the  condition  of  the  country,  and  made  slow 
returns.     The  resources  were  mainly  the  capital  of  his  princij.als, 
the  London  associates.     Seldom,  if  ever,  have  property  holders  ad- 
vanced larger  amounts  for  improvements,  or  more  freely  at  first 
thougli  they  began  to  be  impatient  after  years  had  gone  bv,  and  the 
returns  of  their  immense  outlays  were  coming  in  but  slowlv  to  re- 
plenish their  cofl-ers.     In  1800,  the  balance  sheets  did  not  iJok  well 
for  then-  Genesee  country  enterprise.     There  had  been  expended 
for  purchase  money  of  lands,  agencies,  and  improvements,  such  as 
have  been  mdicated,  $1,374,470  10.     There  had  been  received  for 
lands  sold,   but  $147,974  83.     In  addition  to  tiiis  balance  a-ainst 
them,  they  owed  of  principal  and  interest  upon  lands  purchased?  over 
5^300,000.     To  make  all  this  look  better,  however,  they  had  an  im- 
mense  amount  of  unsold  lands,  farms  and  mills,  and  an  immense 
debt  due  for  lands  sold.     While  all  Mr.   Williamson's  enterprises 
had  been  puttmg  the  country  ahead  in  the  way  of  settlement  and 
miprovement,  (even  from  ten  to  fifteen  years,  as  manv  estimate ) 
another  direct  effect  must  have  been,  the  adding  vastly  'to  the  prin 
cipals,  the  care  of  which  he  turned  over  to  his  successors     He 
lound  the  wild  lands  of  the  Genesee  country  selling  at  from  1  to  4s 
per  acre;  he  left  them  selling  at  from  81,50  to  $4. 

He  had  at  first  formidable  difficulties  to  overcome,  other   than 
such  as  have  been   named  and  indicated,  as  consequent  upon  the 
task  of  settling  a  country  so  isolated  from   the   older  settlements 
possessing  so  many  harsh  features  to  keep  back  emigration      He 
was  a  foreignex,  and  had  held  a  commission  in    the  nmks  of  the 
British  army,  with  whom  a  large  portion  of  the  new  settlers  h?d 
just  been  contending  upon  battle  fields.     Arms  had  been  crrounded 
but  feelings  of  resentment,  prejudice,  were  rife.     The  pos^'ssion  of' 
tort  Niagara  and  Oswego,  the  British  claims  upon  the  territory  of 
Western  New  York,  their  tampering  with  the  western  Indians,  and 
even  those  that  were  unreconciled  here,  served  to  keep  dive  this 
feeling.     Although  Mr.  Williamson  had  from  the  time  he  landed  in 
America,  given  the  strongest  evidence  that  lie  intended  to  mercrg 
himself  with  the  disenthralled  colonies,  and  throw  off  all  ulle-iance 
to  Great  Britain,  still  he  encountered  jealousy  and  distrust.     In  re 
capitulating  to  Sir  Wm.  Pulteney,  toward  the  close  of  his  arrency 
the  difficulties  he  had  encountered,  he  makes  the  followiiicr  renTarks  •' 
'Even  previous  to  J794.  there  was  a  strong  predisposiUou  against 


PlIELrS    AND    GOKUAm's    PUECHASE. 


275 


every  thinj?  that  was  British.  But  this  was  more  particularly  the 
case  in  those  parts  of  the  back  country  adjacent  to  the  British  set- 
tlements ;  and  where,  I'rom  the  influence  of  the  British  govern- 
ment with  the  Indians,  there  was  too  nii^ch  reason  to  fear  that  hos- 
tilities from  that  quarter  would  be  directed  against  these  infant  set- 
tlements. These  jealousies  met  me  in  an  hundred  mortifying  in- 
stances ;  and  they  were  with  difTiculty  prevented  from  having  the 
most  disagreeable  elTects,  both  to  me  and  every  old  countryman  in 
the  settlements.  To  such  an  extent  was  this  carried,  that  every 
road  I  talked  of  was  said  to  be  for  the  purpose  of  admitting  the  In- 
dians and  British ;  cveiy  set  of  arms  I  procured  —  though  really  to 
enable  the  settlers  to  defend  themselves  againt  the  Indians  —  was 
said  to  be  for  supplying  the  exjiected  enemy  ;  and  the  very  grass 
seed  I  brought  into  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the 
farmers,  was  seized  as  gun  powder  going  to  the  enemies  of  the 
country."  He  also  alleges  that  these  distrusts  —  opposition  to  his 
movements  — were  enhanced  by  influential  individuals,  who  were 
interested  in  the  sale  of  wild  lands  in  other  localities. 

All  this,  however,  wore  off,  as  we  may  well  conclude,  for  he  was 
elected  to  represent  the  county  in  the  legislature,  with  but  little  op- 
position, in  1790,  and  the  mark  of  favor  was  repeated.  Well  educated, 
possessing  more  than  ordinary  social  qualities,  with  a  mind  im- 
proved by  travel  and  association  with  the  best  classes  in  Europe, 
his  society  was  sought  after  by  the  many  educated  and  intelligent 
men  who  came  to  this  region  in  the  earliest  years  of  settlement ; 
and  he  knew  well  how  to  adapt  himself  to  circumstances,  and  to 
all  classes  that  went  to  make  up  the  aggregate  of  the  early  adven- 
turers. Changing  his  habits  of  life  with  great  ease  and  facility,  he 
was  at  home  in  every  primitive  log  cabin  ;  a  welcome,  cheerful,  and 
contented  guest,  with  words  of  encouragement  for  those  who  were 
sinking  under  the  hardships  of  Pioneer  life ;  and  often  with  sub- 
stantial aid,  to  relieve  their  necessities  ;  away  off  in  some  isolated 
opening  of  the  forest  would  be  those  prostrated  by  disease,  to  whom 
he  would  be  the  good  Samaritan,  and  send  them  the  bracing  tonic 
or  restoring  cordial.  These  acts  of  kindness,  his  benevolence  of 
heart,  are  well  remembered  by  surviving  Pioneers ;  and  repeatedly 
has  the  author  been  importuned  by  them  to  speak  well  of  their 
friend,  in  those  local  annals. 

From  the  day  that  Mr.  Williamson  arrived  in  this  country,  until 


27C 


Pinars  and  goritam's  ruKoirASE. 


i'li 


PI 


he  returned  to  Europe,  his  corrospondence  was  oxtonsivc  and  em- 
braced  a  lar-e  number  of  prominent  men   in  the  northern  States 
and  in  Europe.     The  interests  of  uli  this  rerrjon  were  deeply  in- 
volved m  the  success  of  Mr.  .lay's  mission  to  Eiiirjnnd  in  17i)l.   'Mr. 
Wiihamson's  acquaintance  with  the  stat(>smen  of  En-rjiuid     were 
with  those  principally  of  the  cf>nservativ(.  class,  and  with  them  he 
urpd  a  reconciliation  of  all  existing  dilliculties.     He  made  the  I'ln- 
hsh   government  acquainted   witii    the  conduct  of  their  agents  hi 
Canada  :  with  their  machinations  with  the  Indians  to  brin."  on  an- 
other series  of  border  wars  ;  an.l  with  the  coiuiuct  of  IJritish  oflicers 
at  the  western  posts,  in  stimulating  the  Indians  to  stealthy  assaults 
upon  settlers,  surveyors  and  explorers.     [D-  See  account  of  munler 
oj  Major  Trueman,  Appendix,  No.  10.     The  treaty  of  Mr.  Jay  con- 
eluded,  he  urged  upon  the  Colonial  department  of  the  Enrr]ish  gov- 
ernment, the  substitution  of  better  disposed  neighbors  in  The  Cana- 
das,  than  Lord  Uorchcster,  and  Gov.  Simcoe  ;  anrl  the  hastenin<T  of 
the  fulfilment  of  treaty  stipulations  by  the  surrender  of  ()swe<vo'!xn(I 
Niagara.     Trouble,  an  open  rupture  with  England,  was  to  be  sure 
but  postponed;  but  the  author  can  hardly  forego  the  conclusion,  that 
in  the  n.fancy  of  settlement  in  the  Genesee  country,  it  was  fortunate 
that  English  statesmen  were  extensive  land  holders— deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  securing  of  peace  and  prosperity  to  the  country— and 
that  they  had  for  their  local  agent,  such  a  man  as  Charles  Williamson 
There  had  accompanied  Mr.  Williamson  on  his  first  advent  to 
the  country,  from  Scotland,   Charles  Cameron,   John   Johnstone 
James  Tower,  Henry  Tower,  Andrew  Smith  and  Hugh  McCartney 
Mr.  Cameron  came  over  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Williamson  pen- 
etrated the  wildernes  with  him,  assisted  in  planning  and  executino- 
improvements,  kept  the  books  and  accounts,  was  his^ravellincr  conv 
panion  in  many  forest  journeys  ;  and  in  fact,  was  closely  connected 
with  him  during  his  whole  residence  in  the  country.     He  was  the 
local   agent  as  has   been  seen,  at  Lyons,  and  from  that  point  it  is 
supposed,  shipped  the  first  produce  of  the  Genesee  country  to  an 
easiern  market;  the  flour  from  the  mills  that  had  been  erected  un- 
der his  agency.     He  was  one  of  the  earliest  merchants  at  Canan- 
daigua;   at  a  primitive  period,  when  the  mercantile  business  of 
almost  the  pntlie  Genesee  country,  was  transacted  in  that  village. 
In  this  relatii.a  he  was  widely  and  favorably  known  to  the  Pionee'J-s.' 
Either  upon  liis  own  account,  or  as  agent  for  Mr.  Williamson,  he 


rirELP3    AND    GOIUIAM's   rURCIIASE, 


277 


£0  7h.  6d. 
10    0 


was  a  merchant  at  IJatli  before  ho  removed  to  Lyons,  as  is  inferred 
from  a  ston^  hill,  vvhicli  the  author  lias  in  his  posses-iion :  — 

Bath,  October,  1793. 
John  Dolson,* 

I?oiif,'lit  of  Cliarlos  Caitieron  : 
Ort.  20,  1  111.  diocolatd,  'Jm.  <i<l  I  l-ii  b'iil.  wliiskcy  5s. 
Nov.  .').  1  f,';illoii  whiskey,  U)h. 

Mr.  Cameron  is  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  thai  early  period. 
He  is  now  in  his  78th  year  ;  a  resident  of  Greene,  Chenango  county. 
Mr.  Johnstone  was  also  in  Mr.  Williimison's  employ. 

When  the  division  of  liinds  t(K)k  place  between  Sir  Wm.  rultcnc} 
and  Gov.  Hornby,  Mr.  Johnstone  became  the  agent  of  the  Hornby 
lands,  in  which  agency  he  continued  until  his  death  in  1800.  He 
married  a  step-daughter  of  Nicholas  Lowe,  of  New  York.  He 
was  the  father  of  James  Johnstone,  of  Canandaigua,  and  Mrs 
Leavenworth,  of  New  York. 

Henry  Tower,  was  an  tigent  in  the  erection  of  the  mills  at  Lyons, 
(or  "  Alloway,")  became  the  purchaser  ot  them  ;  and  resided  there 
for  many  years.  Hugh  McCai  tney  nettled  in  Sparta.  Of  the  other 
two  who  came  with  Mr.  Williamson,  the  author  has  no  account. 

Mr.  Willinmson's  first  engngemcnt  with  the  London  Associates, 
was  for  the  term  of  seven  years  ;  though  he  continued  in  the  agen- 
cy beyond  the  expiration  of  that  period.  It  has  already  been  in- 
dicated, that  his  principals  were  somewhat  impatient  at  the  slow 
return  of  his  large  outlays  ;  and  the  sanguine,  impulsive  agent,  may 
have  ventured  to  deplete  their  purses  too  rapidly;  but  there  could 
have  been  no  serious  misunderstanding  between  them,  as  the  cor- 
respondence that  took  place,  in  reference  to  the  final  settlement  of 
the  affairs  of  the  agency  in  1800  and  1801,  exhibit  a  continuance 
of  mutual  esteem  and  friendship.  A  paragraph  in  a  letter  from  Sir 
Wm.  Pultney  to  the  successor  in  the  agency,  indicates  a  wish  that 
Mr.  Williamson  should  be  dealt  honorably  with  in  the  settlement. 

In  the  final  adjuslii.ent  of  his  aliairs  with  his  principals,  what 
would  then  have  been  considered  a  very  large  estate,  was  left  him 
in  farms,  village  property  in  Geneva  and  Bath,  wild  lands,  bonds 
and  mortgages,  and  persona!  property.  James  llecs:*,  Esq.,  oi  Geneva, 


*  Mr.  Dolson  lived  near  Elmira.  In  one  of  Mr.  Williiunsoii'sbapkwoods  excursions 
in  17;i-2,  ho  had  an  allack  of  h;vi!i-  at  Mr.  Dolsmi's  lioii.sc,  where  lie  w:w  nursed  until 
he  recovered.  He  preBenled  tlio  family  with  twenty  guineas,  aiid  a  iann  wherever 
they  might  chooae  it  upon  the  purehaao. 


278 


PIIELrS  AND  aOUIIA^fs  PURCHASE. 


i 

I 


was  his  agent,  until  he  finally  returned  to  Scothind,  in  Ifl03,  or  '4, 
when  he  left  all  his  allairs  in  America,  with  his  I'riend  Col.  Benja- 
initi  Walker,  of  Utica.  The  successor  of  Col.  \7alker  in  the  care 
of  the  Williamson  estate,  was  John  II.  W ends  Esq.,  of  Geneva, 
with  whom  it  now  remains. 

Aaron  Burr  was  identified,  as  has  already  been  observed,  with 
some  of  the  earliest  movements  in  the  direction  of  the  Genesee 
country.  Soon  after  Mr.  Williamson'.s  arrival,  he  made  his  acquain- 
tance, and  retained  him  as  counsel  in  his  business  :  and  the  farther 
relation  of  strong  personal  friendship  soon  succeeded.  In  179,'>, 
Mr.  Burr  made  a  visit  to  this  region,  continuing  his  journey  as  far 
west  as  Niagara  Falls.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  daughter  The- 
odosia,  and  her  then,  or  afterwards,  husband,  Mr.  Allston.  The 
party  were  on  horseback.*  Upon  this  occasion,  Mr.  Williamson 
had  interviews  with  him,  if  he  was  not  in  fact,  his  travelling  com- 
panion in  a  part  of  the  trip;  and  when  Mr.  Williamson  became  a 
member  of  the  legislature  in  'no,  and  in  succeeding  years,  business 
and  social  relations,  made  theni  frequent  companions  in  Albany. 
In  whatever  project  Mr.  Burr  had  at  the  south,  i\Ir.  Williamson 
was  blended,  and  would  have  taken  a  conspicuous  part  in  it,  if  it  had 
not  been  so  summarily  arrested. 

After  Mr.  Williamson  left  this  country,  he  resided  at  the  home  of 
his  fan)ily  in  Balgray,  and  in  London.  He  died  in  1808.  The 
only  record  of  the  event,  that  the  author  has  been  able  to  obtain,  is 
the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  Col.  Walker,  to  "  JMr.  Wm.  Ellis, 


^OTE.— C(.I.  BcTijaTiim  Walker,  vas  an  early  and  prominent  ciHzcn  of  Utien  In 
the  early  part  ot  the  Revolution  he  had  l,eei»  in  the  statr  of  (ien.  Washini^nini,  aiu!  ^va.? 
afterwards  the  aul  of  Baron  Stenl,en.  He  is  r<.nneeted  with  a  i,^,,,,.!  atu'clote  of  he 
J)uron:—Reviewnij<  some  raw  troojiH,  he  ordered  them  witii  liis  im.ierfect  J'hi.disli 
pronunaau.Mi,  to  fall  haek  which  tliey  mistook  for  "advaiKv,"  and  eame  n.slii,,-  di- 
rectly npon  lam.  Irritated,  and  fearing  they  would  understand  him  no  belter  in  his 
repnnKiiuis,  he  ordered  Col.  \Valker  to  d— ii  ihem  in  Eii"i;^li 

In  17!)^  Jk.  was  surveyor  of  the  port  of  New  York,  ,md  was  employed  by  Messrs. 
1  ulteney  and  Hornby  to  settle  with  an  a-ont  m  this  country,  who  had'invested  some 
money  or  theni  m  lands  (other  tlian  the  (ienesee  purchase.)  whirl,  h,l  to  Lis  early 
aequain  ance  with  Mv.  VV,  hamson.  His  corresp.mdence  with  Mr.  Wilham^-on  after  ho 
returned  to  hurope,  woidd  mdicato  superior  talents ;  and  there  could  be  Lrk,,„ed  from 
tJiem  niimy  interesting  early  reminiscences  .,f  events  in  this  country,  t'ol.  Waliver 
died  m  Ltica,  m  1818,  An  only  daimhter  married  H'Villicrs,  a  F/ench  .'entlenrm 
who  was  m  this  region  in  '91,  or  '.").  .She  died  in  Franco.  The  only  reiM-eseiitative  of 
the  family  in  this  country,  is  an  adopted  daughter,  Mrs.  Bours  (jf  (Jeneva. 

*In  this  western  visit  Mr.  Burr  parted  from  his  travelling  companions  at  Avon 
Uiid  went  down  andvisited  the  fallsof  theOenesec,  takhigtheirhei<dit  anda  Lmdsc-njo 
view  of  theni.     He  shared  th.i  log  cabin  of  Mr.  Shaefler,  over  night"!  on  his  return  .and 
.lie  old  gentU'Tuau  wcU  rcmombora  his  praLsus  of  the  new  couutry,  and  Lis  "ulei^ant 
Bociable  turn."  •"  i    "o""!, 


rnELrs  and  goriiam  s  purchase. 


279 


Nicholson  street,  Edingburg  :" — "  An  extract  sent  me  from  an 
Englisli  newspaper,  announces  the  death  of  my  friend,  Col.  Will- 
iamson, as  having  happened  on  his  passage  from  Ilavanna  to 
England ;  an  event  which  will  be  most  sincerely  lamented  by  a 
numerous  acquaintance  in  this  country,  who  esteemed  and  loved 
him." 

There  is  now  no  descendants  of  Mr.  Williamson  in  this  country. 
He  lost  a  son  and  a  daughter  in  Rath  ;  and  a  son  and  daughter  went 
soon  after  him  to  Scotland.  The  daughter  survives.  Charles  A. 
Williamson,  the  son,  married  a  Miss  Clark  of  New  York,  and  resi- 
'ded  in  Geneva.  Enticed  by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  — 
although  he  would  seem  to  have  had  enough  of  wealth  to  satisfy  a 
reasonable  ambition — he  took  the  overland  route  in  the  summer 
of  1818,  died  of  cholera  at  Fort  Laramie;  and  about  the  same 
period  his  wife  died  in  Scotland. 

Sir  William  Pulteney  died  in  May,  1805,  leaving  an  only  heir,  his 
daughter,  Henrietta  Laura  Pulteney,  Countess  of  Bath.  She  died 
in  July,  1808.  DCt' For  historical,  and  legal  deduction  of  title  to 
lands,  other  than  what  is  contained  in  the  body  of  the  work,  see 
Appendix  No.  11. 


ROBERT  TROUP. 


The  successor  of  Mr.  Williamson,  in  the  general  agency  ot  tne 
London  Association,  was  Col.  Robert  Troup.  He  was  a  native  of 
New  Jersey ;  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  he  w^as  the  aid  of  Gen 

Note. — Tlicrc  are  Cdiitradictorv  acoounts  of  Mr.  Willianisdii's  position  at  tlu'  jioriod 
111'  liis  dcatli.  One  is,  that  lie  liad  bueu  apixiinted  by  tliu  L)ritisht,'ovL'L'rnineiit,  (Jovuni- 
or  of  ono  of  tlie  West  India  Islands;  and  anotliov  is.  that  his  advL'iitnrous  and  entcr- 
]ii-isinff  spirit,  had  connrctod  him  willi  sonii'  of  tho  oarliest  niovoniunts  in  rulatiou  to 
Sunth  AnuM'ii'au  Indcpcndoni'L',  in  which  hi;  wa?!  to  have  liornu  a  con.spicuous  part ; 
and  in  pnr.suance  of  which,  he  was  at  sua,  at  tho  period  of  his  death. 

Note. — In  a  letter  from  JiiincH  Wadsworth  to  Col.  Troup,  dated  in  September,  1805, 
lie  says: — "  I  havci  just  heard  of  the  death  of  Sir  William  Pultnuy.  ily  mind  is  stroiii^- 
ly  impressed  with  tho  disasti'rs  that  may  befal  this  section  of  the  State,  from  the 
(■\ent.  Sir  William  was  a  man  of  business  ;  he  was  cajiable  of  deciding  for  himself, 
what  was  and  what  was  not  proper.  Wliat  may  be  the  character  of  hi-!  successor  we 
know  not."  In  another  letter  from  ihesametothe  same,  it  is  assumed  that  the  sucoossov 
in  the  man.'igeinent  of  tho  estate,  is  Sir  James  Puheney.  Mr.  W.  says : —  I  once  dined 
with  Sir  James  at  Sir  William's;  he  is  ilevoted  to  the  army,  and  a  great  favorite  of 
the  Duke  of  York  ;  and  I  think  1  have  been  informed,  (luite  nigardless  of  property; 
but  of  his  honorable  views,  and  perfect  soundness  of  miud,  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt." 


cm- 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


A 


me. 


1.0 


I.I 


■a  K 

m  m 

«   Hi 


IL25  i  1.4 


M 

22 

1.8 


1.6 


Sciences 
Corporation 


^1>^ 


i\ 


<v 


>.\ 


^<i^  .  ^/^  "^kN 


'9) 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


''/, 


f/j 


r/. 


280 


PHELPS   ANL    GOPJIAm's    PURCHASE. 


Gates ;  his  father  was  an  officer  of  the  navy  in  the  preceding  French 
war.     Previous  to  the  Revolution,  Col.   Troup  had  been  a  student 
at  law  in  the  ollice  of  Thoir-as  Siuidi,  of  Ilaveslraw,  New  Jersey, 
and  subsequently  in  the  office  of  Gov.  Jay.     After  obtaining  license, 
he  opened  an  office  in  the  city  of  Alba  j,  and  soon  after  returned 
to  New  York,  where  he  practiced  law  until  1801.     He  was  a  few 
years  a  Judge  of  the  U.  S.  District  Court.     In  1801  he  was  appoin- 
ted a  general  agent  of  the  Pulteney  estate.     Residing  in  New  York 
and  Albany,  he  frequently  visited  this  region,  until  1814,  when  he 
became  a  permanent  resident  of  Geneva.     Under  his  aus;  ..os  a 
large  portion  of  the  original  purchase  of  the  London  Associates, . 
(such  as  had  not  been  settled  during  Mr.  Williamson's  administra- 
tion,)  was  sold  and  settled.     Liberal  in  his  views,  public  spirited, 
and  possessed  of  much  practical   knowledge,  he  was   a  valuable 
helper  in  speeding  on  the  prosperity  of  the  Genesee  country.     Al- 
though the  "Mill  Tract,"  west  of  the  Genesee  river,  was  settled 
under  the  immediate  auspices  of  Mr.  Wadsworth,  Col.   Troup  as 
the  general  agen^,   had  much  to  do  in  all  that  relates  to  its  pioneer 
history;  and  for  over' thirty  years,  his  name  was  conspicuously 
blended  with  the  history  of  all  this  local  region.     He  was  one  of 
the  early  promoters  of  the  Erie  Canal,  and  wielding  a  ready  and 
able  pen,  he  did  much  to  forward  that  great  measure  in  its  early 
proj(>ction  and  progress.     He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Alexander 
Hamilton,  antl  in  fact  few  enjoyed  more  of  the.  intimate  acquaint- 
ance and  friendship,  of  the  most  of  prominent  men  of  the  Revolution, 
and  early  statesmen  of  New  York.     He  died  in  New  York  in  1832, 
aged  74  years.     He  liad  two  sons,  one  of  wljom  died  in  Charleston, 
and  the  other  in  N.  York.     A  daughter  of  his  is  Mrs.  James  L. 
Brinkerhoof,  of  N.  York;  and  another  unmarried  daughter  resides 
in  New  York. 

Before  Col.  Troup's  removal  to  Geneva,  the  immediate  duties  of 
the  agency  devolved  successively  upon  John  Johnstone,  John  Hes- 
lop  and  Robert  Scott.  Heslop  was  first  a  clerk  of  Mr.  VYads- 
worth,  and  ( ntered  the  Geneva  office  a  short  time  before  the  close 
of  Mr.  Williamson's  agency.  He  died  on  a  visit  to  his  native 
country,  England.  Mrs.  Gresliom,  of  Brooklyn,  is  a  daughter 
of  his. 


HrELP3    AND    GORnAH's   PUECHASE. 


281 


JOSEPH  FELLOWS. 
Joseph  Fellows  is  a  native  of  Warwirlcshi.-^    Pn  i     j     r 

.00.,  an„  e„,e..e.  ,h.  office  of  Co,'.  T™  ""rolrr  Ge' e":' 
■n  I8I0,  as  a  sub-»ge„t  m  the  Pultney  land  office  :  the  detail,  JZ 

was  the  wife  of  DrEli  Hi  1  T"","  \     *'"  '   '^  ^'"^  "f  h- 
Geneseo     Hr  hT^  '  ,    H,'^''"''^  phjsic.an  of  Conesus  and 

ImZ     ir    „  T,"'  '"  ^'"''"-  Mi'^'"S»".  where  he  died 

brofhe":  '"""'■  """  '■^^'*'  "'  G^""",  with  her 

The  purchasers  of  the  Pnllney  lands,  have  found  in  Mr  Fellows 

an  agent  deposed  to  conduct  the  business  with  strictlTe^rhv  L 


Wr  ^^f''^'"^""  left  Bath,  James  Reese  removed  thero 

fiom  Geneva,  and  took  the  temporary  charge  of  the  wfo  r 
Hesiqnmii  fhenost  In  isni  i  *   ^"Ji„e  oi  me  L.and  Office, 

o      „   ne  post  in  1803,  lie  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  I    TTni,rhf 


282 


PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court,  and  in  the  following  year  opened 
an  office  in  Bath.  Assuming  the  duties  of  the  Land  Office  soon 
after,  he  •  ontinued  to  discharge  them  until  1814.  He  was  sub- 
sequently the  law  partner  of  General  Matthews  at  Bath,  and  re- 
mained so  until  Gen.  M.  removed  to  Rochester  in  1821.  He  now 
resides  at  Cubr<,,  Allegany  county.  Besides  holding  important  civil 
stations,  in  1819  he  received  the  appointment  of  Major  General  of 
the  25th  military  division,  then  comprising  the  counties  of  Steuben, 
Allegany,  Cattaraugus  and  Chautauque.* 

The  subsequent  agents  in  the  Bath  office  have  been,  Dugald 
Cameron,  and  William  M'Kay ;  the  latter  cf  whom  is  the  present 
agent.  He  is  the  son  of  John  S.  M'Kay,  who  emigrated  to  Geneva 
in  1800,  and  died  in  Pittsford,  in  1819. 


JOHN  GREIG. 


Mr.  Greig  was  a  native  of  Moffat,  in  Dumfrieshire,  Scotland.  His 
father  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  the  factor  or  agent  of  the  Earl 
of  Hopeton;  and  besides,  a  landholder,  ranking  among  the  better 
class  of  Scotch  farmers.  After  having  acquired  in  his  native 
parish,  and  in  a  High  School  in  Edinburg,  a  substantial  education, 
while  undetermined  as  to  his  pursuits  in  life,  Mr.  Johnstone,  who,  it 
will  have  been  seen,  had  been  in  this  region,  connected  with  Mr. 
Williamson,  revisited  his  native  country,  and  meeting  Mr.  Greig, 
induced  him  to  be  his  companion  on  his  return  to  the  new  world. 
They  arrived  at  New  York,  in  the  winter  of  1799  and  1800,  after 
a  tedious  passage  of  eleven  weeks.  Mr.  Greig,  after  spending  some 
time  in  ]\ew  York  and  Albany,  came  to  Canandaigua,  in  April, 
1800.  He  became  a  student  at  law,  in  the  office  of  Nathaniel  W. 
Howell,  and  in  1804  was  admitted  to  practice.  In  1800,  on  the 
occurrence  of  the  death  of  his  friend,  John  Johnstone,  he  succeeded 
him  in  the  agency  of  the  Hornby  and  Cohjuhoun  estate  ;  in  which  he 
has  continued  up  to  the  present  period. 

In  an  early  period  of  his  professional  career,  he  became  the  part- 
ner of  Judge  Howell ;  the  partnership  continued  until  1820.  Ming- 
ling with  his  professional  duties,  the  arduous  ones  consequent  upon 


'lu  1819  all  that  territory  coutcoined  but  3,100  men,  subJMt  to  .Tilitary  duty, 


PHELPS   AND  GORIIAm's   PURCHASE. 


283 


Ming- 


the  sale  and  settlement  of  large  tracts  of  wild  lands,  professional 
eminence  could  hardly  be  expected  ;  yet  in  early  days,  when  there 
were  "  giants  in  the  land"—  when  the  bar  of  western  New  York 
had  in  its  front  rank,  a  class  of  men,  whose  places  can  now  harldy 
be  said  to  be  filled  —  tney  found  in  the  young  foreigner  a  professional 
cotemporary,  possessed  of  sound  legal  acquirements  ;  and  especially 
recommending  himself  to  th.  ir  esteem,  by  a  high  sense  of  honor^, 
and  a  courtes} ,  which  ruled  his  conduct  at  the  bar,  as  well  as  in 
the  business  ard  social  relations  of  life. 

As  a  patroon  of  new  settlements  —  which  his  agency  of  a  foreirrn 
and  absent  principal,  made  him  —  in  that  position,  in  which  so  im- 
portant an  influence  is  wielded  over  the  destinies  of  a  new  coun- 
try— his  best  eulogy  is  found  in  the  frequent  expressions  of  gratitude, 
which  a  gatherer  of  historical  reminiscences  may  hear,  from  the 
lips  of  surviving  Pioneers,  for  indulgence  and  kindness  received 
at  his  hands.. 

Mr.  Greig  succeeded  Mr.  Gorham,  in  the  Presidency  of  the  On- 
tario Bank,  soon  after  1820,  which  place  he  continues  to  fill.  He 
became  one  of  the  Regents  of  the  University  in  1825,  .t, '.  is  now 
the  Vice  Chancellor  of  the  Board.  In  1841,  '2,  he  was  the  Repre- 
sentative  in  Congress,  from  Ontario  and  Livingston ;  and  is  now 
one  of  the  managers  of  the  Western  House  of  Refuge. 

He  is  row  72  years  of  age  ;    his  general  health  and  constitution 
not  seriously  in)paired  ;    his  mental  faculties  retaining  much  of  the 
vigor  of  middle  age  ;  having  the  general  supervision  of  his  estate, 
and  discharging  the  public  duties  which  his  several  offices  impose. ' 
_  One  of  the  largest  estates  of  western  New  York,  is  the  fruit  of 
his  youthful  advent  to  a  region  he  has  seen  converted  from  a  wil- 
derness, to  one  of  fruitful  fields  and  unsurpassed  prosperity ;  — of  a 
long  life  of  professional  and  business  enterprise  and  judicious  man- 
agement.    Leaving  his  young  countrymen  and  school  fellows  to 
mherit  estates  ;  with  a  self-reliance,  which  can  only  give  substantial 
success  in  life,  he  boldly  and  manfully  struck  out  into  a  new  field  of 
enterprise  — a  then  fresh  and  new  world  —  and  became  the  founder 
of  one.     Liberal  in  its  management  and  disposition,  with  a  sensible 
estimate  of  what  constitutes  the  legitimate  value  and  use  of  wealth; 
he  is  the  promoter  of  public  enterprises,  the  Hb-.-al  patron  of  public 
and  the  dispenser  of  private  charities ;    in  J[  of  which  he  finds  a 
willing  co-operator  in  his  excellent  wife,  wlio  is  a  worthv  descend- 


W 


284 


PIIELPS  AND    GOEIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


ant  of  one  who  occupied  a  front  rank  among  the  earliest  Pio- 
neers of  the  Genesee  country.  She  was  tlie  daughter  of  Captain 
Israel  Chapin,  the  grand-daughter  of  Gen.  Israel  Chapin ;  was  mar- 
ried to  Mr.  Greig  in  1800. 


CHAPTER  III 


INDIAN     DIFFICULTIES BRITISH     INTERFEUENCE INDIAN     COUNCIL." 

GEN.    ISRAEL    CHAPIN. 


In  preceding  pages,  tHe  reader  has  observed  some  indications  of 
unsettled  relations  between  the  Indians,  and  the  early  adventurers 
of  our  own  race,  in  the  Genesee  country ;  and  the  mischievous 
influence  of  those  to  whom  they  had  been  allies  in  the  Revolution. 
All  this  will  be  farther  exhibited  in  connection  with  the  early  settle- 
ment of  Sodus.  In  this  chapter  it  is  proposed  to  treat  the  subject 
generally,  avoiding  as  far  as  possible  a  repetition  of  what  has  been 
and  will  be,  in  the  other  connections,  but  incidental. 

The  reader  of  American  general  history,  need  hardly  be  told, 
that  what  was  called  a  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain,  in  1783, 
war  rather  an  armistice  — a  cessation  of  hostihties  — and  that  but 
little  of  real  peace,  or  amicable  '-elations,  was  immediately  conse- 
quent upon  it.  On  the  one  hand,  a  proud  arrogant  nation,  worsted 
in  a  oontest  with  a  few  feeble  colonies,  its  invading  armies  defeated 
and  routed,  grudgingly  and  reluctantly  yielded  to  a  stern  necessity, 
and  allowed  only  enough  of  concession  to  be  wrung  from  her,  to 
secure  the  grounding  of  arms.  And  on  the  other  hand,  success, 
victory,  had  been  won  by  a  last,  and  almost  desperate  eflbrt,  — the 
wearied  colonies  gladly  embracing  an  opportunity  to  rest.  Thus 
conditioned,  the  terms  of  peace  were  illy  defined,  and  left  open 
questions,  to  irritate  and  furnish  grounds  for  a  renewal  of  hostilities. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's   PURCHASE. 


285 


British  armies  re-crossed  tlie  ocean,  and  British  navies  left  our 
coasts,  but  British  resentment  was  still  rife.  In  the  palace  at 
Windsor,  England's  King  was  mourning  with  almost  the  weakness 
of  childhood,  or  dotage,  over  his  lost  colonies ;  yielding  to  the 
sacrifice  with  a  bad  grace,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  kinglv  digni- 
ty. Rich  jewels  had  dropped  from  his  crown,  and  he  refused  to  be 
reconciled  to  their  loss  ;  and  his  ministers,  with  more  of  philosophy, 
but  little  less  of  chagrin  and  discomfiture,  in  peace  negotiations, 
seem  almost  to  have  made  mental  reservations,  that  contemplated 
a  renewal  of  the  contest.  The  homely  adage,  "like  master  like 
man,"  was  never  better  illustrated,  than  it  was  in  the  persons  and 
official  acts  of  those  who  came  out  as  government  officers  and 
agents,  to  look  to  the  little  that  was  saved  to  England,  after  the 
wreck  of  the  Revolution.  But  one  spirit,  and  one  feeling  pervaded 
in  the  home  and  colonial  governments.  It  was  that  the  treaty  had 
been  an  act  of  present  necesr<ity,  that  had  not  contemplated  an 
ultimate  sacrifice  of  such  magnitude  as  was  the  final  loss  of  the 
Ainerican  colonies.  The  statesmen  of  England,  were  not  unmind- 
ful that  the  site  of  an  Empire  lay  spread  out  around  our  western 
lakes  and  rivers,  and  in  all  of  what  is  now  western  New  York,  over 
which  the  Indians  held  absolute  and  undisputed  sovereignty.  Those 
Indians  were  their  allies,  ready  to  take  the  tomahawk  from  its  belt, 
.  and  the  knife  from  its  sheath  at  their  bidding. 

The  first,  and  principal  hope  and  reliance  of  England,  touching 
the  reversion  of  her  lost  empire,  was  that  the  experiment  of  free 
government  would  be  a  failure.  Astonished  that  resistance  to  their 
rule  had  been  attempted  by  a  few  feeble  colonics,  and  more  aston- 
ished that  it  had  been  successful  —  almost  prepared  to  believe  in 
the  decrees  of  fate,  or  the  enactment  of  miracles  —  they  were  yet 
unprepared  to  believe  that  discordant  materials  could  be  so  blended 
together  as  to  insure  a  permanent  separation;  that  here  in  the 
backwoods  of  America,  statesmen  would  be  created  by  exigency, 
with  a  firmness,  an  intuitive  wisdom,  to  mould  together  a  perma- 
nent confederacy,  that  would  be  the  wonder  of  the  old  world ;  a 
political  phenomena  — and  thus  secure  all  that  had  been  so  dearly 
won.  After  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  every  movement  upon 
this  side  of  the  water,  was  watched  with  intense  anxiety.  Unpro- 
pitious  as  were  the  first  few  years  of  the  experiment,  the  events  in 
creased  their  confidence.     The  difficulties  growing  out  of  disputed 


286 


PIIELPS  AND  OORHAM's   PUKCKASE. 


i 


boundaries  between  the  States;  the  Shay  rebellion  in  Massachu- 
setts ;  the  internal  commotions  in  Pennsylvania ;  and  finally  the 
discordant  views  of  those  who  came  together  to  form  a  Union,  and 
a  permanent  government ;  all  helped  to  increase  their  hopes,  that 
divided  and  distracted,  the  colonies  would  either  fall  back  into  their 
embraces,  or  be  an  easy  conquest  when  they  chose  to  renew  (he 
war. 

In  the  final  success  in  the  formation  of  a  confederacy  of  States, 
—  the  Union  —  the  interested  croakers  lost  some  confidence  in  their 
predictions,  but  they  still  hoped  for  the  worst.  If  they  admitted 
for  a  moment  that  there  might  be  a  confederacy  of  eastern  States, 
they  thought  they  saw  enough  of  the  elements  of  trouble  in  geo- 
graphical divisions,  in  conflicting  interests  of  soils  and  climate  ;  in  a 
curse  they  had  entailed  upon  the  colonies  in  the  form  of  African 
slavery,  to  insure  the  failure  of  the  experiment  to  embrace  the 
whole  in  one  political  fabric. 

Disappointed  in  their  earliest  hopes,  they  fell  back  upon  another 
reliance  ;  that  by  means  of  a  continued  alliance  with  the  Six  Na- 
tions, and  with  the  western  Indians,  they  should  be  enabled  to  re- 
tain all  of  what  had  been  French  Canada  ;  western  New  York,  the 
Tallies  of  the  western  lakes  and  the  Mississippi.  With  this  end  in 
view,  by  means  of  pretences  so  flimsy,  that  they  never  rose  to  the 
dignity  of  being  sufficiently  defined  to  be  understood,  they  disre- 
garded the  plainest  stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  withheld  the 
posts  upon  Lake  Ontario  and  the  western  lakes,  and  steadily  pur- 
sued the  policy  of  commercial  outrages  and  annoyances,  dogo-ed 
and  irritating  diplomacy,  and  bringing  to  bear  upon  the  Indians  an 
influence  that  was  intended  to  embarrass  all  our  negotiations  with 
them,  and  ultimately  to  make  them  allies  in  a  renewed  contest  for 
dominion  over  them  and  their  territory. 

The  settlement  of  the  Genesee  country,  commenced  under  the 
untoward  circumstances  of  a  continued  British  occupancy ;  the 
native  owners  of  the  soil,  but  illy  reconciled  to  the  treaties  of  ce?- 
sions,  and  thus  in  a  condition  to  be  easily  incited  to  mischief;  while 
off  upon  the  borders  of  the  western  lakes,  were  numerous  nations 
and  tribes  ready  to  join  them,  to  redress  their  fancied  wrongs,  at 
the  instigation  of  the  malign  influences  that  lingered  among  them. 
For  six  years  after  feeble  settlements  were  scattered  in  backwood's 
localities,  the  British  retained  Fort  Oswego  and  Niagara,  and  the 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAJU'S  PURCHASE. 


287 


western  posts  ;  no  American  commerce  was  allowed  on  Lake  Onta- 
rio, or  if  allowed,  it  was  a  mere  sufferance,  attended  with  all  the 
annoyance  and  insolence  of  an  armed  police  ai  the  two  important 
points,  OswefTo  and  Niagara. 

In  the  person  of  Lord  Dorchester,  the  Gov.  General  of  Canada, 
was  an  implacable  enemy  of  the  disenthralled  colonies,  an  embodi- 
ment and  fit  representative  of  the  spirit  that  ruled  his  home  gov- 
ernment, and  his  deputy.  General  Simcoe,  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
of  the  Upper  Trovince,  located  at  Niagara,  was  well  fitted  to  take 
the  lead  in  that  then  retreat  of  mischief  makers  and  irreconciled 
refugees.     Sir  John  Johnstone,  after  his  retreat  from  the  Mohawk, 
had  continued  to  reside  at  Montreal,  and  after  the  war,  retained  a 
large  share  of  the  influence  he  had  inherited,  over  the  Six  Nations. 
He  may  well  be  supposed  to  have  had  no  very  kind  feelings  toward  his 
old  neighbors.     He  was  in  fact  the  ready  helper  in  the  persevering 
attempts  that  were  made  to  keep  the  Indians  irreconciled  and  trouble- 
some.    The  position  of  Joseph  Brant  was  equivocal ;  keen  scrutiny 
and  watchfulness,  failed  to  determine  what  were  his  real  inclina- 
tions.    Even  his  partial  biographer,  has  left  his  conduct  in  the  crisis 
we  are  considering,  an  enigma.     At  times  he  would  seem  to  have 
been  for  peace;  in  his  correspondence  with  Messrs.   Kirkland, 
Phelps,  Thomas  Morris,  General  Chapin,  and  with  the  Secretary 
of  War,  General  Knox,  there  were  professions  of  peaceful  inclina- 
tions ;  while  at  the  same  period,  he  would  be  heard  of  in  war  coun- 
cils of  the  western  Indians,  stirring  up  with  a  potent  influence,  side 
by  side  with  his  British  allies,  their  worst  passions ;  or  organizing 


NoTK  — As  late  as  the  Rummer  of  1795,  even  after  theJaytreaty  and  Wayne's  treaty 
of  Grenville  Col.  Simcoe  was  irreconciled,  and  to  all  appearances  loukmg  forward  to 
a  renewal  of  the  contest  between  Great  Britain  and  her  lost  colonies,  or  btates  a.s  they 
had  then  become.  The  Didce  Liancourt,  was  then  his  guest,  at  Niagara,  who  says  ot 
l,i,n  •  _  "War  seems  to  be  the  object  of  his  leading  jKissions ; "  he  is  acquainted  witli 
the  military  history  of  all  countries:  no  hillock  catches  his  eye  without  exciting  in 
hLs  mind  tl've  idea  of  a  foit,  whicli  miglit  be  constructed  on  the  spot,  and  witli  the 
construction  of  this  fort  he  assiciates  the  plan  of  operati.ms  f.ir  a  campaign  especially 
of  that  wliioh  is  to  lead  him  t(,  Philadeliihia."  At  tlie  Indian  village  ot  luscarora, 
near  Lcwiston,  where  tlie  Dukj  accompanied  him,  he  told  the  Indians  <hat  the  Yan- 
kees were  brooding  over  some  evil  (U'signs  against  them  ;  that  they  had  no  other  object 
in  view  but  to  rob  them  of  tlieir  lands ;  and  that  their  good  father,  king  George,  was 
tlie  true  friend  of  their  nation.  Ho  also  repented,  that  the  maize  thief,  li.i..  diy 
I'ickeiin.'  was  a  rogue  and  a  liar."  When  the  governor  and  the  Duke  were  on  their 
way  to  fuRcarora,  they  met  an  American  family  on  their  way  to  Canada.  On  leani- 
ii,/ their  destination,  the  Governor  said  to  them : —"Aye,  aye,  you  are  tired  of  the 
F.'^deral  government ;  vou  like  not  any  longer  to  have  so  many  kings ;  you  wish  again 
for  your  old  father,  come  along  and  I  will  give  you  lands." 


'JSS 


PHELPS  AND   G0PJIA5I  S  PURCnASE. 


arrne<l  band,  of  Canada  Indian,  as  allies  of  the  western  confcde. 
ates.  led  Jacket  was  a  backwoods  Talleyrand,  and  Cornplanter 
an  unschooled  Metternich.  '"l^'amer, 

and  l!im''',!?  ^TJ'  ^'''""^''^'^'S-rn  in  affluence,  richly  pensioned, 
a^^d  lumself  and  fam.ly  connections  richly  endowed  wifh  lands  bJ 
the  king  repaid  the  bounties  of  his  sovereign  with  all  the  zoal  that 
?ert ,  rT'i-"  "  ''"''  ^y^«^«"^Ji"gthe  views  of  Lord  Dorches- 
he  W,  f  TT"-  -  ^'  ^^"P«'-'"t^"dent  of  Indian  affairs  he  had 
me.!n  "^^^^^'"S«'^t«^«  '"^"^«  atNiaga^-a.  and  dispensed  his 
piesents  profusely  among  the  Indians,  telling  them  that  the  "king, 

e  1'"     Th       '  r^'r^"  "^"^ ''''''  ^^^^''^-  «Sain,  against  the 
rebels.       1  he  early  settlers  of  the  Genesee  country,  saw  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  the  Indians  in  possession  of  n;w  broadcloths, 
blanlcets  and  silver  ornaments,  that  came  from  the  king's  store  house, 
he  fearful  purport  of  which  they  well  understood.     Some  of  the 
nfluences  and  agencies  that  have  been  named,  had  assisted  in  land 
treaties,  but  ,t  had  been  for  pay,  and  with  the  hope  ultimately  of  the 
partition  of  New  York,  and  the  non-fulfilment  of  the  treaty  stipu- 
lation for  the  surrender^  of  its  western  territory.     Lin-erL  vet 
upon  the  Genesee  river,  and  in  several  other  localities,  uere Refu- 
gees from  the  Mohawk,  with  feelings  rankling  in  their  bo.oms  akin 

ParadiL  '"°'^'  "^'"'  '^'^  ^""^  ^''''  ^^^^'^»  '^'  ^^ 

Added  to  all  thes«  elements  of  trouble,  was  an  irreconciled  feel- 
ing  against  the  Indians,  on  the  part  of  those  who  had  been  border 
settlers  upon  the  Mohawk  and  the  Susquehannah,  and  could  not  so 
soon  foi-get  their  horrid  barbarities.  In  the  absence  of  courts  and 
any  efficient  civil  police,  this  feeling  would  occasionally  break  out 
in  outrages,  and  on  several  occasions  resulted  in  the  murder  of  In- 
dians; It  required  all  the  wisdom  of  the  general  and  State  govern- 
ments and  their  local  agents  to  prevent  retaliation  upon  the  Scatter- 
ed  settlements  of  the  Pioneers. 

While  a  storm  was  gathering  at  the  west,  and  the  Senecas,  un- 
der the  influences  that  have  been  named,  were  half  inclined  to  act 
in  concert  with  hostile  nations  in  that  quarter,  the  murder  of  two 
benecas,  by  whites,  occurred  on  Pine  creek,  in  Pennsylvania  It 
highly  exasperated  the  Senecas,  and  they  made  an  immediate  de- 
mand upon  the  Governor  of  Penn..ylvania  for  redress.  It  was  in 
the  lorm  of  a  message,  signed  by  Little  Beard,  Red  Jacket,  Gisse- 


1 


riIELP3  AND  GORIIAm's  rUItCHASE. 


289 


hakio,  Caunhesongo,  rliiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Seneca  nation,  and 
dated  at  "Genesco  River  Flats,"  August  1790.  After  saying  they 
are  glad  that  a  reward  of  eight  hundred  dollars  has  been  olfered  for 
the  murderers,  they  add:  —  "Brothers  the  two  men  you  have  killed 
were  very  great  men,  and  were  of  the  great  Turtle  tribe ;  one  of 
them  was  a  chief,  and  the  other  was  to  be  put  in  the  great  king 
Garoughta's  place,  who  is  dead  also.  Brothers,  you  must  not  think 
hard  of  us  if  we  speak  rash,  as  it  comes  from  a  wounded  heart,  as 
you  have  struck  the  hatchet  in  our  head,  and  we  can't  be  reconciled 
until  you  come  and  pull  it  out.  "We  are  sorry  to  tell  you,  you  have 
killed  eleven  of  us  since  peace."  "  And  now  we  take  you  by  the 
hand  and  lead  you  to  the  Painted  Post,  as  far  as  your  canoes  can 
come  up  the  creek,  where  you  will  meet  the  whole  tribe  of  the  de- 
ceased, and  all  the  chiefs  and  a  number  of  warriors  of  our  nation, 
where  we  expect  you  will  wash  away  the  blood  of  your  brothers, 
and  bury  the  hatciiet,  and  put  it  out  of  memory,  as  it  is  yet  sticking 
in  our  heads. 

Mr.  Pickering,  who  was  then  residing  at  Wyoming,  was  either 
sent  by  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  or  the  Secretary  of  War  to 
hold  the  proposed  treaty,  at  Tioga  Point,  on  the  ICth  day  of  No- 
vember. He  met  there.  Red  Jacket,  Farmer's  Brother,  Col.  Butler, 
Little  Billy,  Fish  Carrier,  and  other  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations,  and 
the  Chippewa  and  Stockbridge  Indians.  They  came  to  the  coun- 
cil much  enraged,  and  a  speech  of  Red  Jacket  was  well  calculated 
to  increase  their  resentments.  The  black  cloud  that  hung  over 
their  deliberations  for  days,  was  finally  driven  away  by  the  pmdent 
course  of  Col.  Pickering,  and  the  war  spirit  that  was  kinJled  in 
many  a  savage  bosom,  finally  quelled.  This  was  the  first  time  that 
the  Six  Nations  were  met  in  council  by  the  general  governmen^ 
after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution.  Col.  Pickering  informed 
them  that  the  Thirteen  Fires  was  now  but  one  Fire,  tha^t  they  were 
now  all  under  the  care  of  the  great  chief,  General  Washington,  who 
would  redress  their  wrongs,  and  correct  any  abuses  the  whites  had 


NoTE.--MoiK),v  atul  presents  of  Roods,  it  is  presumed,  were  the  prineiral  agents  of 
tx.,u.ihati..n.     Ti.e  wily  chicft  who  deniandod  the  conncil,  while  they  ussuined  that 


recoiu 


,,    •  -       •',,,,,  " ""  ",i'""""^»-u  uiu  council,  wnue  uiey  assumed  that 

hen-  young  wanT:„rK,ouldh,u-dly  be  restrained  from  t^ikin;.  nummary  v^nseanco  upon 
hu  ^ylutes,  intimated  what  tl>ev  wore  expoctinR  ;  and  they  especially  requested  t^,a° 
AeG..vernor  should  send  to  t  fie  council  "all  the  property  of  the  tmirderers"  .->"] 
would"  be  a  gi-eat  satisfaction   to  the  families  of  the  deceLd.-'     The  resu  t  of  ll  o 

rf"frl'  ul '{'ir't "  .  '°  '"'  '  ?•"'■'',  ?'"'^  "  co,npro,niMn.r  of  Uie  murdei-s,  and  professions 
ot  Iriendship,  tliat  were  destined  to  remain  equivocal  "''""a 


290 


rilELPS  AND   GOKUAJi's   PUKCIIASE. 


practiced  upon  them  ;  and  that  especially  traders  among  them 
would  be  prohibit'^d  from  selling  sjiirituous  liquors.  To  all  this 
Red  Jacket  and  Farmer's  Brother  made  replies,  expressing  much 
gratification  that  the  "great  chief  of  the  Thirteen  Fires,  hi>d  opened 
his  mauth  to  them."  They  made  formal  complaints  of  the  manner 
in  which  their  lands  had  been  obtained  from  them»  to  which  Col. 
Pickering  replied,  that  their  lands  were  their  own  to  dispose  of  as 
they  pleased,  that  the  United  States  would  only  see  that  no  frauds 
were  practiced  in  the  land  treaties. 

The  Six  Nations  called  their  councils  with  the  whites,  measures 
for  "brightening  the  chain  of  friendship,  "and  never  did  chains  get 
rusty  so  quick  after  brightening  as  they  did  along  during  this  critical 
period.  One  treaty  or  council  was  hardly  over  before  another  was 
demanded  by  one  party  or  the  other.  In  the  spring  of  171)1,  when 
the  Little  Turtle  as  the  successor  of  Pontiac — at  i  leader,  almost 
his  equal  —  had  perfected  an  alliance  of  the  principal  western  na- 
tions against  the  United  States;  when  expedients  for  reconciliation 
with  them  had  been  exhausted,  and  General  Ilarmar  was  about  tu 
march  against  them ;  it  was  deemed  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
confirm  the  wavering  purposes  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  divert  them 
from  an  alliance  with  the  legions  that  threatened  to  break  up  the 
border  settlements  west  of  the  Ohio,  and  if  successful  there,  to  in- 
volve the  new  settlements  of  the  Genesee  country  in  the  contest  for 
dominion.  For  this  purpose,  Colonel  Pickering  was  again  commis- 
sioned by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  hold  ■  treaty.  It  was  held  at 
Newtown,  (now  Elmira,)  in  the  month  of  June.  With  a  good  deal 
of  difficulty,  a  pretty  general  attendance  of  the  Indians  was  secured. 
Fortunately  Col.  Proctor  who  had  turned  back  in  a  peace  embassy 
to  the  western  nations,  in  consequence  of  intimations  which  induced 
a  conclusion  that  it  would  not  only  be  fruitless  but  dangerous,  had 
spent  some  weeks  among  the  Sjnecas  at  Buffalo,  and  his  visit  had 
been  favorable  to  the  drawing  off  of  the  chiefs  and  warriors  from 
Canada  influence  and  western  alliance,  in  the  direction  of  Colonel 
Pickering  and  his  treat}  ground. 

The  treaty  was  mainly  successful.  With  all  the  bad  inclinations 
of  the  Set.3cas  at  this  period,  and  bad  influences  that  was  bearing 
upon  them,  there  was  a  strong  conservative  influence  which  had  a 
powerful  auxiliary  in  the,  "Governesses,  "  or  influential  women.* 

- 

*  The  very  coiiiiuuu  imbues -luii  iJiut  the  women  L;ul  no  iiitlueiice  ia  tlie  u.  ucils  of 


PHELPS    AND    GCRIIAMS   PURCUASE. 


291 


The  principal  speakers  were,  Red  Jacket  and  Farmer's  Brother. 
Thomas  Morris  was  present  at  this  treaty  ;*  the  autlior  extracts  tro# 
his  manuscripts,  spoken  of  in  the  prcl'acc  to  this  work;  —  "Red 
Jacket  was  I  suppose,  at  that  time,  about  30  or  35  years  of  age,  of 
middle  height,  well  formed,  with  an  intelligent  countenance,  and  a 
fine  eye ;  and  was  in  all  respects  a  fine  looking  man.  He  was  the 
most  "graceful  public  speaker  I  have  ever  known ;  his  manner  was 
most  dignified  and  easy.  He  was  lluent,  and  at  times  witty  and  sar- 
castic. ""  He  was  quick  and  ready  at  reply.  He  pitted  himself  against 
Col.  Pickering,  whom  he  sometimes  foiled  in  argument.  The 
Colonel  would  sometimes  become  irritoted  and  lose  his  temper ;  then 
Red  Jacket  would  be  delighted  and  shew  his  dexterity  in  taking 
advantage  of  any  unguarded  assertion  of  the  Colonel's.  He  felt  a 
conscious  pride  in  the  conviction  that  nature  had  done  more  for 
him  than  for  his  antagonist.  A  year  or  two  after  this  treaty,  when 
Col.  Pickering  from  Post  Master  General  became  Secretary  of  War, 
I  informed  Red  Jacket  of  his  promotion.  '  Ah, '  said  he, '  we  began 
our  public  career  about  the  same  time ;  he  knew  how  to  read  and 
write,  I  did  not,  and  he  has  got  ahead  of  me  ;  but  if  I  had  known 
how  to  read  and  write  I  should  have  got  ahead  of  him.' " 

The  name  of  an  early  Pioneer  has  already  been  incidentally  men- 
tioned, who  became  prominently  blended  in  all  the  relations  of  the 
general  government,  and  consequently  in  all  the  relations  of  this 
local  region,  with  our  Indian  predecessors.  General  Israel  Chapin 
was  from  Hatfield,  Massachusetts.  He  was  commissioned  as  a  Cap- 
tain in  the  earliest  military  organizations  of  Massachusetts,  after 
the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  in  the  campaign 
against  Quebec ;  soon  after  which  he  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of 
Colonel,  and  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  he  had  attained  to  the 


tliG  Six  Nations  — tliiu  their  whole  sex  was  regarded  as  mere  drudges  — is  refuted  by 
tlio  recorded  facts,  that  in  treaties  with  Gov.  George  Clinton,  and  iu  the  treaty  at  "  Big 
Trei',"  they  turned  the  scale  iu  councils. 

*  Mr.  Morris,  then  just  from  his  law  studies,  withayounger  brother,  set  out  from  Phil- 
adelphia, and  coining  via  Wilkwharre  and  what  was  called  "  Sullivan's  path,  "  attended 
the  treaty,  visitoil  tlie  Falls  of  Niagara,  and  returning,  made  up  his  miud  to  fix  his  res- 
idence at  Canandaigua.  »^See  sketches  of  early  times  at  Cauandaigua,  and  see  also 
Boiue  further  reniiniscences  of  Mr.  Morris  in  connection  with  tlie  treaty  at  NewtowD, 
Appendix  No.  12. 

Note.—  Among  the  Revolutionary  papers  of  General  Chapin,  are  many  interesting 
relics.  Ei)hraim  Patch,  a  soldier  of  liis  company,  charges  in  his  memorandum,  for 
"  one  pair  of  bult'ed  trowsers,  one  pewter  basin,  one  pair  ahoes,  ouu  tomahawk  and 


13 


292 


PIIELPS  AND  GORHAm's  PURCHASE. 


6 


rank  of  Brij^adier  General.     In  addition  to  his  services  in  the  field 
ftfc  was  occasionally  a  sub  contractor,  or  agent  of  Oliver  Phelps  in 
procuring  army  supplies.     Upon  one  occasion,  as  the  author  o'  •  erves 
by  his  correspondence,  he  was  requested  by  Mr.  Phelps  to  obtain  a 
fine  yoke  of  fat  cattle  for  Gen.  Washington's  table."    Gen  Chapin 
was  in  active  military  service  during  the  Shay  rebellion  :    [D"  See 
''general  orders,'  transmitted  to  him  by  Major  General  Shepherd 
Appendix,  No.  13.     After  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  he  was  a 
prominent  managing  member  of  an  association,  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  dealing  in  wild  lands  in  Vermont.     He  was  one  of  the 
origmal  associates  with  Mr.  Phelps,  in  the  purchase  of  the  Genesee 
country,  and  was  chosen  to  come  out  and  explore  it  in  1789  which 
resulted  m  his  removal  with  his  family  to  Canandaigua.  in  1790 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  general  government,  the  Sec- 
retary of  War,  General  Knox,  saw  the  necessity  of  a  local  a^ent 
among  the  Six  Nations,  and  the  well  earned  reputation  of  General 
Chapin,  in  the  Revolution,  and  in  the  important  civil  crisis  thai  fol- 
lowed after  it  in  Massachusetts,  fortunately  for  the  region  with 
which  he  had  become   identified,  pointed  him  out  as  a  safe  de 
pository  of  the  important  trust.     From  his  earliest  residence  in  the 
country,  he  had   been  entrusted  with  commissions,  in  connection 
with  Indian  relations,  by  Gen.  Knox  and  Col.  Pickerin  y.     Soon  after 
the  treaty  at  Newtown,  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  Deputy 
Superintendent  of  the  Six  Nations,  though  the  duties  of  his  office 
ultimately,  in  many  instances,  embraced  the  whole  northern  de- 
partment. 

The  letter  of  appointment  from  Gen.  Knox,  enjoined  upon  him 
the  impressing  upon  the  Indians,  that  it  was  the  "  firm  determination 
of  the  President  that  the  utmost  fairness  and  kindness  should  be 
exhibited  to  the  Indian  tribes  bv  the  Uniteri  States  "  Tint  it  was 
«  not  only  his  desire  to  be  at  peace  with  all  the  Indian  tribes,  but  'to 
be  their  guardian  and  protector,  against  all  injustice."  He  was 
informed  by  the  Secretary,  that  Joseph  Brant  had  promised  a  visit 
to  the  seat  of  government,  and  instructed  either  to  accompany  him 
"or  otherwise  provide  for  his  journey  in  a  manner  perfectly  a^ree' 
able  to  him."  *= 


bell,  onobiiyoiiGt. 111(1  bolt,  lost  by  moil.  UiJ^at  from  Qiioboc,  MiiTcTnipri^r 
athat.  ClMrkohiirgos    t.;it  ho  was  equally  lu.fortunato  in  the  h.xstv  ( i^^h       ]JZl 


PHELPS  AND   QOEIIAm's    PUECIIASE. 


293 


This  attempt  to  get  Brant  to  Philadelphia,  together  with  a  large 
representation  of  other  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Six  Nations,  and 
others  not  actually  merged  with  the  hostile  Indians  of  the  west,  had 
been  commenced  in  the  previous  winter.  It  succeeded  very  well, 
with  the  exception  of  Brant ;  a  large  Seneca  delegation,  with  a  few 
Cnondagas  and  Oneida?,  nearly  forty  in  all,  were  conducted  to  Phil- 
adelphia, across  the  country,  via  Wilkesbarre,  by  Horatio  Jones 
and  Joseph  Smith.  It  was  upon  this  occasion  that  the  Indian  chief, 
Big  Tree,  was  a  victim  to  the  excessive  hospital'ty  that  was  extended 
to  the  deJegation,  at  the  seat  of  government,  dying  there  from  the 
effects  of  surfeit.  British  hospitality  and  liberality  was  outdone  ; 
President  Washington  won  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  Indi- 
ans, and  they  departed  with  promises  of  continued  frlend.ship,  and 
that  they  would  undertake  a  friendly  mission  to  the  hostile  Indians 
of  the  west. 

Brant  w-is  invited  to  the  conference  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland 
and  Col.  Pickering,  but  he  stood  out  somewhat  upon  his  dignity, 
and  intimated  that  if  he  went,  it  was  to  be  in  a  manner  more  con- 
sistent with  his  character  and  position,  than  would  be  a  journey 
through  the  country,  with  a  drove  of  Indians,  under  the  lead  of  in- 
terpreters. This  being  communicated  to  Gen.  Knox,  he  took  the 
hint,  and  thence  his  instructions  to  Gen.  Chapin.  Apprehensive, 
too,  that  Brant  wanted  the  invitation  to  come  directly  from  the  seat 
of  government,  he  addressed  him  an  official  letter,  respectful  and 
conciliatory,  appealing  to  him  upon  the  score  of  humanity,  to  lend 
his  great  influence  toward  reconciling  the  existing  Indian  difficul- 
ties, preventing  tlie  further  shedding  of  biood,  and  to  assist  the 
government  in  devising  measures  for  bettering  the  condition  of  his 
race.  This  drew  from  the  chief  an  answer  that  he  would  start  for 
Philadelphia  in  about  thirty  days,  and  in  the  meantime  would  con- 
suit  the  western  nations,  and  be  enabled  to  speak  by  authority  from 
thorn.  No  statesman  of  the  new  or  old  world,  ever  penned  a  more 
guarded,  non-committal  answer  in  diplomacy,  than  was  this  from 
the  retired  chief,  in  the  backwoods  of  Canada. 

The  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  was  sent  to  Mr  Kirkland, 
at  Oneida,  and  forwarded  by  him  by  the  hands  of  Dr.  Deodat  Al- 
len,  to  the  care  of  Col.  Gordon,  the  British  commanding  officer  at 
Fort  Niagara,  with  a  request  to  have  it  sent  hy  private  express  to 
Captain  Brant,  at  Grand  River.     This  manner  of  forwarding-  the 


294 


PIIELP8  AND    GORHAm's    PURCHASE. 


etter  proved  unfortunate.  Dr.  Allen,  knowing  its  contents  dosijrned. 
ly  or  imprudently  communicated  them  to  Col.  Gordon,  who  acsompa- 
nied  U  with  suggestions  well  calculated  to  promote  an  unfavorable 
answer.  He  also  informed  Captain  Chew,*  a  deputy  Indian 
agent  under  Sir  John  Johnstone,  residing  at  Niagara,  of  the 
contents  of  the  letter,  who  brought  ail  his  influence  to  bear  upon 
Brant,  to  prevent  the  journey. 

As  the  time  of  departure  drew  near,  Gen.  Chapin  had  Brant  at- 
tended from   the   Grand  River  to  Canandaigua,  and   from  there, 
via  Albany  and  New  York  to  Philadelphia.     The  chief  was  at- 
tended  by  Israel  Chapin,  jr.,  Dr.  Allen,  Samuel  Street,  a  servant  of 
his  own,  and  another  provided  for  the  party  by  Gen.  Chapin.     It 
was  Brant's  first  appearance  in  the  Valley  of  the   Mohawk  after 
his  flight  from  there,  and  well  knowing  that  upon  his  journey  he 
must  often  encounter  those  of  his  old  neighbors  against  whom  he  had 
carried  on  a  sanguinary  warfare,  he  feared  retribution,  and  onlv 
proceeded  upon  the  pledges  of  Gen.  Chapin  that  no  insult  or  indi.- 
nity  should  be  offered  him.    It  was  only  upon  one  occasion  that  fears 
were  entertained  fof  his  safety  on  the  route  by  his  attendants,  who 
enabled  him  to  avoid  the  threatened  danger.     Arrived  at  New 
York,  it  would  seem  the  whole  party,  about  to  appear  at  court  —  or 
rather,  at  the  seat  of  government  —  doffed  their  backwoods  ward- 
robe, and  patronized  a  fashionable  tailor.     Pretty  round  bills  were 
presented  to  Gen.  Chapin  for  payment ;  that  for  a  full  suit  for  Brant 
would  show  that  he  at  least  did  not  appear  in  any  less  mean  attire 
than  was  befitting  an  ambassador. 

The  result  of  this  visit  of  Brant  to  the  seat  of  government,  in 
detail,  is  already  incorporated  in  history.  Although  in  a  measm-e 
satisfactory  and  productive  of  good,  his  position  was  by  no  means 
fixed,  or  changed  by  it.  In  the  midst  of  feasting  and  civilities,  the 
recipient  of  presents  and  flatteries,  he  was  reserved  and  guarded  • 
put  on  an  air  of  mystery ;  so  much  so.  that  Gen.  Knox  in  a  letter 
to  Gen.  Chapin,  expresses  fears  that  some  thing  was  said  or  done  at 


of  rS^'!.S7.^'''^r7f,°^?'''.^^''^"'"  '^^"'■•''  ^  h,-ilf  blood  T„8carora,  the  dm,f.hter 
piodsiit  ot  luHoaroia,  a  woman  wlio  is  wtOl  remenibm-.l  by  the  I'ioiu'crs  of  tint  ro- 
^  b..n  l"°  ?'''"•  ""^,  \^"''}  J"''*?"  *"  =^"^'''  •"""-'•''•  tolcf  tla.  autl,  r  th:  t  .so  wag 
!  I  nf   r  I'r  •'^""'''"  •^'^  ?^  "^'^  ^*'^'"'     "i'--  fi™t  ^■•'P""^^!  Wia  will,  a  ('.,  t  .i^,  J.;t- 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAm's  PURCHASE. 


295 


designetl- 
acsompa- 
ifavorable 
ty  Indian 
a,  of  the 
)ear  upon 

Brant  at- 
3m  there, 
f  was  at- 
prvant  of 
apin.  It 
iwk  after 
)urney  he 
)m  he  had 
and  only 

or  indig- 
that  fears 
nts,  who 

at  New 
mrt  —  or 
is  ward- 
ills  were 
or  Brant, 
an  attire 

iment,  in 
measure 

0  means 
ities,  the 
juarded ; 

1  a  letter 
done  at 


>  diiiif^hter 

)f  that  ro- 
t  tiliu  wag 
ijitain  Ki- 
ll! nfttiyes 


Philadelphia  that  had  displeased  him.     The  truth  was,  that  he  had 
a  difficult  part  to  perform:  — In  the  first  place,  he  was  sincerely 
tired  of  war,  and  wanted  peace  ;  but  he  was  bound  to  the  British 
interests  by  gratitude,  by  present  and  prospective  interests ;  exist- 
ing upon  their  bounty,  and  apprehensive  that  his  large  landed  pos- 
sessions were  held  by  the  tenure  of  a  continued  loyalty.     He  knew 
that  every  step  he  took,  and  every  word  he  uttered  in  favor  of  the 
United  States,  or  peace,  would  be  used  against  him,  not  only  to 
weaken  his  influence  with  the  British,  but  also  with  what  he  proba- 
bly valued  still  higher,  his  influence  with  his  own  race.     Gen.  Knox 
drew  from  him  a  promise  that  he  would  visit  the  western  nations  ; 
but  the  promise  was  attended  with  conditions  and  mental  reserva- 
tions,  which  were  calculated  to  render  the  mission  of  little  avail. 

There  followed  this  movement,  a  series  of  fruitless  embassies  to 
the  hostile  Indians,  a  protracted  period  of  alarm  and  apprehension.  • 
Repeated  conferences  and  councils  were  held  by  Gen.  Chapm  with 
the  Six  Nations,  mostly  with  the  Senecas,  as  they  were  most  m- 
clined  to  be  allies  of  the  western  Indian  confederacy.  Hendricks, 
aStockbridge  chief,  Red  Jacket,  and  Cornplanter,  were  successively 
sent  on  missions  to  the  west,  under  the  auspices  of  Gen.  Chapin ; 
but  neither  they,  nor  white  ambassadors,  succeeded  in  gettmg  any 
overture  better  than  the  ultimatum  that  the  Ohio  should  be  the 
boundary  line  of  respective  dominion. 

There  was  a  long  period  of  dismay  and  alarm,  in  which  the  new 
settlers  of  the  Genesee  country  deeply  and  painfully  participated  ; 
evei<y  movement  in  the  west  was  regarded  with  anxiety  ;  and  the 
Senecas  in  their  midst,  were  watched  with  jealousy  and  distrust. 
In  addition  to  the  fruitless  missions  from  this  quarter,  others  were 
undertaken  from  the  seat  of  government,  and  our  military  posts 
upon  the  Allegany,  equally  abortive;  in  two  instances,  peace  am- 
bassadors  were  treacherously  murdered  before   reaching  treaty 
grounds.     The  hindrances  to  peace  negotiations  with  the  Indians, 
were  vastly  augmented  by  British  interference.     Not  content  with 
encouraging  the  Indians  to  hold  out,  and  actually  supplying  them 
with  the°means  of  carrying  on  the  war,  on  one  occasion,  they  refused 
to  let  a  peace  embassy  proceed  by  water  via  Oswego  and  Niagara  ; 
and  on  another  occasion,  with  a  military  police,  prevented  commis- 
sioners of  the  United  States  from  proceeding  to  their  destination, 
a  treaty  ground.    And  these  were  the  acts  of  a  nation  with  whom 


*• 


296 


PnELPS   AND  GORIIAM's   PtJRCnASE. 


if ' 


I 


1^   ( 

I 


we  had  just  rnade  a  treaty  of  peace ;  a  nation  who,  in  a  recent 
co.on.al  cnsKs  of  their  own,  demanded  the  most  stringent  observance 
of  the  duties  of  neutral  nations.  They  set  up  the  specious  and 
false  pretence,  that  the  supplying  the  Indians  with  the  mea.^s  of 
warnng  upon  us,  was  the  work  of  individuals,  for  which  the  .^ov- 
rnent  was  not  accountable.  In  the  case  of  the  Navy  Island  war. 
they  insisted  that  our  government  should  be  responsible  for  individ- 
til  ucts. 

The  office  of  Gen.  Chapin,  it  may  well  be  concluded,  was  no  sin- 
ecure.    At  the  head  of  the  war  department  was  a  faithful  public 
officer,  ond  he  required  promptness  and  energy  from  all  his  subor- 
dinates.    Upon  Gen.  Chapin,  devolved  the  procuring  of  embassa- 
dors to  the  host.le  Indians,  fitting  out  them  and  their  retinues,  and 
^  holding  council  after  council  to  keep  the  faces  of  the  Six   Nations 
turned  from  the  west.     In  these  troublesome  times,  the  gov  ernment 
was  of  course  liberal  with  the  Senecas,  and  Gen.  Chapin  was  its  al- 
moner.     They,  shrewd  enough  to  understand  the  value  of  their  con- 
tinned  friendship  to  the  United  States  at  that  critical  period,  were 
rnos   of  them  sturdy  beggars.     Often  they  would  propose  counci 
with  the  ulterior  motive  of  a  feast  and  carousal  and  a  "staff"*  to 
support  them  on  their  return  to  then-  villages.     At  his  home  in  Can- 
andaigua  he  was  obliged  to  hold  almost  perpetual  ar.dience  with  self 
constituted  delegations  who  would   profess  that  thev  were  decided 
conservat.ves  and  peace  makers,  as  long  as  he  disp;nsed  his  bread, 
rneat  and  whiskey  Ireely.     Lingering  sometimes  quite  too  long  to 
be  agreeable  or  essential  to  the  purposes  of  diplomacv,  he  would  fit 
hem  out  with  a  iberal  "staff"  and  persuade  the  squaws  to  uo  back 

ZtrmBe       'fr'   '^'""^^  their  hunting  camp;  in  the 
toiest.     Ml.  Berry  at  Canavvagus,  and  Winney,  the  then  almost 


«f  thoso  ,H,fo„ve,.sanf,  wiU  v    .J  J       ?  '      f  1  "  '".^"^tio.u.d,  for  the  information 

Hllof  Ihoir  couiitiT  tl.ey  had    rod  ,    to    h.'.  1     i     1    ^'i"  ^''""''  T'"-"'''  ^^'"•^  f"  ■•.oover 

.•m  the  t.o,UKlarvlino,  u,  1^,  tl  iV  v  w  III  .  "''f  T'"^'  '■'■^'^'^■''  "P""  "'''  «'"" 
Tlio  oxpoditions  of  St  M  ir  d  ¥,;„r  w  .  ''f '''  '■"';'  ""'■'""■■'g'".!  ^v  the  British. 
runishiiH'  tliu  Indians  for   }.i.,      )',•   '  ''■"■  ''."'"'•'^^'"^'  P'-^vioud  trealias  a„d 

ceded  terriloiy.  "  Jq.redations  coM.mUtcd  ,.ponti>os.  wlio  had  settled  on 

a  miioniS  "  tIcSJ'u^  ?f  "^.^'■'t^'y  t"  ^^-^^h  they  ^ave  this  «an,o.    What 


PHELPS    AND    GORHAM's    PURCHASE. 


29t 


solitary   resident  upon   the  present  site  of  BufTalo,  were  Indian 
traders,   and  acted  as  local  sub-agents,  the  two  first  named  es- 
pecially.    Upon  the   General's  orders,  and  sometimes  at  their  own 
discretion,  they   would  dispense  meats  and  drinks,  and   formidable 
accounts  thereof  would  be  presented.     Winney  occupying  an  im- 
portant position  with  reference  to  Indian  relations,  kept  the  General 
apprised  of  all   that  was   going  on  in    that  quarter.     The    United 
States  having  passed  a  stringent  law  prohibiting  whol'y  the  selling 
of  liquor  to  the  Indians  and  trading  among  them  without  license,  an 
onerous  task  was  imposed  ujjod  the  superintendent  to  prevent  its 
infraction.     School  masters,  missionaries  and  blacksmiths,  among  the 
Indians  had  to  be  cared  for,  and  their  various  wants  supplied.     In 
all  difTiculties  that  arose  between  the  white  settlers  and  the  Indians, 
the  superintendent  was  usually  called  upon  to  be  the  arbitrator.     If 
the  Indians  stole  fiom  the  white  settlers,  complaints  were  made  to  the 
superihtendant  and  it  seemed  to  have  been  a  matter  of  inference 
that  his  office  imposed  upon  him  the  duty  of  seeing  all  .such  wrongs 
redressed.     It  will  surprise  those  who  ars  not  conversant   with  the 
scale  of  economy  upon  which  our  national  affairs  commenced,  that 
the  pay  for  all  this,  which  was  attended  with  large  disbursement  of 
public  money,  for  which  the  most  rigid  accountability  was  deman- 
ded, was  but  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum. 

The  season  of  1794  opened  with  gloomy  prospects; — Negotia- 
tions with  the  western  Indians  had  signally  failed ;  one  army  had 
been  routed,  and  another  defeated  ;  Indian  murders  of  border  settlers 
at  the  west  continued  ;  a  war  with  England  was  not  improbable  ;* 
and  among  the  fearfully  anticipated  results  in  this  region,  was  a 
renewal  of  the  border  wars,  with  the  active  participation  of  the 
legions  of  savage  warriors  at  the  west,  added  to  increase  its  hor- 


NoTE. — The  fdllowin;;  is  ri  spocimen  of  Mr.  Wiimcy's  coiTespondoiicc.  Prince  Ed- 
ward wiw  tlio  afterwards  Duko  of  Kent,  tlie  lather  of  the  present  Queen  of  England, 
lie  had  then  a  commission  in  the  British  army  : — 

lii  FFAi.o  Creek,     c  23d  Aug.,  1792. 

"I  inform  General  Chapin   that  :ihont  70  of  the  Cauiida  Lidians  is  gone  to  Detroit, 
they  seem  to  be  for  Warr  and  a  number  of  Indians  more  are  expected  to  go  uj),  I  fmlhir 
inform   you  that  the  Indians  of  this  place  arc  to  go  up  in  the  iir.st  Kings  vessel  tha 
comes  di)wn.     Prince  Edward  i.s  amved  at  niagara  should  I  hear  anything  worth  while 
10  writo  I  Bhall  let  you  know.    I  am  your  most  obedient  rnd  very  humble  servant. 
■'  C.  WiNNEY. 

*  The  reader  is  reminded  that  a  war  botwoon  England  and  France  had  commenced 
Entrl.iiid  had  nrostratxMl  American  commerce  by  her  arbitrary  orders  in  council;  and 
impressment  of  American  seamen,  (of  itself  a  ButHcicut  cause  of  war,)  was  going  on. 
19 


298 


PHELPS  AND  aORHAJl's   PURCHASE. 


rors.     In  the  month  of  February,  Lord  Dorchester  had  returned 
from  England,  and  meeting  a  deputation  from  the  western  Indians, 
had  delivered  to  them  an  inflammatory  speech,  asserting  among 
o  her  thing.,  tnat  he  should  regard  as  invalid,  any  acquisition  of  the 
l/n.tejl  States,  of  Indian  lands  since  the  peace  of  1783.     [Appen- 
dix i\o.  14.J     This  of  course  included  all  of  the  Genesee  country 
I-ollowing  up  the  hostile  demonstration,  Gov.  Simcoe,  early  in  April 
with  a  body  of  troops  had  proceeded  'o  the  west,  and  erected  a 
Fort,  at  the  foot  of  the  Rapids  of  the  Miami,  far  within  the  boun- 
danes  of  the  United  States,   as  acknowlcged  in  the  treatv  of  1783 
Although  General  Chapin,  as  many  of  the  old  Pionee"rs  well  re- 
member, endeavored  to  quiet  alarm,  and  prevent  the  desertion  of 
the  country,  he  was  far  from  feeling  all  the  security  and  freedom  from 
apprehension  of  danger,  that  he  with  good  motives  professed     All 
eyes  were  turned  to  him;  from  all  the  backwoods  settlement.s,  mes- 
sengers would  go  to  Canandaigua,  to  learn  from  him  all  that  was 
going  on -to  consult  him  as  to  anticipated  danger: -if  he  had 
shown  misgivings,  or  favored  alarm,  a  desertion  of  the  country  would 
have  ensued,  the  necessity  of  which  he  was  laboring  to  obviate 
During  the  previous  winter  he  had  been  to  Philadelphia,  and  deliv- 
ered to  the  President  a  message  from  a  council  of  the  Six  Nations 
and  brought  back  an  answer.     In  February  he  had  convened  a  coun- 
cil at  Buflalo  and  delivered  it.     It  had  proved  satisfactory  except  in 
one  particular -it  had  foiled  to  give  an  explicit  answer  upon  the 
vexed  question  of  the  disputed  western  boundary.     He  however 
distributed  presents  among  them -of  which  was  a  large  supply  of 
warm  vyinter  clothing -and  left  them  with  renewed  professions  of 
peaceful  intentions.*    In  April  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War  that 
he  had  entertained  confidence  that  the  Six  Nations  intended  to  hold  a 
council  with  the  U.  States,  in  order  to  bring  "  about  a  general  peace," 
but  that  he  feared  that  the  '-inflammatory  speech  of  Lord  Dorches- 
ter    (which  had  been  interpreted  to  the  Indians  at  Bufllvlo  Creek 
by  Col.  Butler.)  "with  what  passed  between  the  British  and  Indi- 
^ins  on  that  occasion,  had  changed  their  intentions."     "Captain 
Bomberry  attended  the  council  in  behalf  of  the  British  government 
and  took  pains  on  all  occasions  to  inform  the  Indians  that  war  betweeii 

*  At  diis  period  the  Senecas  wore  almost  wholly  clothed  and  fed  tiv  I.;,,,     t^ 
the  only  poUoy  w,nch  could  provout  the,,  ft..  r^Lrti^.t  ^^^^^  iJ^::^ 


PHELPS   AND    GOmiAMS   PURCHASE. 


299 


their  government  and  ours,  was  inevitable.  When  I  was  at  Buf- 
falo Creek,  Gov.  Simcoe  had  gone  to  Detroit.  He  started  for  that 
place  immediately  on  receiving  Lord  Dorchester's  speech  to  the 
Indians."  "  The  expenses  of  the  Indians  increase  with  the  im- 
portance they  suppose  their  friendship  to  be  to  us  ;  hov»rever,  you 
may  be  persuaded  that  I  endeavor  to  make  use  of  all  the  economy  I 
can."  The  letter  closes  as  follows :  — "  This  part  of  the  country,  be- 
ing  the  frontier  of  the  State  of  New  York,  is  very  much  alaimed  at  the 
present  appearance  of  war.  Destitute  of  arms  and  ammunition,  the 
scattered  inhabitants  of  this  remote  wilderness  would  fall  an  easy  prey 
to  their  savage  neighbors,  should  they  think  proper  to  attack  them." 

On  the  5th  ot  May,  General  Chapin  informed  the  Secretary,  that 
the  British  had  commenced  the  erection  of  a  Fort  at  Sandusky. 
"  If,"  says  he,  "  it  is  consistent  with  the  views  of  the  United  States, 
to  put  any  part  of  this  country  in  a  state  of  defence,  this  part  of 
it  calls  aloud  for  it  as  much  as  any.  We  are  totally  unprovided 
with  arms  and  ammunition,  and  our  enemy  is  within  a  few  miles 
of  us.  If  12  or  1500  stand  of  arms  could  be  spared  from  the  arse- 
nals of  the  United  States,  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  frontier,  together 
with  some  ammunition,  it  would  contribute  much  to  their  security."* 

The  apprehension  of  danger  extended  over  all  the  region  west 
of  Utica.  In  the  small  settlements  that  had  been  commenced  in 
Onondaga,  it  had  been  enhanced  by  an  unfortunate  local  occurrence: 
Early  in  the  spring.  Sir  John  .Johnson,  through  an  agent,  had  at- 
tempted to  take  from  Albany  to  Canada,  a  boat  load  of  groceries 
and  fruit  trees.  A  party  of  men  waylaid  the  boat  at  Three  River 
Point,  and  plundered  the  entire  cargo.  It  was  a  lawless  attempt  of 
individuals  to  take  the  power  into  their  own  hands,  and  redress  na- 
tional wrongs  ;  gratify  an  ill  feeling  against  Johnson,  and  retaliate 
for  British  offences  upon  the  Ocean,  and  the  annoyances  of  Ameri- 
can Lake  commerce  at  Oswego.  An  invading  force  from  Canada 
to  land  at  Oswego,  and  march  upon  the  settlements  in  Onondaga, 
was  threatened  and  anticipated.  Rumors  came  that  Johnson  and 
Brant  were  organizing  for  that  purpose. 

In  refirence  to  the  whole  complexion  of  things  at  the  west,  and 
in  Canada,  the  legislature  of  New  York  had  resolved  upon  erecting 
fortifications  upon   the   western  borders,    and   had   appropriated 


•  Some  f.rras  and  aitinuniitioii  were  shortly  afterwards  sent  to  Gen.  Chapiu,  either 
by  the  general  or  stato  government. 


300 


PHELPS  AND  QORHAm's   PURCHASE. 


£12,000  for  that  purpose.     Tlie  commissioners  under  the  act,  were 
Generals  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  and  William  North,  Adjt.  Gen, 
David  Van  Home  and  Baron  Steuben,  who  was  then  a  resident 
ot  Oneida  county.     Soon  after  their  appointment,  they  had  enlisted 
the  co-operation  of  General  Chapin,  Charles  Williamson  and  Robert 
I  orris,   as   to   the  location   of  the   defences.      Although   Baron 
^    \ben  came  west,  and  corresponded  wit>-    he  last  named  gentle- 
n  reference  to  the  matter,  the  author  can  not  learn  that  any 
vas  finally  consummated  west  of  Onondaga.     Before  any 
uld  have  been  matured,  the  clouds  of  war  had  began  to  dis- 
1  the  hour  of  alarm,  the  State  commissioners  came  west 
rr.i-  ^s  Salt  Point,  and  ordered  the  erection  of  a  block   house, 
%hich  was  soon  completed.     The   Baron   mustered   together  the 
backwoodsmen   of  Onondaga,   officered   and   inspected   them;   a 
committee  of  public  safety  was  organized.     Before  the  block  house 
was  completed  and  garrisoned,  on  several  occasions,  the  inhabitants 
fled  to  the  woods  with  their  most  valuable  effects.     At  this  time, 
there  was  an  unusual  number  of  Indians  at  the  British  posts  of  Os-' 
wego  and  Niagara ;  it  was  inferred  that  they  were  only  waiting  for 
Wayne's   defeat  at  the  west,  as  a  signal  for  a   movement  in  this 
quarter. 

^  A  new  element  of  trouble  was  interposed  to  embarrass  the  rela- 
tions of  the  Six  Nations  with  the  United  States.  Cornplanter, 
with  a  few  other  chiefs,  had  sold  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  a 
district  of  country  along  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  which 
included  Presque  Isle.  The  act  was  strongly  remonstrated  against, 
and  Pennsylvania  was  early  informed  that  it  had  not  the  sanction 
of  competent  authority,  and  would  be  regarded  by  the  Indians  as  a 
nullity ;  but  at  a  critical  period,  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania 
very  inddiscreetly  commenced  an  armed  occupancy  and  surveys. 
This  threatened  to  undo  all  that  had  been  done  by  General  Chapin 


^0TE.  — The  author  of  tJio  oxcollont  History  of  Onoiulaga.from  which  a  portion  of 
the  account  of  movoinents  in  thiit  (]uaitcr  are  derived,  savs :  — "Frederick  William 
Auffustimharon  do  Steuben,  once  an  aid-de-canip  to  Frederick  the  Creat,  Kin-  of 
I  ruHsia,  Qiiarterniaster  (teneral,  Chevalier  of  the  Order  of  INIerit,  (iiand  Master  of  the 
Court  of  Hohenzollen,  Colonel  in  the  Circle  of  Suabia,  Knight  of  the  Order  of  l-'ideli- 
ty,  (-oinniander-)n-ehief  of  the  armies  of  tlio  Prince  of  Jiaden,  MnU>v  General  of  the 
armies  of  the  United  States,  and  Inspector  General  of  tlie  same— the  fortunate 
Boldier  of  hfty  battles,  an  admirer  of  freedom,  the  friend  of  Washintrton,  tlio  man  of 
virtue,  tideht y  and  honor— performed  his  last  mililarv  service  in  revie\viii!r  a  score  of 
!!!i!tnr,rd,  half-elad  militia,  and  in  selectiie?  a  site  ibr  a  blu.'k-hniise  f(ir  the  defeuce  of 
the  Iroutier  of  New  ^'ork,  in  the  county  of  Onondaga,  at  Salt  I'oint,  in  1791." 


iiJ 


PHELPS   AND    GORIIAM'S  PUKCIIASE. 


801 


to  keep  the  Six  nations  quiet.     He  took  the  advantage  of  a  visit  of 
Capt.  Williamson  to  the  seat  of  government,  to  represent  the  con- 
sequences, and  induce  the  Presitlcnt  to  interfere  and  persuade  the 
authorities  of  Pennsylvania  to  abandon  the  enterprise.     In  a  letter 
to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  on  the  7th  of  June,  he  had  fore- 
shadowed the  difficulty  that  was  springing  up  in  a  new  quarter  — 
"  The   Cornplanter,  whose  steadiness  and  fidelity  has  been,  until 
lately,  unshaken,    has,  I  am  apprehensive,   been  induced  to  join 
their  interests.     He  has  lately  returned  fro.n  Niagara,  loaded  with 
presents.     Shortly  after  his  return  to  his  home,  he  despatched  run- 
ners to  the  different  tribes  of  the  Six  Nations,  requprfting  them  to 
meet  in  a  general   council  at  his  castle,  to  proceed  from  thence  to 
Venango ;  informing  them  that  an  Indian  had  been  killed  by  our 
people,  and  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  them  to  inquire  into  the 
circumstances."     "  I  am  afraid  that  the  murder  of  the  Indian  is  not 
the  real  cause  of  calling  this  council.     The  lands  at  Presque  Isle, 
were  sold  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  by  Cornplanter,  and  a  small 
party,   without   the   consent  of  the   nation.     No  division  of  the 
money  was  ever  made.    The  Cornplanter  has  always  denied  h;,ving 
made  the  sale,  and  they  have  never  considered  it  as  a  valid  one. 
The  troops  sent  on  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  prove  to  the  In- 
dians  that  the  property  is  considered  by  the  State  as  belonging  ot 
them ;  and  the  Cornplanter,  in  order  to  extricate  himself  from  the 
unpleasant  situation  he  is  placed  in,  is  perhaps  desirous  of  inflaming 
the  Six  Nations  against  the  United  States."     General  Chapin  sig- 
nified his  intention  of  attending  the  council  at  Venango,  as  he  had 
been  invited,  to  thwart  any  mischief  that  might  be  engendered 
there.     He  succeeded,  however,  in  changing  the  council  to  Buffalo 
Creek,  to  be  held  thero  on  the  15th  of  June. 

Cornplanter  was  present  at  this  council,  and  the  principal  speak- 
er, lie  led  off  with  a  speech  to  be  transmitted  to  the  President,  in 
which  he  nearly  threw  off  all  disguise,  and  from  a  conservative,  be- 
came an  ultra ist.  He  opened  smoothly  and  artfully,  however  ;  ad- 
dressing the  President  through  Gen.  Chapin,  he  said:  — "  Brother, 
I  have  for  a  long  time  aimed  at  the  good  of  both  parties.  I  have 
paid  you  different  compliments,  as  that  of  brother,  and  f^^ther,  and 
now  I  shall  call  you  friend.  We  were  pleased  when  we  heard  that 
you  war-  appointed  to  have  chief  command  of  the  T^nited  States." 
He  closed  a  long  speech,  and  one  of  a  good  deal  of  ability,  by  join- 


I 


302 


PHELPS    AND    GOKIIAm's   PTJECHASE. 


mg  the  western  Indians  in  their  ultimatum,  in  reference  to  making 
the  Ohio  the  boundary  line ;  thus,  in  fact,  nullifying  his  own  acts. 
He  demanded  redress  for  two  of  their  people  killed  by  the  whites ; 
and  even   hud  the  effrontery  to  complain  of  the  occupation  of 
Presque   Isle,  adding  very   significantly   that   it  might  "occasion 
many  accidents,"  and  presented  the  Gen.  with  ten  strings  of  black 
wampum.     General  ^jhapin  made  a  judiciou.«  reply  ;  and  in  answer 
to  a  request  that   Cornplanter  had  made   in   behalf  of  the  Six 
Nations,  for  him  to  go  to  Prcsfpie  Isle,  disclaimed  any  right  he  had 
to  interfere  with  the  acts  of  Pennsylvania;  but  said  he  would  ac- 
cept the  invitation,  and  go  there  and  give  his  ad /ice. 

Accompanied  by  William  Johnson,  *  two  Seneca  chiefs  and  ten 
Indians  as  a  guard  and  as  oars-men,  General  Chnpin  left  Buffalo 
Creek  on  the  19th  of  July  for  Presque  Isle,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
24th.     Their  ,  'ow  progress  had  been  owing  to  head  winds  that 
frequently  obliged  them  to  camp  on  shore  and  await  their  subsiding. 
There  were  then  no  Indian  or  white  occupants  at  Presque  Isle.     A 
company  of  troops  and  a  corps  of  surveyors  were  stationed  at  Le 
Boeuf,  on  French  Creek,  IG  miles  distant,  to  which  place  the  em- 
bassy plodded  their  way  through  the  woods  on  foot.     A  Captain 
Denny  co:nmanded  troops  at  Le  Boeuf,  and  Mr.  Ellicott  f  was  at 
the  head  of  the  surveyors.     The  arrival  of  the  ambassador  of  peace 
and  his  dusky  retinue,  was  honored  by  the  discharge  of  cannon. 
Runners  had  preceded  the  party,  and  on  its  arrival,  a  considerable 
number  of  Indians  were  collected.     General  Chapin  delivered  to 
Messrs.  Denny  and  Ellicott ,  a  message  from  the  chiefs  he  had  met 
at  Buffalo  Creek,  which  contained  a  demand  for  the  suspension  of 
surveys  and  a  withdrawal  of  the  troops ;  a  day  or  two  was  spent  in 
makmg  speeches,  and  in  friendly  intercourse  with  the  Indians.    The 
council,  or  interview,  terminated  in  a  promise  from  General  Chapin 
of  a  general  treaty  to  settle  not  only  that,  but  all  existing  difficul- 
ties, and  the  representatives  of  Pennsylvania  signified  a  wfilingness 
f    abide  by  the  result.     Before  leaving  Le  Boeuf,  General  Chapin 
despatched  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  in  which  he  said,  that 

rrli"^'"wl''^'t1'*l^''','r''',"'l'"''-"r'''''*^''"  '"  ^'^'^  ""tish  interests,  residing  at  Duffxlo 

hTr^'.tlT         °  '"!"'l  "^"  '■*  ""^  P'''-'^''"^  "ty  of  Buffalo.     A  coniproniise  .'avo 

Z £'  a  But W  h"  ""■  '"'■'^  "  f'r. *='V'  ""<!  '^  tract  of  wild  land  neai-  [he  citv.  ^ He 
iw(i  iiiun  a  Uutler  Ranger.    Ho  died  in  1807 

t  Either  Jo.scph  or  Beujainiu  JJllicott. 


rnELPS  AKD  goeiiam's  pukciiase. 


303 


"  although  the  minds  of  the  Six  Nations  are  much  diatuibed  at  the 
injuries  they  say  they  have  sustained,  they  are  still  opposed  to  war, 
and  wish,  if  possible,  to  live  in  peace  with  the  United  States. 
They  are  much  opposed  to  the  establishing  of  a  garrison  at  this 
place,  as  they  say  it  will  involve  them  in  a  war  with  the  hostile 
Indiana.  *  They  are  likewise  much  displeased  with  the  having 
those  lands  surveyed,  as  they  say  they  have  not  been  legally  pur- 
chased." In  this  letter,  General  Chapin  earnestly  recommended  a 
general  treaty,  as  the  only  means  which  could  keep  the  Six  Nations 
aloof  from  the  dangerous  confederacy  at  the  west. 

To  the  letter  of  General  Chapin,  the  Secretary  answered  on  the 
25th  of  July,  saying:  —  "Your  ideas  of  a  conference  are  adopted. 
It  will  be  held  at  Canandaigua  on  the  8th  of  September.  Colonel 
Pickering  will  be  the  commissioner,  to  be  assisted  by  you  in  iW  re- 
spects. Notify  the  Six  Nations  that  their  father,  the  Presiti  nt  of 
the  United  States,  is  deeply  cjncerned  to  hear  of  any  diss;  'sfac- 
tion  crusting  in  their  minds  against  the  United  States,  and  there- 
fore invites  them  to  a  conference,  for  the  purpose  of  removing  all 
causes  of  misunderstanding,  and  establishing  a  permanent  peace 
and  friendship  between  the  United  States  and  the  Six  Nations." 

No  time  was  lost  by  General  Chapin  in  disseminating  the  invi- 
tation among  the  Indians  ;  holding  "  talks  "  and  councils  with  them, 
personally,  in  their  villages.  A  crisis  was  at  hand ;  Gen.  Wayne 
was  marching  into  the  Indian  country ;  legions  of  the  western  and 
southern  Indians  were  assembling  to  give  him  battle  ;  unless  the 
Six  Natiins  were  diverted,  there  was  strong  probability  that  they 
would  be  with  them  ;  and  if  Gen.  Wayne  was  defeated,  there  was 
the  additional  fearful  probability  that  an  attempt  of  the  confederates 
would  follow,  to  address  the  alleged  wrongs  of  the  Six  Nations,  by 
bringing  the  war  to  this  region.  Runners,  or  messengers,  were 
despatched  to  the  scat  of  government ;  frequent  communications 
passed  betwen  Generals  Knox  and  Chapin,  and  frequent  speeches 
came  from  the  President,  through  GtMieral  Knox,  to  the  Six  Nations. 
On  the  30th  of  July,  General  Chapin  reported  progress,  and  inform- 
ed General  Knox  that  the  complexion  of  things  at  the  west  looked 
discouraging ;  that  although  he  entertained  hopes  of  a  general  at- 


*  Oblige  ihf^m  to  join  the  hostile  Indians,  it  is  presumed,  is  the  meaning  intended 
to  be  conveyed. 


304 


rm:LPs  and  oortta^m's  ruRciiASE. 


^ 


tendance  at  the  treaty,  he  had  to  stem  a  strnncT  tide  of  opposition, 
principally  instigated  by  the  British.  "Captain  O.  Bail  does  not 
feel  satisfied  respecting  his  villanous  conduct  in  making  sale  of  the 
lands  at  Presque  Isle,  which  jrivcs  general  dissatisfaction  to  the  Six 
Nations,  as  they  were  not  informed  of  his  proceedings.  The  In- 
dians' enmity  to  him,  induces  him  to  be  more  attached  to  tho 
British,  as  they  tolerate  every  kind  of  such  conduct  to  disturb  the 
Indians  and  bring  about  their  own  purposes."  In  this  letter,  the 
General  mentions  that  the  warriors  on  the  Allega.iy  had  been' per- 
suaded that  Wayne  would  march  in  this  direction,  and  had  re- 
moved their  old  men,  women,  and  children,  to  a  new  location  on 
he  Cattaraugus  Creek,  with  the  ultimate  intention,  as  he  thought, 
of  crossing  the  Lake  to  Canada. 

In  the  forepart  of  September,  General  Chapin  employed  William 
Ewing,  whom  the  reader  will  find  alluded  to  in  connection  with 
reminiscences  of  Pioneer  settlement  on  the  Genesee  river,  to  repair 
to  Buflldo  creek  and  Canada,  use  his  influence  in  getting  the  Indi- 
ans in  that  quarter  to  attend  the  treaty,  and  watch  and  counteract 
as  far  as  possible,  British  interference.  A  letter  from  Mr.  Ewing 
to  General  Chapin  after  his  return,  contains  so  much  of  the  cotem- 
porary  history  of  that  period,  that  the  author  has  inserted  it  entire 
in  the  Appendix,  No.  15. 

The  most  ample  provisions  were  made  for  the  treaty ;  while  the 
Secretary  of  War  would  caution  against  the  unnecessary  expendi- 
ture  of  public  money,  he  transmitted  funds  liberally,  and  ample 
stores  ^of  Indian  goods,  liquors,  tobacco,  &c.,  were  purchased  in 
New  York,  sent  up  the  Hudson,  and  started  upon  the  long  and  tedious 
water  transit,  while  at  Canandaigua,  the  local  superintendent,  laid 
in  provisions  and  prei)ared  to  fulfil  a  promise  to  the  Indians,  that  he 
would  "hang  on  big  kettles."  Col.  Pickering  wrote  to  General 
Chapm  to  have  quarters  provided  for  him  where  he  could  entertain 
friends  ;  that  he  ha.l  sent  on  liquors,  provisions,  tea  and  coffee,  for 
a  private  establishment. 

The  Indians  gathered  tardily.  Col.  Pickering  anticipating  this, 
di'i  not  arrive  until  after  the  20th  of  September.  In  a  letter  to  the 
Secretary,  dated  on  the  17th,  Gen.  Chapin  mentions  a  rumor,  that 
Wayne  had  defeated  the  Indians.  In  reference  to  the  treaty  he 
says :  —  "  Since  the  Indians  were  first  invited  to  it,  the  British  have 
endeavored  if  possible  to  prevent  their  attendance,  and  have  used 


PHELPS    AND    G0R1IAM8    PUROHASE. 


805 


every  t-ndcnvor  to  persuade  them  to  join  the  hostile  Iiuli.'ins,  till  at 
last  they  found  the  Indians  would  not  generally  join  in  the  war, 
the  Governor  told  them  in  the  council  at  Fort  Erie,  that  they  might 
attend  the  treaty,  and  if  anything  was  given  them  by  the  Ameri- 
cans, to  take  it."  "  The  Indians  will  generally  attend  the  treaty  in 
my  opinion,  or  especially  those  of  the  best  part  of  them ;  such  as 
are  generally  in  council,  and  the  best  friends  to  the  United  States." 

Previous  to  the  treaty,  or  Wayne's  victory,  a  little  light  had  broke 
in  to  the  darkness  ihat  pervaded.  The  prospect  of  a  general  war 
with  Eii"lrM(l  was  lessened.  Gen.  Knox  wrote  to  Gen.  Chapin  in 
June,  that  the  "  British  conduct  in  the  West  Indies."  and  Lord 
Dorchester's  speech  had  "rendered  it  pretty  conclusive__that  last  au- 
tumn the  ministry  of  Great  Britain  entertained  the  idea  of  making 
war  upon  us.  It  is  however,  now  pretty  certain  that  they  have 
altered  or  suspended  that  intention.  This  conclusion  is  drawn  from 
the  orders  of  the  Pth  of  January,  and  the  general  opinion  enter- 
tained in  Great  Britain."  Favorable  as  were  these  indications, 
they  had  no  immediate  efiect  upon  British  agents  in  this  quarter. 

It  was  not  until  near  the  middle  of  October,  that  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  Indians  were  collected  at  Canandaigua,  tc  warrant  the  com- 
mencement of  business.  About  that  period  General  Chapin  w;ote 
to  the  Secretary,  that  he  should  "  endeavor  to  make  use  of  the 
shortest  ceremony  in  procuring  supplies,  but  the  number  cf  ^adians 
is  greater  than  I  expected,  and  the  expenses  also."  It  is  apparent 
from  the  cotemporary  records,  that  the  Six  Nations,  a  large  propor- 
tion of  them  at  least,  hung  back  from  this  treaty,  even  until  they 
began  to  hear  of  Wayne's  victory,  from  such  of  their  number  as 
had  been  in  the  fight,  as  allies  of  the  confederates;  and  in  fact  they 
did  not  assemble  at  Canandaigua,  in  any  considerable  numbers,  un- 
til Wayne's  success  was  fully  confirmed,  and  they  were  clearly  con- 
vinced that  the  fortunes  of  war  had  turned  decidedly  against  those 
w'th  ^vhom  they  would  have  been  fully  allied,  if  Wayne  had  met 
with  no  better  success  than  had  his  predecessors,  Harmar  and  St. 

Clair. 

The  general  proceedings,  and  favorable  termination  of  Picker- 
ing's treaty  of  17!)  1,  at  Canandaigua,  are  already  incorporated  in 
history.  Wayne's  victory,  and  the  success  of  the  treaty,  which 
was  in  a  great  measure  consequent  upon  it,  were  the  commence- 
ment of  events  that  finally  gave  a  feeling  of  security  to  this  region, 


30G 


rilELPD  AND  GOKUAm's  PURCHASE. 


and  enabled  settlenrients  and  improvements  to  go  on,  unannoyed  by 
the  alarms  and  prospects  of  war  and  invasion.     There  was  a  iin- 
gering  state  of   uncertainty  after  the  two  fortunate  events;    for 
months  rumors  can)c,  that  the  western  confederates  were  a<rain 
makmii;  a  stand,  and  refusing  any  compromise  ;  indications  in  Can- 
ada, and  at  the  British  posts  at  the  west,  favorrd  the  conclusion  of 
British  alliance  with  them ;  but  the  news  at  last  cmne,  that  the  far 
western  nations  were  retiring  across  the  Mississippi,  discomfited, 
and  chagrined  with  an  alledged  breach  of  fai'h  on  the  part  of  the 
British,  in  not  coming  to  the  rescue  when  'uiey  were  hotly  pressed 
by  Wayne  — in  shutting  t!ie  gates  of  their  fortress  against  them, 
when  his  iron  hail  was  strewing  the  ground  with  their  warriors;  * 
and  finally,  that  the  nations  more  immediately  interested  in  the  con- 
test, had  signified  their  willingness  to  do  what  was  soon  after  con- 
summated at  the  treaty  of  Crenville.     Jay's  treaty  Ibllowed,  Oswego 
and  Niagara  were  surrendered,   and  years  of  peace  and  security 
followed,  and  continued  until  the  war  of  1812. 

The  lion.  Thomas  jMorris,  it  will  have  been  seen,  was  a  citizen 
of  Canandaigua.     lie  was  })resent  at  the  treaty.     He  tnus   speaks 
of  it  in   his  manuscript  reminiscences:  —  "For  some  months  prioi 
to  the  treaty  at  Canandaigua,  the  Indians  would  come  among  us 
painted  lor  war;  their  deportment  was  fierce  and  arrogant :  such 
as  to  create  the  belief  that  they  would   not  be  unvvillingto  take  up 
the   hatchet  against  us.     From  certain  expressions  attributed  to 
Gov.  Simcoe,  in  connection  with  his  conduct  at  SoJus  Bay,  it  was 
believed  that  the  British  had  taught  the  Indians  to  expect  that  Gen. 
Wayne  would  be  defeated,   in  which  event  they  might  easily  have 
persuaded  the  Six  Nations,  to  make  common  cause  with  the  hostile 
Indians,  and  our  settlements  would  have  been  depopulated.     Such 
were  the  apprehensions  entertained  at  the  time  of  an  Indian  war  on 
our  borders,  that  in  several  instances,  farmers  were  panic  struck,  and 
with  the  dread  of  the  scalping  knife  before  ihem,  had  pulled  up 
stakes,  and  with  their  families,  were  on  their  way  to  the  East.     Ar. 
rived  at  Canandaigua,  they  found   that  I  was  painting  my  house, 
and  making  improvements  about  it ;  believing  that  I  [tossessed  better 
information  on  the  subject  thai,  they  did,  their  fears  became  quieted, 


!; 


*Mr.  Morris  Hnystlint  flu-  hostile  Truli.ans  at  (lie  west,  sent  nnui('r.^to  tlu!  Ciinaiulai- 
uativaty  with  a  lull  account  of  llicir  disaslcr,  whii'li  closcil  by  savin;,' :  —  "  AuiU.iif 
rcllin  n,  tik'  liiiiiMh,  lookcil  un,  and  yavc  us  not  llic  least  assistance.'' 


rilELrS    AND    GOimAMS    PURCIIASE. 


307 


and  they  retraced  their  steps  back  to  their  habitations.  After  the 
defeat  of  the  liostile  Indians,  those  of  the  Six  Nations  becam  com- 
pletely cowed  ;  and,  from  that  time  all  apprehensions  of  a  war  with 
them  vanished. 

Brant  has  almost  been  lost  sight  of  in  the  progress  of  this  narra- 
tive ;  though  he  was  by  no  means  inactive.  He  was  in  correspond- 
dence  with  General  Chapin,  on  terms  of  personal  friendship  with 
him,  receiving  from  his  hands  considerable  sums  of  money  in  pay- 
ment for  promised  services ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  the  con- 
clusion that  he  was  insincere  and  faithless.  His  own  partial  biog- 
rapher, Col.  Stone,  places  him  in  arms,  with  an  hundred  Mohawks, 
against  St.  Clair,  and  gives  a  letter  of  his  to  Gov.  Simcoe,  in  which 
he  acknowledges  the  recei})t  of  ammunition  from  the  British,  and 
said  he  was  about  to  join  his  cainj)  of  warriors  at  "  Point  Appineu,"* 
to  act  in  co-operation  with  Cornplanter  in  an  attack  upon  Le  lioeuf. 
In  short,  with  the  exception  of  a  growing  distaste  for  war,  of  which 
he  had  had  a  surfeit,  his  relations  to  the  British  government,  and 
atlachmcnttoits  interests,  were  not  materially  changed,  until  grow- 
ing out  of  land  difliculties  in  Canada,  he  had  a  quarrel  with  the 
colonial  authorities.  Cornplanter  finally  made  some  amends  for 
the  conduct  of  which  Gen.  Chapin  so  very  justly  complained. 

The  visit  of  General  Chapin  to  the  disputed  territory  in  Penn- 
sylvania, as  a  mediator,  and  the  fortunate  turn  he  gave  to  affairs  by 
his  judicious  suggestion  of  a  general  treaty,  was  an  important  event 
not  only  to  this  region,  but  to  our  whole  country.  It  diverted  the  Six 
Nations  from  marching  against  Wayne ;  had  they  been  in  main  force 
with  the  confederates,  the  result  of  the  contest,  in  all  probability, 
would  have  been  adverse.  Little  Turtle  would  have  been  aided 
by  the  counsels  of  "older  and  better  "  warriors  than  himself ;  the 
ancient  war  cry  of  the  Iroquois  that  hac"  so  often  spread  dismay  and 
terror  among  the  confederates,  \/ould  have  been  equally  potent  in 
rallying  them  in  a  common  cause  of  their  race.  In  a  letter  to  Gen. 
Knox,  dated  in  December,  alter  the  treaty,  in  which  he  congratu- 
lates the  Government  through  him  of  the  favorable  turn  of  allairs, 
and  gives  the  assurance  of  a  settled  state  of  things  in  this  region, 
General  Chapin  says  :  —  "  My  journey  to  Le  Boeuf,  I  shall  ever 
believe   was  the  means  of  preventing  the  Six  Nations  from  lending 


*  Piiiut  Abiuo  ou  the  Canada  side  of  Luke  Erie. 


308 


PITELPS   AND    GORHAm's   PURCHASE. 


their  assistance  to  their  western  brothers,  as  they  term  tl,ern  •  and 
mwh,ch  I  got  my  present  sickness  fron.  which  I  :.m  fearful  I  shall 
never  recover.  But  believe  n.e.  Si,  to  be  useful  to  the  frontier  upon 
wind  I  hvc.  and  my  country  in  general,  has  been  the  prevai  ing 
object  of  my  pursuits. "  ^  ^ 

Other  than  the  mutual  pledges  of  peace  and  friendship  which 
was  made  at  the  treaty,  the  settling  of  the  lands  about  Presque  Isle 
was  the  important  consummation.  This  was  the  result  of  1  com- 
P  onnse.     IJy  the  treaty  at  Fo.t  Stanwix,  the  western  boundary  of 

0  the  Pennsylvania  hne  ;  thus  cutting  thorn  otf  from  Lake  Erie  and 
takuig  from  them  all  the  territory  that  is  now  embraced  in  Chautaunue 
count3^  besides  a  strip  which  is  now  in  Cattaraugus,  and  a  gor '" 
Ene  county.  Th,s  was  restored,  making  their  Western  b<;  .ulary 
the  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  and  a  strip  of  la.ul  on  the  Niagara  Rivef 

toured     te's  '''"  '''  '''']  ^^"^'"  '^  ^''-^  ^^•'^•"'"'   ^^  ^'-  - 
loreu.      I'le  benecas  sniTen;  (^rpf)  nil  rilni,,^  ♦„  n 

land -the  triangle  at  Vr^^uf  '  """"'  """""  '' 

at  Whitof  "'''""^  r""''  ''  '^'"-  '''''  '''''  ^'>--"  '"^  -  '^tter  dated 
atWlmsown,  ,n  this  state,  which  says  that  « Wm.  Johnston  a 
British   ndian  agent      was  p,'esent  at   the  t,-eaty  an.l   secretly  at 

tins  m  General  Chapin's  correspondence  with  Gen.  Knox  but  he 
ir^fers  hat  so.nething  of  the  kii.d  occu.Ted.  In  aleU^o  B,nt 
Gene,,  chapin  speaks  of  the  sudden  departure  o  olm  ton^  1 
h  t..eaty  g,-ound.  as  if  he  had  advised  it  in  consequence  of  a  Z 
ha  soine  out.;age  woi.ld  be  coniu.itted  upon  him  ,y  citizens  in  at 
tenda..c. ;  as  .  he  had  intci-f^i.,,  ai.d  a  Lm.na.^  ^nish:!;^ 

The_  forebodings  of  General  Chapin,  in  his  last  letter  to  General 
Knox,  m  reference  to  his  declining  health,  unhappily  for  his  coun    y 

wha     s  ,t  ;  ;      ^"  """'"""^  ^"  '^^^^""^'  '-^'-  tl-  effects  of 

disease   of  the   couiit.y,  which  fhu.Ily  tern.i.iated    in   dropsv      II'; 

e    on    he  7t    of  M.i,.eh,  mr,  aged  54  yea.-s.     In   the  ^cha": 

01  h.s  olhcal  duties,  he  had  won  the  esteen.  and  confidence  of  the 

d    u:""" w1"'n ''r'  ''''''  ''"'^  Sivon  befbre  ai.d  af>er  1  u 
leath.     Apprized  ui  his  iiii.ess.  his  frie.id  Colonel  Pickering,  who  had 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAm's    PURCHASE. 


309 


He 


succeeded  Gen.  Knox  as  Secretary  of  War,  carefully  consulted  the 
eminent  physician,  Dr.  Rush,  and  communicated  his  advice  by 
letter  ;  and  equal  solicitude  was  felt  throughout  a  large  circle  of  ac- 
quaintance. In  all  this  local  region,  his  death  was  mourned  as  that 
of  a  public  benefactor  ;  and  no  where  more  sincerely  than  among  the 
Indians,  whose  esteem  he  had  won  by  his  uniform  kindness  and 
strict  regard  for  their  welfare.  Soon  after 'his  death  a  large  num- 
ber  of  chiefs  assembled  at  Canandaigua,  and  in  public  council  de- 
monstrated their  high  sense  of  thi  loss  they  had  sustained,  Red 
Jacket,  addressing  Captains  Israel  Chapin  and  Parrish,  said  :  — 

"BaoTiiEiis  —  I  wish  you  to  pay  attention  to  what  I  have  to  say. 
We  have  lost  a  good  friend  ;  the  loss  is  as  great  to  us  as  to  you. 
We  consider  that  we  of  the  Six  Nations,  as  well  as  the  United 
States,  have  met  witli  a  great  loss.  A  person  that  we  looked  up  to 
ss  a  father ;  a  person  appointed  to  stand  between  us  and  the  United 
States,  we  have  lost,  and  it  gives  our  minds  great  uneasiness. 
He  has  taken  great  pains  to  keep  the  chain  of  friendship  bright  be- 
tween us  and  the  United  States  ;  now  that  he  is  gone,  let  us  pre- 
vent that  agreeableness  and  friendship,  which  he  has  held  up  between 
us  and  the  United  States,  from  failing. 

"Bkotiieus  —  It  has  been  customary  among  the  Six  Nations, 
when  they  have  lost  a  great  chief,  to  throw  a  belt  in  his  place  after 
he  is  dead  and  gone.  We  have  lost  so  many  of  late,  that  we  are 
destitute  of  a  belt,  and  in  its  place  we  present  you  with  these  strings, 
[9  strings  black  and  white  wairipum.] 

•■'BaoTHKRa  —  As  it  is  a  custom  handed  down  to  us  by  our  fath- 
ers, to  keep  up  the  good  old  ancient  rules,  now  we  visit  the  grave 
of  our  friend,  we  gather  leaves  and  strew  them  over  the  grave,  and 
endeavor  to  banish  grief  from  our  minds,  as  much  as  we  can."  [14 
strings  black  and  white  wampum.] 

Alter  this  the  chiefs  adopted  a  messngc  to  be  sent  to  the  Presi- 
dent, inlbrming  him  that  the  "person  whom  'le  had  appointed  for 
us  to  connnunicate  our  minds  to,  has  now  left  us  and  gone  to  ano- 
ther  world.  He  with  the  greatest  care  comnnmicatcd  our  minds  to 
the  gn>;it  council  Ih'e."  They  concluded  the  message  by  recapitu- 
lating the  services  that  had  been  rendereil  them  by  Captain  Israel 
Chapin,  his  son  ;  reminded  the  President  that  ho  is  conversant  with 
all  the  relations  of  his  father  with  them,  and  request  that  he  may 
t;ucce(;d  to  his  place. 


I 


310 


PHELPS   AND  GOEHAm's   PURCHASE. 


The  President  being  of  the  same  mind  of  the  Indians,  the  ap- 
pointment of  Captnin  Israel  Chapin  soon  followed.  In  announcing 
to  him  his  appointment,  Mr.  Pickering  says :  — "  The  affairs  of  the 
Six  N  tions  will  henceforward  be  managed  with  much  less  trouble 
than  rmerly.  The  treaty  made  with  them  last  fall,  must  supersede 
all  pre-existing  cause  of  complaint.  The  treaty  entered  into  by  Mr. 
Jay  with  Great  Britain,  will,  I  trust,  rid  you  of  all  such  embarrass- 
ments, as  heretofore  have  sprung  from  British  influence,  and  peace 
with  the  western  Indians,  is  now  in  fair  prospect.  The  hostile  na- 
tions  liave  all  sent  in  their  chiefs  to  Gen.  Wayne,  to  sue  for  peace ; 
and  have  agreed  upon  a  treaty,  to  be  held  at  his  head  quarters,  about 
the  first  of  June  next.  So  your  principal  concern  will  be  to  pro- 
tect the  tribes  under  your  superintendence  from  injury  and  imposi- 
tion,  wliich  too  many  of  our  own  people  are  disposed  to  practice 
upon  them  ;  and  diligently  to  employ  all  the  means  under  your  di- 
rection,  to  promote  their  comfort  and  improvement." 

As  the  Secretary  suggested,  the  principal  ditnculties  with  the  Six 
Nations  had  been  adjusted,  but  a  vast  amount  of  labor  and  responsi- 
bility still  devolved  upon  the  local  agency.     Annuities  were  to  be 
paid,  not  only  the  general  ones,  but  special  ones,  to  a  large  num- 
ber of  chiefs  and  warriors,  who  had  recommended  themselves  to 
favor;  schools  and  school-masters  were  to  be  looked  to;  blacksmiths 
were  to  be  employed  and  superintended  in  all  the  principal  Indian 
villages;  depredations  upon  Indian  lands  were  to  be  prevented,  and 
frequent  difficuhies  between  Indian  and  white  settlers  were  to  be 
adjusted  ;    Indians  killed  by  the  white  men  were  to  be  paid  for.* 
The  Indians  had  learned  to  lean  upon  the  local  Superintendent  with 
all  the  dependence  of  childhood.     All  these  arduous  duties  seem  to 
have  been  faithfully  discharged  until  1802,  when  he  was  removed 
from  the  agency.     His  successor  was  Captain  Callender  Irwin,  of 
Erie,  Pennsylvania.     The  change  would  seem  to  have  been  one 
ot  an  ordinary  political  character,  an.l  not  from  anv  cause  that  im. 
plicated  his  private  or  official  character. 

In  connection  with   these  events,  it   should    be  mentioned  that 


"KUliTiu:  wiM  n  n.Mtt.T  of  ]>„siiHw   c..mi)rnini«.  :  —  "  Roccive.l  .,f  Is-n-I  ("I,-.,,ip 


/ 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAM's  PUECIIASE. 


311 


the  Six  Nations  found  in  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  the  society  of 
Friends  of  Philadelphia  early  and  faithful  guardians  of  their  inter- 
ests and  welfare.  A  committee  of  their  number  hospitably  enter 
tained  their  chiefs  when  they  visited  Philadelphia  ;  at  the  especial 
request  of  the  chiefs,  a  committee  attended  the  treaty  of  '94,  at 
Canandaigua.  For  almost  half  a  century  there  has  been  a  standing 
committee  of  that  Yearly  Meeting,  having  especial  care  of  the 
Six  Nations.  In  HOG  this  committee,  availing  themselves  of  a 
visit  of  Jasper  Parrish  to  the  seat  of  government,  prevailed  upon 
him  to  visit  the  Indians  and  tender  to  them  their  assistance  in  a 
plan  to  instruct  them  in  "husbandry  and  the  most  neccessary  arts 
of  civil  life. "  They  soon  after  established  schools,  sent  men  and 
women  among  them  to  teach  them  fanning  and  house  work,  and 
built  mills  for  them,  in   at  least  one  locality. 

The  sons  of  General  Israel  Chapin  were  :  —  Thaddeus,  who  was 
an  early  merchant  in  Canandaigua,  and  subsequently,  a  large  farmer 
near  the  village ;  Israel,  the  official  successor  of  his  father,  who  was 
the  founder  of  what  was  called  "Chapin's  Mills,  "  a  ihw  miles  north 
of  Canandaigua,  on  the  Palmyra  road  ;  the  only  survivors  of  his 
family,  are,  Mrs.  John  Greig,  and  a  maiden  sister  ;  Henry,  who  was 
an  early  merchant  in  Bufllilo,  a  resident  of  Ohio ;  and  George,  a 
farmer  near  Canandaigua.  A  daughter  of  General  Chapin,  was 
the  wife  of  Benjamin  Wells,  who  came  to  Canandaigua  with  his 
father-in-law,  in  1789.  The  surviving  sons  of  Mr.  Wells  are, 
Walter  Wells,  of  Webster,  Monroe  county,  Benjamin  Wells,  of 
Conhocton,  and  Clement  Wells,  of  Canandiagua.  A  daughter 
became  the  wife  of  Jonas  Williams,  who  was  one  the  founders  of 
the  village  oi  Williamsville,  Erie  co. 


JASPER  PARRISH. 


His  family  were  emigrants  from  the  state  of  Connecticut  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  Delaware  river  in  this  State,  where  they  were 
residing  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  border  wars.  In  1778,  wheti 
but  eleven  years  of  age,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  with  his 
father,  who  was  six  miles  from  home,  assisting  a  family  of  back- 
woodsmen to  move  nearer  the  settlement,  where  they  would  be  less 
exposed.  Attacked  by  a  small  [rariy  of  Munsee  Indians,  they  were 
made  captives.     Tlic  father  was  taken  to  Niagara,  and  after  being  a 


312 


PHELPS  AND   GOHIIAM's  PUECIIASE. 


captive  two  years,  was  exchanged  and  enabled  to  rejoin  liis  family. 
The  protector  of  young  Jasper,  was  a   war  chief,  by  whom  he 
was  well  treated.     After  remaining  a  while  at  the  "Cook  House," 
he  was  taken  to  Chemung.     When  entering  the  Indian  village,  the 
war  party  that  accompanied  him  set  up  the  Wiir  shout,  when  a  posse 
of  Indians  and  Indian  boys  sailed  out  and  met  them;  pulling  the 
young  prisoner  from  the  horse  he  was  riding,  they  scourged  him 
with  whips  and  beat  him  cruelly  with  the  handles  of  their  toma- 
hawks—  subjected  him  to  one  form  of  their  gauntlet  —  until  his 
master  humanely  rescued  him.     lie  was  soon  after  sold  by  his 
master  to  an  Indian  family  of  Delawares,  and  taken  to  reside  with 
them  at  their  village  on  the  south  side  of  the  Delaware  river,  where 
he  remained  during  the  year  1779,  suffering  a  good  deal  during  the 
winter  for  the   want  of  warm  clothing,  and  in  consequence  of  the 
scanty  fare  of  the  Indians.     To  inure  him  to  cold,  the  Indians  com- 
pelled him  almost  daily,  to  s'rip  and  plunge  into  the  ice  and  water 
of  the  river.     Adopted  by  the  family  who  had  become  his  owners, 
he  was  kindly  treated,  and  accompanied  them  in  all  their  hunting 
and  fishing  excursions. 

He  was  at  Newtown  with  his  captors,  when  Sullivan  invaded 
their  country,  and  used  to  relate  what  transpired  there  :  —  As  the 
army  api)roached  Newtown  point,  a  large  body  of  Indians  collected 
four  miles  below  to  make  an  attack,  after  having  placed  their  squaws, 
prisoners  and  baggage  in  a  safe  place.  They  soon  found  they  could 
not  stand  their  ground,  and  sent  runners  to  the  squaws  directing 
them  to  retreat  up  the  river  to  Painted  Post,  where  they  followed 
them  soon  after.  The  whole  made  a  hasty  march  to  Niagar.i,  via 
Bath,  Ceneseo  and  Tonawanda.  The  family  to  whom  Parrish  be- 
longed were  of  this  retreating  party.  In  a  short  time  after  their 
arrival,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Six  Nations  were  encamped  on  the 
plain,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Fort.  They  subsisted  upon  salted  pro- 
visions curing  the  winter,  dealt  out  to  them  from  the  British  garrison, 
and  great  numbers  died  in  consotjuence.  To  induce  them  to  dis- 
perse and  go  back  to  their  villn.gos  on  the  Genesee  river,  or  go  out 
on  scouting  parties,  the  British  oilicers  offered  them  an  increased 
bounty  for  American  scalps. 

Before  winter  young  Parrish  was  sold  for  twenty  dollars,  to  Cap- 
tain Dnvid  Hill,  ''a  large  fmo  looking  Mohawk  Indian,"' a  relation 
of  Joseph  Brant,  who  conducted  him  to  his  tent  and  gave  him  to 


PIIELPS  AND   GORIIAMS    VURCIIASli:. 


313 


understnnd  that  he  would  thereafter  live  with  him.  He  disliked 
the  change  of  .  .asters  at  the  time  :  it  involved  the  nccessitv  of 
learning  another  Indian  language,  and  he  had  become  attached  to  the 
Delaware  family ;  but  it  all  turned  out  for  the  best.  He  resided  in 
the  family  of  Captain  Hill  for  five  years,  in  all  of  which  time  he 
was  kindly  treated,  and  well  provided  for.  His  time  was  chiefly 
spent  in  accompanying  the  Indians  in  travelling  excursions,  hunting, 
firihing,  and  when  put  to  labor,  but  light  tasks  were  imposed  upon 
him.  Soon  after  he  was  purchased  by  Captain  Hill,  a  general 
council  of  the  British  and  Indians  took  place  at  Fort  Niagara;  upon 
which  occasion  Capt.  Hill  took  his  young  American  captive  into  the 
midst  of  an  assembly  of  chiefs,  and  adopted  him  as  his  son,  going 
through  the  ceremony  of  placing  a  large  belt  of  wampum  around 
his  neck.  After  which  an  old  chief  took  him  by  the  hand  and 
made  a  speech,  as  is  customary  on  such  occasions,  accompanying  it 
with  a  great  deal  of  solemnity  of  manner.  Then  the  chiefs  arose 
and  all«ehook  hands  with  the  adopted  captive. 

On  one  occasion,  while  with  the  Delaware  family  at  Niagara,  he 
came  near  being  the  victim  of  the  British  bounty  for  scalps.  Left 
alone  with  some  Indians  who  wei'c  on  a  carousal,  he  overheard  one 
propose  to  another,  that  they  should  kill  the  "young  Yankee,"  take 
his  scalp  to  the  Fort  and  sell  it  for  rum.  In  a  few  minutes  one  of 
them  took  a  large  brand  from  the  fire  and  hurled  it  at  his  head,  but 
being  on  the  alert,  he  dodged  it  and  made  his  escape.  The  Indians 
pursued  him,  but  it  being  dark  he  was  enabled  to  avoid  them. 

In  May,  1780,  Brant  founded  a  village  of  Mohawks  near  the  pres- 
ent village  of  Lewiston,  to  vvhich  Capt.  Hill  removed.  There  Par- 
rish  remained  until  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  He  travelled  with 
his  Indian  father  a  good  deal  among  other  Indian  tribes,  by  whom 
he  was  always  well  treated.  At  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  in  1784, 
he  with  other  prisoners,  were  surrendered  in  accordance  with  treaty 
stipulations.  He  immediately  joined  his  father's  family,  whom  he 
found  in  Goshen,  Orange  county.  Having  nearly  lost  the  use  of 
his  own  language,  he  attended  school  for  about  one  year,  which  was 
all  the  opportunity  for  acquiring  an  education  he  ever  enjoyed, 
otlier  than  what  a  strong  native  intellect  enabled  him  to  acquire  in 
his  intercourse  with  the  world. 

He  was  employed  by  Mr.  Pickering  in  his  Indian  treaty  in  1790, 
and  '91,  and  his  qualifications  as  an  interpreter,  together  with  his 
20 


314 


PIEELPS   AXD  GORirA:M's   PURCHASE. 


character  for  faithfulness  and  integrity,  coming  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  then  Secretary  of  War,  General  Knox,  he  employed  him  in 
the  Indian  department  in  1792,  giving  him  a  letter  to  General  Cha- 
pin,  with  ivhom  he  became  associated  as  interpreter  for  the  Six 
Nations.     In  all  the  crisis  of  Indian  difficulties,  he  was  the  active 
co-oi)erater  of  General  Chapin,  ain]  contributed  much  to  the  final 
adjustment  of  them.     A  "  winged  Mercury,"  in  the  earliest  years 
his    appointment  after  he  was  now  here,  and  now  there ;  alter- 
nating between  the  seat  of  government,  at  Philadelphia,  Buflalo 
Creek,  Genesee  River,  Onondaga,  Oneida   and  Canandaigua ;  the 
interpreter  at  councils,  and  the  bearer  of  messages.     The  captive 
boy  of  the  Indian  wigwams,  becoming  a  man,  remembered  only  the 
virtues  and  kindnesses  of  his  captors  —  not  the  wrongs  they  had 
intlicted  upon  him  or  his  countrymen  —  and  was  the  faithful  inter- 
preter of  their  complaints  and  grievances  to  him,  whom  they  called 
their  "Father,  the  great  chief  of  the  Thirteen  Fires" — Washino-. 
ton.     In  1803  he  had  the  additional  appointment  of  local  Indian 
agent,  and  continued  to  hold  both  offices,  through  all  the  changes 
of  the  administration   of  the  general  government,  down  to  the 
second  term  of  General  Jackson's  administration. 

He  retained  to  the  close  of  his  life,  a  strong  attachment  to  the 
Indians,  as  was  the  case  generally  with  liberated  captives  ;  and  by 
means  of  his  position,  and  the  influence  he  had  acquired  with 
them,  was  enabled  to  render  them  essential  service ;  to  assist  in 
ameliorating  their  condition,  by  introducing  among  them  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  schools  and  agricultural  pursuits.  While  a  prisoner, 
he  acquired  the  Mohawk  language,  and  before  the  close  of  his  life, 
he  spoke  that  of  five  of  the  Six  Nations  with  great  fluency. 
Captain  Parrish  died  at  his  residence  in  Canandaigua,  July  12th, 
1836,  in  the  69th  year  of  his  age. 

He  married  in  early  life,  a  daughter  of  General  Edward  Paine, 
one  of  the  Pioneers  of  the  western  Reserve,  and  the  founder  of 
Painesville.  She  died  in  1837.  His  surviving  sons  are,  Isaac,  a 
farm^'-  on  the  Lake  shore,  near  Canandaigua ;  Stephen  and  Ed- 
ward, residents  of  the  village  of  Canandaigua.  One  of  his  daughters 
became  the  wife  of  Ebenezer  S.  Cobb,  of  Michigan,  who  was  lost 
with  the  ill-fated  Erie,  near  Dunkirk,  in  1841  ;  another,  the  wife 
of  Peter  Townsend,  of  Orange  county ;  and  another,  the  wife  of 
William  W.  Gorham,  of  Canandaisxua. 


pirELrs  Amy  gorhams  pukciiasb. 


315 


CHAPTER  IV, 


ATTEMPT  OF   GOV.   SIMCOE  TO    BREAK    UP    THE    SETTLEMENTS    OF    THE 

GENESEE  COUNTRY. 


The  reader  has  already  learned,  generally,  what  was  the  temper 
and  bearing  of  the  British  authorities  in  Canada,  touching  the  early 
Pioneer  movements  in  the  Genesee  country.  A  British  and  Indian 
alliance,  a  connected  movement,  having  in  view  the  re-possession 
of  the  country,  was  with  much  difficulty  but  barely  prevented. 
In  all  the  controversy  — or  pending  the  issue  of  the  whole  matter  — 
';here  was,  other  than  what  may  have  transpi-ed  at  the  west,  but 
one  overt  act,  in  pursuance  of  Britisli  pretensions  and  threats.  This 
was  an  actual  invasion,  by  a  British  armed  force,  of  the  Genesee 
country,  at  Sodus  Bay. 

Previous  to  coming  in  possession  of  the  valuable  manuscripts  of 
the  late  Thomas  Morris,  the  author  bad  drawn  up  for  this  work,  an 
account  of  the  events  the  materials  for  which  were  derived  prin- 
cipally from  the  papers  of  Mr.  Williamson.  Mr.  Morris  having 
included  it  in  his  reminiscences,  it  being  a  matter,  "  all  of  vvliich 
he  saw,  and  a  part  of  which  he  was,"  his  L'story  of  the  transaction 
is  substituted :  — 

"  Gov.  Simcoe  had,  from  his  first  assuming  the  government  of 
Upper  Canada,  evinced  the  greatest  jealousy  of  the  progress  of  t'iC 
settlement  of  our  western  country ;  he  was  even  said  to  have 
threatened  to  send  Captain  WiHiamson  to  England  in  irons,  if  he 
ever  ventured  to  come  into  Canada.  In  1794,  Capt.  Williamson 
had  commenced  a  settlement  at  Sodus  Bay. 

In  the  month  of  August  of  that  year,  Lieut.  SheafTe,  of  the 
British  army,  (now  Major  General  Sir  Roger  Hale  Sheaffe,  who, 
durir.g  the  last  war,  commanded  at  the  battle  of  Queenstnn,  after 
[AC  (l■■^[h  of  Gov..  Brock,)  was  sent  by  Governor  Simcoe,  with  a 


316 


PHELPS   AND    GOIlHAJl's    PT'RCIIASE. 


protest  to  1)0  delivered  to  Cnptiiin  Williamson,  i.rotosfinir  no-ninst 
the  prosecution  of  the  settlement  of  Sodus.  and  all  other  Ameri- 
can settlements  beyond  the  old  French  line,  durini:  the  inexecution 
of  the  treaty  that  terminate.l   the    Revolutionary   war.     Findincr 
there  only  an  .■.-jcnt  of  Mr.  Willian)son's,  (a  Mr.  Modat,  who  is  yc^ 
livmji,)  Lieut.  Sheatlb  intorn.ed   him  of  the  nature  of  his  mission, 
andre(iuestedhinitomake  it  known  to  Capt.  Williamson,  and  to 
inform  hnn  that  he   would  return  in  ten  days,  when  he  hoped  to 
meet  Capt.  Williamson  there.     Mr.  MolTat  came  to  mo  at  Canan- 
daigua,  to  acquaint  me  with  what  had  taken  place,  and  induce  me 
to  accompany  him  to  Bath,  to  confer  with  Capt.  Williamson  in  re- 
lation to  this  very   extraordinary  protest.     I  accordinolv  went  to 
Bath,  and  it  was  agree.l  between  Capt.  Williamson  and  niyself  that 
we  would  both  meet  Lieut.  Sheallo  at  So.h.s,  at  the  time  lie  had  ap- 
pointed  to  be  there.     Acconlingly,  on  the  day  named  by  Lieut 
bhealle,  we  were  at  So<lus  ;  and  shortly  after  our  arrival  there    we 
perceived  on  the  lake,  a  boat  rowed'  by  about  a  dozen    British 
soldiers,  who,  after  landing  their  ollicer,  were  directe.l  by  him  to 
pull  ofT  some  distance  in  the  bay,  and  remain  there  until  he  made  a 
signal  to  return  for  him.     Capt.  Williamson,  in  consequence  of  the 
threats  imputed  to  Gov.  Simcoe,  in  relation  to  himself  did  not  think 
proper  to  expose  himself  unnecessarily  to  any  act  of  violence,  if 
any  such  should  have  been  meditated  against"^  him.     He  therefore 
requested  me  to  receive  Lieut.  Sheaife  on  tiie  beach,   an<l  to  ac- 
company him  to  the  log  cabin  where  Capt.  W  illiamson  was,  with  a 
brace  of  loaded  pistols  on  his  table.     The  ordenng  his  men  to  re- 
main at  a  distance  from  the  shore,  shows  that  tlie  precaution  that 
had    been    taken,    though   proper  at  the  time,   was    unnecessary 
and  that  no  resort  to  force  was  intended.     The  meotinq  between 
the  Lieut,  and  Mr.  Williamson,  was  friendly;  they  had  known  each 
other  before ;  and  while  in  the  same  service,  had  marched  throu-h 
some  part  of  England  together.     The  Lieut,  handed  to  Capt.  Wil 
Iinmsan  the  protest,  and  was  desired  by  the  Capt.  to  inform  Gov- 
Suiicoe  that  he  would  pay  no  attention  to  it,  but  prosecute  his  set- 
tlement, the  same  as  if  no  such  paper  had  been  delivered  to  him  ; 
that  if  any  attempt  should  be  made  forcibly  to  prevent  hiin  from' 
doing  so,  that  attempt  would   be  repelled  loy  force.     Lieut.  SheafTe 
having,  (luring  the  interview  between  them,  made  some  allusion  to 
Capt.  Williamson  having  once  held  a  commission  in  the  British 


PHELPS    AND  GOHIIAm's   PURCUASE. 


317 


army,  ho  replied,  that  while  in  the  service  of  the  Crown,  he  had 
faithfully  performed  his  duty  ;  that  having  since  renounced  his  al- 
legiance to  that  Crown,  and  became  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
his  adopted  country,  having  both  the  ability  and  the  inclination, 
would  protect  him  in  his  rights,  and  the  possession  of  his  property. 
I  asked  Lieut.  Shealle  if  he  would  be  so  good  as  to  exi)lain  what 
was  meant  by  the  old  French  lir.e,  where  it  ran,  und  what  portion 
of  our  country  we  were  forbidden  in  Gov.  Simcoe's  protest,  to  oc- 
cupy. He  replied,  that  he  was  merely  the  bearer  of  the  paper ;  that 
by  the  orders  of  his  superior  oiricer,  he  had  handed  it  to  Capt.  Wil- 
liamson ;  that  no  explanation  had  been  given  to  him  of  its  purport, 
nor  was  he  authorized  to  give  any.  After  about  half  an  hour,  I 
accompanied  him  to  the  beach,  where  he  had  landed  ;  and  on  a 
signal  having  been  made  by  him,  his  boat  returned  for  him,  and  he 
deported.  This  is  what  my  father,  in  his  letter  of  the  10th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1794,  alludes  to,  and  terms  a  treaty,  and  f)r  which  he  hopes 
that  Simcoe  will  get  a  rap  over  the  knuckles  from  his  master.  So 
many  years  have  elapsed  since  the  complaints  made  both  by  the 
British  and  our  own  Government,  were  adjusted  by  negotiation, 
that  you  may  be  at  a  loss  to  know  what  Governor  Simcoe  meant 
when  he  spoke  of  the  inexecution  of  the  treaty  that  terminated  our 
llevolutionary  struggle.  The  complaint  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain,  was,  that  those  parts  of  the  treaty  which  required  that 
those  States  in  which  British  subjects  were  prevented  by  law,  from 
recovering  debts  due  to  them  prior  to  the  Revolution,  had  been  re- 
pealed,—  as  by  the  treaty,  they  ought  to  have  been,  —  and  also, 
that  British  property  had  been  confiscated,  since  the  period  limited 
in  the  treaty  for  such  confiscations,  and  no  compensation  had 
been  made  to  the  injured  parties.  On  our  part,  the  complaint  was, 
that  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  negroes  and  other  property, 
were  carried  away  by  the  British  army,  contrary  to  stipulations  en- 
tered into  by  the  preliminary  treaty  of  peace.  The  British  retain- 
ed itossession  of  the  posts  on  our  borders,  and  within  our  bounds, 
until  an  amicable  .settlement  of  these  ditficultien,  and  which  settle- 
ment, I  think,  took  place  in  1796." 


NoTK. — ^^Tlie  Odiivoivatidii  Itint  juissimI  liotwei'u  Mr.  Williainsdii  and  Lieut.  Slieaffe, 
as  copied  from  Mr.  Williainsdii's  autdtrra|ili,  is  as  t'dUows  :  — 

LiKVT.  Shkakke.  —  "  I  am  C()iiiiuissi<iiiu(l  by  Governor  Sinicoo  to  deliver  tlie  papers, 
ant!  reuuiie  an  arjswer." 

Mr.  vVii.i,i.\msox. — "I  am  a  citizen  of  the  L^nited  States,  and  under  theii-  authori- 


318 


rilELI-H  AND   OOKirAM'ri   J>nROHASE. 


The  news  of  this  hostile  dcnionstration  on  the  jiart  of  one,  secm- 
inj;  to  act  l»y  authority  from  the  IJritisli  ^'overnnient,   was  soon 
s|)iea(l  throui^h  all  the  hackwoods  seftjeinents  of  the  Genesee  coun- 
try.    At  no  jn-riod  since  the  settlement  coinnionced,  had  the  con- 
dilcl  of  till'  Indians  so  riiiich  favored  the  worst  a|)|)relu!nsions.     Ilar- 
niar  and   St.  t'lair  had  in  turn  been  defeated  and   r('|iulsed  hy  the 
weritern   Indians,  and  the  issue  that  Wayne  had  niado  with   them 
was   pending;  in"s  defeat  beinj^  not  im|)rohal)Ie,  in  view  of  the  for- 
midahle    enemy  with   which  he  had   to  contend.      Mvidences  of 
IJritish  aid  to  the  western  Indians,  ajfainst  General  Wayne,  was 
furnished  hy  returniii'^  adventur.Msfrom  the  west,  and  every  travel- 
ler thai  came  throuu;!i  the  wilderness  from  Niatj;ara,  confirmed  the 
worst  suspicions  of  all   that  was  going  on  at  that  focus  of  liritish 
machinations,  against  the  peace  of  the  defenceless  border  settlers. 
It  was,  too,  oiiiiiioiis  of  danger,  that  tho  Senecas  in  their  immedi- 
ate neighborhood,  in  their  midst,  it  may  almost  be  said,  had  armed  and 
moved  off  in  considerable  numbers,  to  become  confederates  against 
General  Wayne,  bearing  upon  their  persons  the  blankets,  the  broad 
cloths,  calicoes,  and  whr  decorations,  served  to  them  from  the  kind's 
store  house  at  Niagara,  by  the  hands  of  one  whose  very  very  name* 
was  a  terror,  for  it   was  mingled  with    the  chiefest  horrors,  and 
the  darkest  deeds  of  the  Border  Wars  of  the  Kevolutiun.     Wayne 
defeated,  it  was  but  natural  to  suppo.se  that  the  Senccas  who  had  gone 
west  and  made  themselves  confederates  against  him,  would  brine 
back  with  them  upon  tlieir  war  path,  allies  from  the  western  tribes,  to 
renew  the  i)loody  scenes  that  had  been  enacted  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Mohawk  and  Susquehannah.     fSueh   being  the  cotemi)orary  state 


tynmii)roti<ctinii,  I  ikisscsm  these  lands.     I  kiunv  iii>  iii;lit  tli;if  his  liritaiinie  Miijestv, 

or  (h)v.  Siiiu'iie,  has  to  iiilcrC'ie,  <ii-  leM  me.     Tlie    (iiil\    iille^'iaiice    1    dwi'   In  aiiy 

|)(>wer  on  earlh,  is  |o  t\w  .  iiileil  dilates  :  and  so  far  Iroin  heiiii,'  inliniidated  hv  threats 
ironi  peo|ih'l  liavc  no  eonneelion  «  ilh,  I  sh.ali  proeecd  willi'inv  ini|inivetne'Mls;  and 
iiothini,-  lint  superior  I'oree  ahall  make  me  abandon  the  pla^'e.  Is  the  protest  <il'  (!ov. 
Simeoe  iutendeil  (o  apply  to  .Sodiis,  e.\cliisivelv  V" 

LiKi  T.  SiiK.vi-KK.  — •■  l>y  no  means  !  li  is  inU-nded  to  endirace  all  tlu^  Indian  lands 
I'lnrhased  since  the  peaee  of  17!s;i." 

Mil.  U'ri.ii.vMsus.  —  ".Nnd  what  are  (lov.  Simeoe's  intentions,  snpixisin"-  the  nrotost 
i.s  disri'M-arded  V  ' 

l.iK;-r.  SuKVKKK.  —  "I  am  merely  the  ollieial  lir.aror  vl'  tlii'  pajiers  ;  hut  I  have  a 
Anther  nie.'^saue  to  deliver  from  (iov.  Simeoe  ;  which  is  that  he  rejiroliates  your  con- 
duct exccediiiirly  lor  endeavorini;  lo  ohiain  llour  from  I'jiper  Canada  ;  and  llial  should 
lie  iierniil  il,  it  would  he  acknuwledgiiiy  the  riyht  of  the  Tiiitetl  Slates  tu  these  In- 
iliau  lands.'" 

"Col.  J oliu  Butler. 


pinara  and  gcril^^^i's  i'urcitase. 


310 


of  tliiniTs,  it  is  liardly  to  he  wondered,  that  the  landing  of  <a  small 
body  of  British  trnr)j)s  upon  the  soil  of  tlie  Cenesee  country  ;  though 
they  came  but  small  in  numhers,  their  errand  but  to  bring  a  threat- 
ening protest,  was  a  circumstance  of  no  trifling  magnitude.  And  the 
reader  will  not  fail  to  take  into  the  account,  how  fi;e!)le  in  nurrdjers, 
how  exposed,  and  how  weak  in  all  things  necessary  to  a  successful 
defence,  was  the  then  new  settlernjnts  of  the  Genesee  country.  In 
all  this  he  will  be  aided  by  a  brief  retrospect  of  the  commencement 
and  [trogress  of  settlement ;  and  added  to  what  this  will  show, 
should  !)(■  the  consideration,  that  the  settlers  came  iiito  tiie  wilder- 
ness unpre|)ared  for  war.  They  came,  relying  upon  a  treaty  ot 
peace.  Wearied  with  war  and  all  its  harrassing  ellects,  they  had 
more  than  figuratively  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and 
their  sppars  into  j)runing  hooks.  They  had  come  to  subdue  the  wil- 
derness, and  not  to  subdue  their  fellow  men.  The  rumors  of  war 
cairie  to  the  sparse  settlemisnts,  and  the  solitary  log-cabins  dotted 
down  in  the  wilderness,  like  the  decrees  of  fate,  to  be  added  to  all 
the  sulVerings  and  endurances  of  pioneer  life.  But  a  few  weeks 
previous  to  all  this,  there  had  been,  as  if  by  concert,  a  far  more  than 
usual  emigration  of  New  York  Indians  to  Canada.  They  went  from 
most  of  the  Six  Nations,  in  detatched  jiorties,  and  a  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  Onondagas  had  emigrated  in  a  body.  The  demeanor 
of  the  .Senecas  had  undergone  a  marked  change.  By  some  unseen 
but  suspected  influence,  they  had  become  morose  and  quarrelsome. 
A  I'ar  more  than  usual  number  of  outrages  were  committed  u})on 
the  new  settlers ;  in  fact,  the  principal  ones  that  are  now  remem- 
bered, liap|)ened  about  this  period.  These  facts  were  not  without 
their  inlhience  in  converting  the  circumstances  of  the  landing  of  an 
armed  force  at  Sodus  Bay,  into  a  preliminary  measure,  the  secjuel 
of  which  might  prove  the  breaking  out  of  a  general  war,  having 
for  its  object  the  recovery  of  the  soil  of  the  Genesee  country  by 
the  Indians,  and  the  bringing  of  it  again  under  British  dominion 

It  will  surprise  those  who  are  not  familiar  with  early  events  in  the 
Genesee  country,  when  tl.'cy  are  told  that  as  late  as  1791  —  eight 
years  after  settlement  had  been  commenced,  there  was  but  little  of 
intercourse  or  communication  with  Albany  and  New  York ;  Phila- 
delphia and  Baltimore,  and  especially  the  latter,  had  far  more  inti- 
mate relations  with  all  this  region.  To  the  papers  of  those  cities, 
the  settlers  in  those  then  backwoods  looked  for  news,  and  in  them 


' 


'ih 


'i 


820 


PUELPS  Am)   (}ORIIAjfs   PURCHASE. 


events  transpirinnr  here  were  generally  recorded.     On  the  first  of 
September,  tiie  alfair  at  Sodus  was  announced  in  the  Maryland 
Gazette,  in  a  letter  from  Philadelphia,  accompanied  by  the  intelli- 
gence that  an  express  had  arrived  at  the  then  seat  cf  government 
with  desi)atclies  for  the  War  Office.  ' 

Immediately  after  the  departure  of  Lieut.  SheafTe,  Mr.  William- 
son, with  theco-operationof  other  prominent  citizens,  adopted  the 
rnost  energetic  measures,  as  well  for  the  purpose  of  preparin<r  tbr 
the  contingency,  which  he  had  good  reasons  for  supposing  would 
occur,  alter  what  had  transpired  at  So.lus,  as  to  give  assurances  of 
Safety  and  protection  to  the  inhabitants. 

He   not  only  despatched  an  express  rider  to  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, as  indicated  by  the  correspondent  of  the  Maryland  Gazette, 
but  he  also  despatche<l  one  to  Albany.     He  forwarded'  by  these  mes- 
sengers letters  to  Edmund  Randolph,  Secretary  of  State  to  Gen 
Knox,  Secretary  of  War.  and  to  Gov.  George  Clinton.     In  these 
letters  he  detailed  all  that  had  transpired,  suggested  some  measures 
ot  protection,  and  gave  asurances  that  the  mandate  of  Gov  Sim- 
coe  would  be  disregarded.     In  the  letter  to  Gen.  Knox,  he  says  •  _ 
"  It  IS  pretty  well  ascertained  that  for  some  time  past,  quantities  of 
military  stores  and  ammunition  have  been  forwarded  to  Oswego 
This  makes  me  think  it  not  improbable  that  Lieut.  Sheaflb  will  take 
a  forcible  possession  of  Sodus  on  his  return.     I  shall,  however  with- 
out relaxing,  go  on  with  my  business  there,  until  drove  olf  bv  a 
superior  force.     It  is  heedless  for  me  to  trouble  you  with  any  com- 
ments on  this  unparalleled  piece  of  insolence,  and  gross  in.ult  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States." 

Mr.  Williamson  wrote  a  letter  to  Sir  William  Pulteney,  in  which 
nc  suvs  *■  -■ 

"  T  shall  inakonofurtlier  comment  on  this  business,  than  to  observe  tint 
nay  linng  slu.rt  of  actual  liostilitios,  it  eom,,]etes  the  u  u^iSlS  t^^   on 
.1.  t  ot  Mr.  .Snncoo  toward  thi.  g,.vernme,lt.     Mr.  Simce's  p   s    c    of   nv 

iu  h'm"  J"  ;    "   ""''"^;     ^"  ^''^  *"'^^  ^'■'■'^"'  i»  thisoounln-    .' d  op 
laia  sciu'incs  lie  li.-is  nrevcut.v   everv  iio<siIiilitv  ,^f^ -n,  .,...  .      i  .•       i'        ^ 

tljiseountn-  and  thelstile  Indiaus,"  aid  .S:^,;^,      i^  1 !  i  ^1  Ic  t' K 

N.,     '  n'''  ""^*  ^T'  '""^ '^■^'   i.oll.ing  undone  to  indue  ll„.   Six 

Na  ons,  our  neighbors,  to  take  up  tlio  batch.t  die  moment  ho  gives  tl  '  u .  r  1 
\oumust  ,eaniuamt..d  with  his  marching  a  body  ot\.nii;i  t  o  ,.  •  i 
^-.vctmg  a  tort  at  theKapids  of  the  Miami  scven,;y^  miles  withi,   ^     L^nt^y 


PIIELP3  A^'D    GOltHAMS   TUKCIfASE. 


321 


of  the  United  States,  Lut  this  being  an  extensive  wilderness,  seemed  of  less 
iraiKirtance. 

"  Nnt  content  with  this,  h<»  lias  now  interfi'ivil  witli  our  sr-ttlenients,  in  a 
manner  so  unlike  the  ilijjrnity  of  a  yreat  nation  that  it  must  astonish  yon,  If  it 
L«  tlieintt'ntii)n  of  tlie  Drilish  ministry,  by  low  and  underhand  sehenu-s,  to  keep 
alive  a  harrassing  war  a^'ainst  heljijcss  women  and  children,  or  by  murders  on 
this  frontier,  to  add  to  the  list  of  nuirders  already  committcilby  the  intluenee 
of  tlieir  serv;mts  her<',  and  to  treat  this  <i;i  iNcrnnuMit  with  the  most  nn\\  arrantable 
insolence  and  contem]it.  1  allow  tiiat  Mr.  Siimoe  is  the  most  iiKhisirious  and 
faithfid  servant  the  British  o-ovemnient  ever  had.  But  if  'I  is  theii'  intention 
to  cultivate  a  frieiully  intereonrse  \\ith  this  countiy,  it  never  can  take  ]ilace 
■while  sueh  is  the  conduct  of  their  (iovernorhere.  For  my  own  part,  I  think 
it  woulil  lie  doing  the  government  of  Great  Britain  a  most  essential  service, 
should  their  intentions  towards  this  country  be  friendly,  to  show  to  their  min- 
istry the  i<  induct  of  (iov.  Simcoe;  and  1  write  this  letter  that  you  may  ^how  it 
to  Mr.  Dundas,  or  Mr.  Pitt,  if  you  think  projier.  Their  knowledge  of  me,  I 
anr  conxinced,  will  gi\e  it  sniticient  weight.  If  these  transactions  are  in  con- 
sequence of  orders  from  (Ireat  llritain,  and  their  views  are  hostile,  there  is 
nothing  further  to  be  said." 

While  all  this  was  progressing,  in  four  days  after  the  affair  at  Sodus 
in  fact,  before  Gov.  Sinicoe  would  liave  had  time  to  execute  his 
threats,  the  great  measure  of  deliverance  for  the  Genesee  country 
and  the  few  scattered  border  settlers  of  the  west,  had  been  con- 
summated. "  Mad  Anthony, "  —  [and  there  had  been  "  method  in 
his  madness, "]  —  had  met  the  confederated  bands  of  the  hostile 
Indians  cf  the  west,  and  almost  under  the  walls  of  a  fortress  of  their 
British  allies,  achieved  a  signal  victory!  Those  upon  whom  Gov. 
Simcoe  was  relying  for  aid,  (for  it  is  evident  that  he  looked  to  a 
descent  of  the  western  Indians  upon  the  Genesee  country  in  case 
the  war  was  renewed,)  —  were  humbled  and  suing  for  peace. 
This  alone  would  have  averted  his  worst  intentions,  and  added  to 
this,  was  the  consideration  that  Mr.  Jay  had  sailed  for  London  on 
the  12th  of  May,  chjthed  with  ample  powers  from  our  government 
to  arrange  all  matters  of  dispute. 

Those  familiar  with  the  history  of  our  whole  country  in  the 
earliest  years  of  its  separation  from  England,  are  aware  how  im- 
portant was  the  well  planned  and  successful  expedition  of  General 
Wayne.  Important  in  its  immediate  conse(iuences  —  the  putting 
an  end  to  protracted,  harrassing  Indian  treaties,  and  tliefotniding  of 
tliat  great  empire  of  wealth,  prosperity,  and  unparralleled  progress, 
our  western  states,  liut  few  can  now  realize  its  local  consequence, 
in  the  Genesee  country.  It  gave  security  where  there  was  little  of 
it  beiore,  inspired  hope  and  confidence  with  those  who   were  half 


322 


PIEELPS  AND  GOEnAMS   PURCnASE. 


■  ■ 


'I 


P' 


t? 


determined  to  retrace  the  weary  steps  that  had  brought  them  into 
the  wilderness,  for  they  felt  that  if  war  was  to  be  added  to  all  the 
sufferings  and  privations  they  were  encountering,  it  were  better  to 
abandon  the  field,  if  not  forever,  to  a  period  more  propitious.     The 
news  of  Wayne's   victory  was   communicated  by   Ijrant   to  Gpn. 
Chapin,  and  it  circulated  briskly  among  tlie  backwoods  settlements. 
Here  and  there  was  seen  small  gatherings  of  Pioneer  settlers,  con- 
gratulating each  other  upon  the  event,  and  taking  fresh  courage   to 
grapple  with  the  hardships  of  Pioneer  life.     All  was  confirmed,°when 
in   a  lew  days,  the  Senecas  were  seen  coming  back  upon  their  war 
path,  humbled,  quaking  with  tear  at  the  mere  recollection  of  the  terri- 
ble onslaught  that  Mad  Anthony  had  made  upon  the  dusky  letWons 
that  had  gathered  to  oppose  him,  and  uttering  imprecations  a-niinst 
those  who  had  lured  them  from  home  to  take   part  in  the  contest 
and  then  remamed  far  away  iVom  danger,  or  shut  themselves   up  in 
a  strong   fortress,    but  spectators  in  a  conflict  in  which  they  and 
their  confederates  were  falling  like  autumn  leaves  in  a  shower  of 
hail. 

The  haughty  spirit  of  the  descendants  of  the  warlike  Iroquois 
was  humbled  within  them,  and  chagrined  by  the  terrible  discomfit- 
ure they  had  witnessed,  and  been  partakers  of,  as  well  as  by  the 
bad  faith  of  their  advisers  and  abettors  at  Niagara,  they  resolved  to 
settle  down  quietly  in  their  villages,  and  renew  their  peaceful  and 
amicable  relations  with  their  white  neighbors. 

As  early  as  the  3d  of  July,  preceding'^the  visit  of  Lieut.  Sheaffe, 
to  Sodus,  a  representation  had  been  made  to  the  War  Department,' 
of  the  exposed  condition  of  the  new  settlers  in  the  Genesci  coun- 
try, the  danger  of  Indian  disturbances  promoted  by  British  agents 
at  Niagara,  and  the  necessity  of  some  means  of  defence.  To  wliich 
Gen.  Knox,  the  Secretary  of  War,  had  replied  in  substance,  that 
some  official  use  had  been  made  of  the  communication,  by  the  Sec 


NOTI...-1  lore  are  some  ainusinij  aiHTilotoH  of  (hordaticnsDiat  the  n-hirniii-  Iiidi- 

<lm.,s  jjMv.  .,1  tl.e   .atil..     I,,  its  cm .'t,  Wavn..  l,a,l  ,na,l,.  lii.nsrlf    n  tV  ,      n'    .. 

aU.ms,  m.,.v  than  Innna,,.  His  y^-,.  a  ^varthr,.■  thw  l,a,l  h.vn  uuu^dV--\,Z^;;^:u^ 
cmslun,. :  „,sp,nn.^  a  tenor  thai  ooM,,u.rea  as  ..K.otimllv  as  his  ar  ,  A  S  '  wl  ^ 
camo  auav  n,  an  early  sfa^e  of  the  l.a.fle,  Laviuj.  seen  ,|uite  enough  to  frn,tif v    is',^   " 

^wi  hi  'V  ;"''rf""'''>,^''"i"""  ""'"'"^"'t -'•''- author:  tho'reason  tor  s 
piec  iil,.te  retreat,  lie  sai.i  ,u  h.s  irraphic  deserij.t.ou  of  the  opening,  of  the  li.^h' 
-  lop  pop  l.op,-.hoo,  woo,  woo-o.oo,_wish.  wish,  wi^li-J-ee.-ho,.,  woo'l- 
^  Liv       •''       "^"'"^  """'  """■'•  ""  -""^''  kv.l-nl"     TJiis  the  reader  will  ui  o„c-o 

r^h  !! ,:;  .IVr'L"'  ^:';'lf  '"  ;'"";""  ""!  ,«'■"'*?  "f  «'""11  '""'H  and  cannon,  and  the 
wiu/...ni^' o!  till.- tu=e,  uiid  ihu  burstnig  oi  Loinba. 


■t,^iP 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAm's   PUECHASE. 


323 


retavy  ot  War,  in  his  correspondence  with  the  British  Minister, 
that  a  conlerence  was  to  be  held  with  the  Six  Nations  at  Canandai- 
gua,  in  Septeuib'^r,  for  the  purpose  of  concihating,  and  establishing 
finally  a  peace  with  them  if  possible.  In  reply  to  an  application 
for  arms,  the  Secretary  says,  that  an  order  had  been  issued  in  favor 
of  the  Governor  of  New  York,  for  one  thousand  muskets,  cartridge 
boxes,  and  bayonets.        4 

The  following  copy  of  a  letter  from  President  Washington  to  Mr. 
Jay,  our  then  minister  in  London,  possesses  much  of  a  general 
historical  interest,  and  will  aid  the  reader  in  a  full  understanding  of 
the  questions  then  at  issue,  so  far  as  this  local  region  wasc  oncerned : 

"ArcjusT,  30,  1704. 

"As  you  will  receive  letters  from  the  Secretary  of  IState.s'  utlice,  gi\iiig'  an 
official  account  of  the  public  occurrences  as  they  ha\-e  arisen  and  advanced, 
it  is  unnei'i'ssary  for  nie  to  retouch  any  of  them ;  and  yet  I  cannot  ivstiain  my- 
self from  uiakin^'some  observations  on  the  most  recent  of  them,  tlie  commu- 
nication of  whicli  wiis  receiveil  this  mornino-  only.  I  mean  the  protest  of  tho 
Governor  of  Upper  Canad;i,  delivered  by  Lieutenant  Hlieatfe,  against  our  oc- 
cupving  lands  far  fnun  any  of  the  jiosts,  whicli,  long  ago,  tliey  ought  to  have 
surrendered,  and  far  within  the  known,  and  uutil  now,  the  acknowledged 
limits  of  the  United  States. 

"  On  this  irregular  and  high  handed  proceeding  of  Mr.  Simcoe,  which  is 
no  longer  masked,  I  wtndd  rather  licar  what  the  ministry  of  (treat  Liiuain  will 
sav,  than  ]ironounce  my  own  sentiments  thereon.  litit  can  that  government, 
or\vill  it  altemjjt,  after  this  oflicial  act  of  one  of  their  governoi-s,  to  hold  out 
ideas  of  friendly  iiilentions  towai'ds  the  United  States,  and  sutler  such  con- 
duct to  pass  with  impunity  ? 

"This  may  be  considered  a.s  tht  most  open  and  daring  act  of  tho  British 
atrents  in  AnuM'ica,  though  it  is  not  the  most  hostile  and  ciiiel  :  for  there 
does  not  lemain  a  doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  well  informed  i)erson  in  this 
country,  not  shut  against  conviction,  i\\\\i  all  the  difficidties  'we  cncounler  with 
the  ludi'iiis,  their  hostililieif,  the  murders  of  helpless  women  and  ehildren, 
along  oxr  frontiers,  result  from  the  conduct  of  agents  of  Great  Britain  in 
this  couiilri/.  In  vain  is  it  then  for  its  administration  in  Biitain,  to  disavow 
having  giv(,'n  orders  which  will  warrant  such  conduct,  whilst  their  agents  go 
unpuni>he(l  ;  while  we  have  a  thousand  corroborating  circumstances,  and 
indeed  as  many  evidences,  some  of  which  cannot  be  I irought  forward,  to  prove 
that  thin  arc  seducing  from  our  alliances,  and  endea\oiing  to  remove  over  tho 
line,  tribes  that  '  ive  hitherto  been  kept  in  peace  and  friendship  with  us  at  a 
he;\vv  e.\[H'nse,  and  who  have  no  causes  of  complaint,  except  pretended  ones 
of  their  ei'eating  ;  whilst  they  keep  in  a  state  of  irritation  the  tribes  that  wq 
li'istileto  us,  and  are  instigating  those  who  know  litUe  of  us,  or  we  of  them, 
to  unite  ill  the  war  against  us  ;  and  whilst  it  \i-an  undeuialile  fact,  that  they 
are  furi</-<hiuij  the  whole  with  amis,  ammunition,  clothing,  ami  even  jiro- 
I'isions  In  carry  on  the  war.  I  might  go  farther,  and  if  thev  are  not  much 
behed,  add,  men  also  in  disguise. 


I 


324 


PIIELPS    AND    GOKIIAMa    PURCirASE. 


(f 


"  Can  it  bo  oxpectc.],  I  ask,  so  lonj.  a.s  tli^se  t Inn-s  an-  kn.nvn  i„  tl.-  United 
tnac  tiKu   ner  ^vlll  u  ■  ,,m  I,.,  any  cnr.l.alitv  belw.rn  tlu;  two  cuiuiiri,..^     1 

i  1  t,nn  lonn    It  (lies,.  i,„,sts  a.v  nu,  sunvn.l.n,,!.     7V  km^^h.hv  .  f  tI„>.o  b.-in^r 
i.i>  M.nlnn,.„.s,  would  bavobut  little  wd^^bt,  I  an,,H.>.„adoirwI,h  h.  i;     '? 
nd  mms  ,.a..>n,  orp..,.I,a,.  wi,b  tlu-nation,  i„  Hil.,,!n.t!,..  ,n:.as„r  s  b, 
nu    K.   sat,shH,  tint  .f  tl...y  want  to  b.  at  peace  with  Ibis  eonnf  v.    m    o 
\V     1     di,:  I't       ''^'•''^''^- to  givenp  the  posts  is  the  <mlv  road   to  i' 


CHAPTER    V. 


JAME.3    AXD    WILLIAM   WADSWORTH  — PIONEER    EVENTS    IN    miAT    13 

NOW    LIVINGSTON. 


The  advent  of  these  two  brothers  to  the  Genesee  country,  marks 
an    era  „.   our  early  local    history.      They   were  from    ihe  first, 
large  landholders  and  patroons  of  new  settlements,  and  for  many 
years  uifnnatoly  and  conspicuously  blended   with  the  jiro-n-ess  of 
nnprovement.     The  connection  of  their  family  with  Col.  feremiah 
^\  adsworth,  of  Hartford,  Co.ul,  was  the  primary  cause  of  their 
early  enterprise  ;  of  whom,  as  he  was  an  early  and  large  proprietor 
of  land,  by  purchase  from  Phelps  and  Gorham.  it  will  not  be  out  of 
phice  to  speak,  incidentally.     He  was  the  son  of  the  R,.v.  Daniel 
Wadsworth,  ot  Hartford.     Entering  uj.on  a  sea-faring  life  in  early 
years,   or  the  benefit  of  his  health,  first  as  a  sailor  before  the  masf 
and   afterwards  as  mate   and  captain,  he  finally  settled  down  in 
Hartford,  vvdiere  he  resided  upoa  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution- 
ary war.     He  received  the  ai)pointment  of  commissarv  of  the  Con- 
necticut line,  and  following  that  app;  intment,  he  had  important  trusts 
committed  to  his  charge,  not  only  by  Connecticut,  but  bv  the  Con- 
gress at  1  hiladc-lphia,  having  relereuce  generally  to  the  pa'v.  clothincr 


riiELPs  AND  gori[a:\i  s  purchase. 


325 


and  subsistence  of  the  Continental  troops.  Soon  after  the  arrival 
of  Iloeliiiniheau,  with  the  Frcnr'i  army,  their  subsistence  was  en- 
trusted to  his  charge,  jointly  with  Jolni  B.  Church.  He  was  one 
of  those  with  whom  Gen.  Washington  made  an  early  acquaintance 
when  the  great  crisis  arrived,  and  in  whose  hospitable  mansion,  at 
Hartf(.)rd,  he  was  wont  to  meet,  and  have  social  intercourse  and 
consultation  with  its  owner,  and  other  prominent  men  of  the  Revo- 
lution. It  was  the  taking  down  and  removal  of  this  old  mansion, 
that  suggested  the  following  leautilul  lines  of  Mrs.  Sigourney : — 

"  Fallen  dome,  beloved  »i  •well, 
Tluni  eould'st  many  a  legend  tell 
Of  Iho  cliiefs  of  ani'icnl  lamp, 
Wlio,  to  sl.ai'u  thy  shelter  came : — 
Riii'liiimlicaii  and  La  Fayette, 
]{onnd  thv  jilenlcdus  board  liave  met, 
With  Columbia's  mi^ditier  son, 
Great  and  glorious  WAsiiiMiTox. 
Hero  with  kindred  minds  they  plann'd 
Kescue  for  au  infant  land  ; 
While  the  Bntisli  Lion's  roar 
Ecliu'd  round  the  leagur'd  sliore." 

Annali  cf  Conn.,  by  R   R  Hinman. 

"The  services  of  Col.  Wadsworth,  during  some  periods  of  the 
war,"  says  a  biographer,  "  were  incalculable."  He  was  a  member 
of  the  1st, 2d,  and  3d  Congress.     He  died  in  ISOl,  aged  Gl  years. 

Mr.  Pheli)s  having  been  in  the  commissary  department  during  the 
Revolution,  he  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Col.  Wadsworth,  and 
soon  after  he  obtained  title,  induced  him  to  make  investments  in  the 
Genesee  country.*  He  purchased  T,  0,  R.  9,  a  part  of  T.  11,  R. 
7,  and  one  12th  of  "  Big  Trce."t  Being  a  man  of  wealth,  and  con- 
sidcrablv  advanced  in  years,  their  purchases  were  for  investment 
and  and  re-sale,  rather  than  with  any  intention  to  emigrate. 

William  and  James  Wadsworth  were  natives  of  Durham,  Conn., 
the  sons  of  John  N.  Wadsworth.  James  Wadsworth  graduated  at 
Yale  College,  in  1787,  and  spent  the  winter  of '87  and  '88,  in  Mon- 
treal, employed  in  school  teaching.  The  father  had  died  before 
James  ^graduated  at  College,  and  left  the  homestead  in  Durham, 
which  would  have  been  called  a  "  fair  estate"  in  New  England,  to 
his  three  children,  the  care  of  which  had  devolved  upon  the  elder 
brother,  William.  Iti  the  Spring  of  1790,  at  a  period  when  James, 
then  22  vears  of  age,  was  undetermined  as  to  the  pursuits  of  life  — 


I!    ji 


326 


PIIELPS   AND    GORHAJi's    PirUCHASE. 


•r' 


I 


hesitating  between  tlie  alternatives  of  seeking  his  fortune  in  the  south- 
ern states,  and  acquiring  the  profession  of  law,  and  settling  down  in 
New  England,  his  kinsman,  Col.  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  proposed  to 
him  emigration  to  the  Genesee  country,  the  sale  to  him  of  a  part 
c*"  his  tract  at  "  Big  Tree,"  upon  advantageous  terms,  and  an 
agency  that  would  embrace  the  care  and  sale  of  his  remaining  lands. 
After  consulting  with  his  brother  William,  making  it  a  condition  of 
the  proposed  emigration  that  he  should  accompany  him,  the  two 
brothers  agreed  jointly  to  accept  the  proposition. 

In  Juno,  after  a  work  of  preparation  which  was  of  no  little  mag- 
nitude in  New  England,  preliminary  to  an  advent  to  this  then  far 
off  and  secluded  wilderness ;    amid  the  farewells  of  kindred   and 
friends,  in  which  were  mingled  sad  forebodings  of  the  dangers  and 
vicissitudes  the  bold  adventurers  were  about  to  encounter,  thev  com- 
menced their  journey.     William,  the  practical  working  man  of  the 
two,  so  far  as  manual  labor  was  concerned,  started  with  an  ox  team 
and  cart,  two  or  three  hired  men  and  a  colored  woman,  a  favorite 
slave  belonging  to  the  family.  J     James  came  via  the  Sound,  and  the 
Hudson,  and  the  water  route  from  Schenectady  to  the  head  of  navi- 
gation on  Canandaigua  outlet,  in  charge  of  provisions  and  a  small 
amount  of  household  furniture.     William,  with  his  oxen  and  cart, 
made  sl(nv  progress.     The  winter  sleigh  I'oad  west  of  Whilosboro, 
had  to  be  adapted  to  wheels  as  they  progressed ;  logs  had  to  be  cut 
and  moved  out  of  the  track,  and  small  streams  and  sloughs  had  to 
be  cause-waycd.     Arriving  at  Cayuga  Lake,  there  was  no  ferry 
scow,  and  the  party  chartered  two  Indian  canoes,  which  they  lashed 
together,  and  making  a  deck  of  poles,  succeeded  in  crossing.     Be- 
tween Whitcsboro  and  Canandaigua  their  average  progress  was 
but  twelve  miles  per  day.     The  parties  reunited  at  Canandaigua, 
James  having  arrived  three  days  in  advance. 
After  making  some  necessary  preparations,  the  whole  partv  start- 


*  Or,  ns  is  mii(o  jiroliiiblo,  Col.  Wailsworth  mny  Lave  Lad  an  interest,  originally, 
with  Messrs.  rliolps  and  Gorhain. 

t  To  wliicli,  James  and  William  alterivards  added  a  tentli,  making  the  original 
Wadoworth  tract  at  Geiieseo,  about  5,(IU0  acres. 

t  The  identical  "Jenny."  She  was  for  a  hnvjr  time  almost  the  only  one  of  her  rare, 
in  that  region  ;  and  an  object  of  curiosity  wiili  the  younger  portion  of  flic  hacJi- 
voodsmen.  Turning  to  tliu  travels  of  Liancoui,,  \ve  ivil  thai  on  the  niornihg  lie  left 
"Big  Tree,"  she  was  (jiRuiingand  powdering  "Capt.  WadsAvortli's"  hair,  j)reparatory 

to  his  departure   for'Cai  fuiaigua  to  "vivii'V/a  p.,;ry  of  ^i  M;'-..-.  (;S.-r   v.Ii.mm   lie  is 


L'fi;  t.MU.' 


rnELPS   AND    GOP.IIAII'S    PURCHASE. 


)21 


ed  from  Canandfiigua,  with  all  the  eftects  with  which  they  had  left 
Durham,  to  which  had  heen  added  i  small  stock  of  cattle,  purchased 
upon  the  Mohawk.     They  took   the   Indian  trail  and  Sullivan's 
route,  clearinij;  their  road  for  the  passage  of  their  cart,  as  they  went 
along,  camping  the  first  night  at  "  Pitt's  Flats,"  and  the  next,  at  the 
foot  of  Conesus  Lake.     Breaking  up  their  encampment  in   the 
morning,  James,  on  horseback,  with  one  companion,  preceded  the 
rest  of  the  party,  and  pursued  the  Big  Tree  trail;  William,  with 
the  oxen,  cart,  and  other  effects,  following  after,  took  the  Branch 
trail  that  led  to  a  large  Indian  village  of  the  Oneidas,  which  was 
two   miles  below  Big  Tree,  on  the  river.     Wandering  from  the 
obscure  trail,  the  party  got  lost,  and  brought  up  at  night  in  a  swamp 
about  two  miles  north-east  from  Big  Tree,  tied  their  cattle  to  trees, 
and  encamped.     James,  having  spent  the  night  at  Big  Tree,  with 
his  companion,  in  the  woods,  with  no  means  of  making  an  en- 
campment, took  his  back  track  in  the  morning  ;  arrived  at  the  point 
where  the  Oneida  trail  branched  off,  followed  the  track  of  the  cart 
wheels,  and  found  the  lost  party,  groping  in  the  wilderness,  un- 
determined as  to  the  course  they  should  pursue.     He  conducted  the 
whole  party  to  Big  Tree,   (Geneseo,  the  reader  will  bear  in  mind,) 
where  they  slept  in  the  cart  and  upon  the  ground,  for  two  or  three 
nights,  until  they  erected  a  rude  cabin  on  the  table  land,  a  little  be- 
low the  present  village,  on  the  old  River  trail.     On  their  arrival, 
they  found,  of  their  race,  but  one  man,  Lemuel  Jennings,  who  had 
a  cabin,  and  was  herding  some  cattle  on  the  flats  for  Oliver  Phelps. 
James,  returning  to  Canandaigua  on  the  day  he  had  located  the 
party,  on  his  way  back,  got  benighted,  but  was  attracted  by  a  light, 
and  pursuing  the  direction  from  which  it  proceeded,  found  the  negro 
woman,  Jenny,  holding  a  light  for  his  brother  William,  who  was 
hewing  some  plank  for  their  cabin  floor. 

The  arrival  was  upon  the  10th  of  June.  In  August  of  tlie  same 
year,  1790,  when  Gen.  Amos  Hall  took  the  census,  the  family  of 
William  Wadsworth  corsisted  of  nine  persons.  Beside  him,  there 
had  then  settled  in  the  town.^hips,  others  who  were  regarded  as 
heads  of  families:  — Phineas  Bates,  Daniel  Ross,  Henry  Brown, 
Enoch  Noble,  Nicholas  Rosecrantz,  David  Robb,  Nahuni  Fair- 
banks. Horatio  and  John  H.  Jones  had  preceded  the  Wadaworths 
■a  few  weeks,  and  were  over  the  river,  occupying  an  Indian  cabin, 
and  the  shantee  they  had  built  the  year  before.     They  had  come  in 


328 


PJIELPS   AND   aORIIAM's    PFUCIIASE. 


I"  '. 


from  Geneva,  via  Canandaigua  and  Avon,  witli  a  cart,  Horatio's 
wife  and  three  children,  household  fiiriuture,  and  some  hired  men. 
Their  cart  was  the  first  wheel  vehicle  that  passed  over  that  route. 
From  Avon,  they  had  no  traok,  but  picked  their  way  alon-  the 
ridges  and  open  n-rounds.  Horatio  Jones  l)uilt  a  coinfortal)le  block 
house  the  same  year.  Besides  Horace  Jones'  family,  tliere  was  in 
August,  west  of  the  river,  on  what  was  then  called'"  Indian  lands," 
the  families  of  William  Ewing,  *  Nathan  Fowler,  and  Jeremiah 
Gregorv.  f 

The  Indiiins  residing  ui)on  the  Genesee  river  in  1790,  were  loca- 
ted in  villages,  as  follows  :  —  At  S(iuaky  Hill,  near  lAfount  Morris, 
there  were  a  small  cluster  of  cabins,  and  a  few  families.  The  men 
had  been  southern  captives,  who  had  intermarried,  and  n)erged 
themselves  with  the  Senecas.  The  principal  chief,  was  "  Jjlack 
Chief."  At  "  Allan's  Hill."  now  Mount  Morris,  there  were  a  few 
families  ;  their  principal  chief,  "  Tall  Chief"  He  was  a  fine  speci- 
men  of  his  race,  physically  and  otherwise.  At  Philadeli)hia,  on  a 
visit  to  Congre-s,  with  Horatio  Jones,  he  commanded  much  atten- 
tion  and  respect.  ' 

Little  Beard's  Town,  a  large  village,  was  upon  the  present  site 
of  Cuylerville.  The  chief,  Little  ]}eard,  was  one  of  the  worst 
specimens  of  his  race.  He  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  the  horrid 
massacre  of  Lieut.  Boyd,  and  all  the  early  Pioneers  give  him  a  bad 
character.  The  manner  of  his  death  in  1800,  was  but  a  just  retri- 
bution  for  his  many  acts  of  cruelty  in  the  l^mier  wars  :  —  In  a 
drunken  row,  in  which  both  Indians  and  whites  were  enga<red,  at 
the  old  Stimson  tavern,  in  Leicester,  he  was  pushed  out. if  door, 
and  falling  froin  the  step.s,  received  an  injury  lliat  caused  his 
deaih. 

Big  Tree,  a  considerable  village,  was   upon  the   bluff,  opposite 


S     ,    V   fT    !        '"V^;-,"^^'"'^  '''"'■-'■  J''^v""i.':  .•"iHitli.T  son,  (;<-o.-oW.,  was  Si.Mc 
0    1^.,,, nt  f,„ni  Ir,.  nn,l,  nm\  w,-,s  s.utl.d  iu  Nortli.milK.-lau,!,  Pa.,  wheu  setll..ni.nl     f 

J-  "li,^:'"  ui  Si:r.;;f  :i  ^^?'  ^''•' "'"■>■"  ^-''^  ^='« ""« "f  <■'«  ^''ite  ^vivos  ..f  j^bone. 

..m  .lanes  in,)  the  pros.nt  site  of  ul^  «hato  S^lel^  '     ^'''  "^""  ''^""  "'""  '''' 


PHELPS    AND    GOPJIAMS    PUKCIIASE. 


320 


Geneseo,  upon  the  rivei-j  now  embraced  in  the  farm  of  Eason  Slo- 
cum  ;  Ken-de-wa,  (Big  Tree)  was  its  principal  chief. 

There  was  a  small  village  of  Tucaroras  on  the  river,  a  little 
above  t!  3  Geneseo  bridge,  which  was  called  Tuscarora ;  and  two 
miles  down  the  river  from  Geneseo,  near  the  large  Maple  Giove  of 
the  Messrs.  Wadsworths,  was  "  Oneida  Town,"  a  large  village  of 
Oneidas.  * 

The  other,  and  a  principal  village,  was  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river,  opposite  Avon,  near  where  the  main  road  crosses  the  river, 
The  chief  was  Ga-kwa-dia,  (Hot  Bread,)  in  high  repute  among  his 
people,  and  much  respected  by  the  Pioneer  settlers,  f 

Gardeau,  was  the  residence  of  the  White  Woman,  and  the  several 
branches  of  her  family  went  principally  to  make  up  the  small 
village.  Her  husband  was  principal  chief  At  Nunda,  there 
was  a  small  village;  "Elk  Hunter"  and  "Green  Coat,"  were 
principal  chiefs. 

At  Caneadea  there  was  a  considerable  village  ;  the  head  chief, 
John  Hudson.  He  was  an  old  man,  and  had  been  a  leading 
"  brave  "  in  the  southern  Indian  wars,  waged  by  the  Senecas, 
and  afterwards,  in  the  English  and  French  wars.  Hon.  George 
Woods,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Bedford,  Pennsylvania,  became  a 
prisoner  with  the  Indians,  on  the  Ohio  or  the  Allegany.  Hudson 
porcured  his  release,  after  he  had  been  condemned  au.l  tied  to  a 
stake.  In  after  years,  they  met,  and  the  Judge  treated  him  with 
much  kindness,  making  him  a  present  of  a  fine  house  and  lot  at 


*  The  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras  were  divided  on  the  hrcakuig  out  of  the  Revolutiou. 
Those  that  adhered  to  the  colonics,  and  llie  jieiitrals,  reniaiuins;  in  their  eastern  vil- 
lages; and  those  that  followed  Ihitler  and  Ihant,  coining  upon  the  Genesee  River.  A 
partial  re-union  of  the  Tuscaroras  took  place  at  their  village  near  Lcwistou,  in  after 
years. 

fThis  wa-s  the  birth  place  of  Cornjilanter.  In  his  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Penn- 
sj'lvania,  in  lb'2'2,  he  says  :  — "  1  feel  it  my  duty  to  send  a  speech  to  the  (Governor  of 
Pennsylvania  at  this  time,  and  inform  him  the' place  wliere  I  was  from  —  which  wag 
Conni'wauijiis,  on  the  Genesee  river."  He  then  y;ues  on  to  relate  to  the  (T()vern<ir,  that 
on  trrowini;  uj),  the  Indian  hoys  in  the  nei;;hborliood  took  notice  of  his  skin  being  of 
a  dillerent  color  from  theirs,  and  on  naming  it  to  his  mother,  she  told  him  who  his 
white  father  was,  and  that  he  livt'd  at  Albany.  He,  after  becoming  a  nian,  souglit  him 
out,  and  made  himself  known  to  him.  He  comj)laiiis  that  lie  gave  him  victuals  to  e.at 
at  his  house,  Init  "no  ])rovisions  to  eat  on  the  Avay  home."  "He  gave  me  neither 
kettle  nor  gun,  nor  did  he  tell  ine  that  the  United  States  were  about  to  rebel  against 
Great  Ibitain."  This  is  authentic,  and  does  away  with  the  less  tnithful,  but  more 
rom.-mtie  version  of  the  first  iaterriew  betwee-u  Coruplaiitor  aud  his  white  father, 
O'Baii  or  "  Abeel." 
21 


:130 


PIIELrS   AND    GORTIAm'.S    rURCIIASE. 


Bedford,  which  he  never  occupied,  but  he  used  to  often  pride  him- 
self  upon  its  possession,  and  the  munner  in  whicii  he  cnnie  by  it. 

In  a  ramble,  to  give  the  reader  some  account  of  their  neighbors, 
the  adventurers  wlio  were  mere  immediately  under  consideraticn, 
have  almost  been  lost  sight  of    We  left  Willinm  Wadsworth  hewing 
plank  for  their  shantee,  by  cnndle  light,  and  James  emerging  from 
the  forest,  where  he  had  been  lost  on  his  return  from  Cananchiigua. 
The  shantee  went  up,  and  the  work  of  clearing  a  small  spot  of^p- 
land  anrl  preparing  a  few  acres  of  flats  for  summer  crops,  was  im- 
mediately commenced.     There  was  from  the  first,  a  division  of 
labor    l)etween    the  two   brothers :  — William   had  been   bred   a 
farmer,  and  from  habit  and  ])hysical  constitution,  waa  well  adapted 
to  take  the  laboring  oar  in  that  department.     Few  men  were  better 
fitted  for  a  Pioneer  in  the  backwoods  —  to  wrestle  with  the  harsh- 
est features  of  Pioneer  life  —or  for  being  merged  in  habits,  social 
intercourse  and  inclinations,  with  the  hardy  adventurers  who  were 
his  early  cotemporaries.     The  backwoodsmen   called   him    "Old 
Bill,"  and  yet  he  had  not  reached  his  30th  year  ;  —not  from  any  dis- 
respect, but  as  a  kind  of  backwoods  conventional  nomenclature      At 
a  log  house  raising,  "  a  bee,"  or  a  rude  frolic,  "  he  was  one  of  them  ;" 
and  when  there  were  any  "doings"  at  "Old  Leicester,"  "Pitt's 
Flats,"  or  Williamsburg,  he  was  pretty  sure  to  be  there.     He  took 
an  early  interest  in  the  organization  of  the  militia,  and  mingled 
with  the  recollections  of  the  author's  boyhood,  is  "  General  B^ill," 
at  the  fall  musters,  with  his  harsh,  strong  features,  and   bronzed 
complexion,   mounted  upon  his   magnificent   black  charger ;    the 
"  observed  of  all  observers,"  the  not  inapt  personification  of  the 
dark  and  frowning  god  of  war;  and  to  youthful  backwoods  eyes, 
he  looked  nothing  le.5s. 

James,  was  by  nature,  of  a  difierent  cast,  and  to  natural  incli- 
nations had  been  added  the  polish  and  the  discipline  of  mind 
acquired  in  college  halls,  and  a  mingling  in  the  most  cultivated  of 
New  England  society.  The  transition,  the  change  of  a  New  Eng- 
land home,  for  that  of  a  cabin  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  associa- 
tions of  the  backwoods,  was  far  less  easy  and  natural ;  thouirh  by 
alternating  between  the  settlement  at  "  Big  Tree,  "  and  Cana^ndai- 


NcTE.— James  Hiulson,  the  snn  ami  successor  of  Jolui.  was  one  of  tlm  fi„o«t  ^pfici- 

li,'.';ri',/i' ;!f  T"''  I       '''1 ''"'""'  '"■?■'  "'  ^''°  ""''"^y  ^'■'^'»  "*'  ^^^ttli'ment.    Staid  and  d  .'iii- 
tieil  111  Ins  aeportiiient,  ]w  was  tnilv  one  of  "Dftiire's  no1.Ipi<ip,i  "  ^ 

\ 


:mr,w 


PHELPS   AND   CiOTiirA:\l's  PURCHASE. 


331 


j,'ua,  Albany  and  Connecticut,  he  managed  to  accommodate  himself 
very  well  lo  circumstances.  Ij)on  him  devolved  the  land  agen- 
cy, and  soon  extending:  its  spiiore,  and  purchasino;  Inrsoly  on  the 
joint  account  of  himself  and  brother,  even  in  early  years,  he  be- 
came engrossed  in  a  business  of  great  magnitude. 

They  had  left  behind  thorn  a  large  circle  of  family  connexions 
and  friendH  in  "old  Durham,  "  and  great  was  their  concern  for  the 
rash  adventurers  who  had  pushed  away  on  Ijejond  the  verge  ^f 
civilization,  and  set  down  in  the  midst  of  wild  beasts,  and  then  l)ut 
recently  hostile  Indian  tribes.  How  diifereut  is  now  the  spirit  and 
feeling  of  the  age  ?  Then,  there  had  been  brooding  over  New  Eng- 
land the  incubus  of  foreign  dominion,  binding,  fettering  enterprise, 
and  confuiing  it  to  nari-ow,  sterile  and  unpropitious  bounds ;  until 
when  the  fetters  were  shaken  off,  it  seemed  rashness  to  venture 
upon  the  extension  of  settlement  and  civilization  even  to  this  fair 
region,  where  all  would  seem  to  have  been  so  inviting  and  promis- 
ing. Now,  under  the  blessings,  the  stimulus,  the  release  from 
foreign  thraldom,  of  something  over  half  a  century,  our  young  men 
make  a  hasty  preparation,  and  are  off  over  a  wide  ocean  track,  foun- 
ding villages  and  cities  on  the  Pacific  coast,  in  the  interior,  and  fol- 
lowing up,  up,  the  dark  ravines  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  are  making 
their  camps  upon  its  slope  and  its  summit ;  and  in  fond  kindred 
circles  at  home,  there  is  less  concern  for  them  than  there  was  for 
the  young  adventurers  who  pushed  out  from  New  England  to  settle 
in  the  Genesee  country. 

An  active  correspondence  commenced  between  James  and  his 
New  England  friends  soon  after  their  departure  from  Durham. 
In  a  letter  to  his  brother,  John  N.  Wadsworth,  dated  at  Albany,  he 
says  :  —  "  We  have  secured  a  boat  and  pilot,  forage  is  pretty  scarce, 
but  our  expenses  do  not  exceed  our  expectations.  We  have  now 
arrived  where  Genesee  is  much  talked  of,  and  all  accounts  confirm 
us  in  our  choice.  All  hands  are  in  good  health  and  fine  spirits ;  lay 
aside  all  anxiety  for  us.  We  expect  many  difficulties  but  are  fast 
in  the  belief  that  perseverance  will  surmount  them.  There  hn^ 
arrived  this  day,  two  vessels  from  Rhode  Island.  One  has  28  and 
the  other  30  passengers,  bound  full  speed  for  the  Genesee  country. 
The  migrations  to  the  westward  are  almost  beyond  belief.  Gin's 
(the  colored  woman,)  courage  rather  increases,  as  many  of  her 
'^olnv  are  froiufr  to  the  Genesee."*     A  tender  epistle  to  James,  in  no 


331' 


PHELPS    AM)    GOUIIAm's    PUUCIIASK, 


aiasculine  han.I,  diito.l  at  New  Haven,  imayines  that  at  some  Indian 
war  dance,  his  scalp  may  be  one  of  the  trophies  "  that  will  daiurje 
Irom  the  belt  of  a  Seneca  brave.  "  She  ad<ls,  that  "  nothing  short 
of  niakinjr  a  fortune  could  induce  you  to  reside  amongst  an  uiicivill 
ized  people,  exposed  to  the  savages  of  the  wilderness.  "  Samuel 
Street,  ot  Chippewa,  C.  \V.,  writes  a  note  from  CanandaJcnia,  on  a 
small  strip  ot  paper,  asking  Mr.  Wadsworth  to  excuse  it  "as  paper 
IS  very  scarce  hei:e.  "  John  15.  Van  Epps  writes  from  Schenectady 
that  "  leter  and  Gerritt  Ryckman  would  not  take  up  the  four  bar- 
rclsof  rum  to  Canaudnigua.  under  84  per  barrel;  and  to  be  paid 
likewise  tor  riding  the  barrels  over  the  carrying  place.  " 

As  early  as  Seplember,  17U0,  the  progress  ol'  improvement  was 
arrested  :  —  William  and  all  of  his  hired  hands  had  the  fever  and 
ague,  the  wench  Jenny  being  the  only  well  one  among  them  JJis- 
heartened  by  disease,  the  hired  men  returned  to "  Connecticut, 
where  they  were  soon  tbllowed  by  James,  leaving  William  and 
the  negro  woman,  to  winter  in  the  shantee  and  take  care  of 'the 
stock. 

James  Wadsworth  started  from  Durham,  in  April  1791  •  but  was 
delayed  in  New  York  by  the  sprouting  of  the  ague,  the  seeds  of 
which  had  been  sown  the  fall  previous.  He  arrived  however  at 
"Big  Tree  "  in  June,   and  writes  back  to  his  uncle  James  thai' lie 


ox-cnn,  outline  out  r„a,l.  and  nu,Vins.  "a  n tht^T  "  ^|"  ,^::^  «;™ohn.es  ,„  ti.o 
Hist  tljat  tiK.  ex|,c.,l.tio„    ^va.s  a  w,Ll  a,ul  1  >.  i;    un^a  d^    f^^^  "'." 

would  bo  U.t  t.,  ,,.  back  to  '■  Old  Durha,„  "  aild  ^'o  11  uj^a'a  bad  gb."'""'  ^'"^ '' 

Revolution,  ^v..  n  u,on,borot  ,l,e  Co;,;!,''  ^  i  ,^  ^ss",  w^r";.  ;""  '"  "" 
nent  iiu-n  oj  ^c■w  E nn-land.  Ir  wn,;!.|  set'o,  tint  •.IWtl  ,! ,  I  <  ,  '.  '"'  '"■'""'" 
U.n,  if  not  tbe  ,uanl,.n,  .ho  kind  u..n,:;.':;,:.t;:  ^.i  ^  ..'Z''^'':'"''' 

fi  rhis  incniorv  is  ilw  natura   iinind^o  uium  ih.. „  ..i    V  i  •  '"■ '"  l""  ^V'--     lu-vurciico 

had  d..part«l  fi.r  the  Gcnos,  ."S-v  ^HislSw^/T '''u''^'", *'"'""  ='"'■'•  ^'""^ 
ono.  re  .loto  ^vith  advi...  and  ad.no  ,  ^.n  'ilv  ^  ",  ti  h".  H  7'  '''''  ■"" '^  ^*""f 
instructions  as  to  tlio  dutirs  and  imrMiitso f    i l  *       ',  '   ''Uio  is  soninuml,  and 

the  nc,,]K.ws  ;dl  fhccurront  noVs  I  /,  •  "j  -f  t  ";  ""k'  I'"^^]^,,'"  ■^"'■V'  l'.^'  ^^'^-.s 
pa,.ors  or  mails,  (as  thov  roallv  ^veIv  ^  •!,  I  .'o?' -,    ,     i  ••"'"'  *'"'  ''''"''^'  "'  "^'"■''- 

yol,  of  the  in,,H;Aancc  .^^  "    Ss"  ,  d   •"  I     ^  ^n  t  in  I'n'u^  ^  '"'"'  """'"'^ 

obsm-alion  of  the  SaM.nli ;  of  jiwiicc  i"    ■  „  ;, ,  ' ''  '"^'^  •^^.''tl'^"'^"'  •  "i  '^  I-'opcr 

and  of  inviolably  Hupponini^  J'  -  c ml  '  V,  j  ^^  ^'^^l^i  ^l"-'''^''!;,  ^^.th  the  Ind.ans; 
Indians.  WhatVver  nisbamlrv  ^4?mlVVt  ,',/',  ".'"' '?;"'"'  "^''^''''"'""i? 
other  letter,  he  strikes  off  npo,  f  vU  „e  v  li^  Tl  ^r:'!?;  ^  •  '^''  "^''""  '"  '"" 
topics  an,on!,M,urpolitician,sand  ^Jml  C^;;^,.]ilJTZT'''  '"  f''""'^'' ."'■'•  l''« 
are  nun.h  .h,.  order  of  .he  dav  tluTe^'lt  u1  ^  ^^"".^^Inrd  a^  If  H  "'  "'^'^^"'^""'^i"". 
pn;pe,.ly  appli.,  i„  ...e  i,,siances.     K.p.ll^s^v;^  tlil^iin'^'hc  ,  'i;  ;;rj|;ir^;;^  ^^ 


I'nELPH   AXD    GORTIAM3  PUI!CJTA?«E. 


333 


foiuhl  '•brother  Bill  well ;  and  by  ])ersin'eriiig  indiistiylic  h:\s  much 
iiiiprnvo<l  the  place,  and  given  our  settlciiieiit  a  very  dilll'ieut  and 
hiLrhly  pleasing  aspect.  We  have  an  excellent  enclosed  pasture 
within  eight  rods  of  our  house,  and  please  ourselves  with  the  pros- 
pect of  soon  enjoying  most  of  the  conveniences  of  settlements  of 
several  years  standing.  We  have  tiie  pn)S(»ect  througiiout  the 
country  of  ;i  most  extraordinary  crop  of  wheat ;  ours  far  exceeds 
our  expectations,  and  corn  promises  00  or  70  bushels  to  the  acre. 
Our  flats  bespeak  a  great  quantity  of  hay,(\vil(l  grass.)  Respecting 
the  Indians,  we  are  so  far  from  dreading  the  Six  Nations  (our  neigh- 
bors) that  we  consider  them  no  inconsiderable  security.  Thev 
have  given  us  the  most  satisfactory  proof  of  their  friendsliip.  We 
shall  not  be  troubled  by  the  southern  Indians.  I  am  happy  to  say 
that  on  second  view  of  the  Genesee  country,  I  am  confirmed  in  my 
favorable  opinion  of  it.  We  have  received  a  great  increase  of  in- 
habitants the  winter  past.  Four  barns  were  raised  last  week  in 
Canandaigua,  within  a  half  mile  distance.  Ontario,  from  a  dreaiy 
wildiM-ness  begins  to  put  on  the  appearance  of  a  populated  country.  " 
In  a  letter  to  his  uncle  James,  dated  in  August,  same  year,  he 
says:  —  "  The  Indians  have  returned  from  the  treaty(Pickering's  at 
Newtown,)  highly  pleased.  The  inhabitants  now  do  not  even  think 
of  danger  from  the  Six  Nations ;  although  fears  are  entertained 
that  the  southern  Indians  will  attack  the  Six  Nations.  " 

In  1791,  Oliver  Phelps,  First  Judge  of  Ontario  county  admits 
James  Wadsworth  to  practice  as  attorney  and  counsellor  "  to  enable 
persons  to  sue  out  writs  and  bring  actions,  which  at  the  present, 
for  want  of  attornies,  it  is  impossible  to  do. " 

The  Messrs.  Wadsworths'  from  year  to  year,  extended  their  far- 
ming operations,  bringing  the  broad  sweep  of  flats  that  they  pos- 
sessed, under  cultivation,  and  stocking  it  with  cattle.  There  beincr 
no  access  to  markets  for  wheat,  they  raised  but  little,  but  were  early 
large  producers  of  corn.  Their  cattle  went  to  the  Philadelphia 
and  JJaltimore  mru-kets  principally ;  some  were  sold  to  new  settlers, 
and  some  driven  to  Fort  Niagara  and  Canada.  Independent  of 
their  cultivated  fields,  the  uplands  and  flats  in  summer,  and  the 
rushes  that  grew  in  abundance  upon  the  flats,  in  winter,  enabled 
them  to  increase  their  cattle  to  any  desired  extent.  The  present 
town  of  Rush,  upon  its  flats  had  extensive  meadows  of  rushes,  upon 
which  tlieir  cattle  were  herded  for  several  of  the  early  winters. 


I 


I 


1^' 


,1 

\ 
i 

1 1  ii 

IN 
I  i 


II  ! 

'    I 


834 


PHELP8    AND  GOKHA.Al's    PUKCIIASE. 


They  at  one  period  had  an  extensive  dairy.  Tiie  cultivation  of 
hemp  engaged  their  attention  in  an  early  day,  and  along  in  1800, 
and  a  few  succi  vding  years,  they  were  large  cultivators  of  it,  with 
others  upon  the  river.  They  nuinufactured  much  of  it  into  ropes, 
for  which  they  found  a  market  la  Albany  and  New  York.  In  com- 
mon with  others  in  their  neighborhood,  they  commenced  the  culti- 
vation of  tobacco ;  but  that  business  fell  pretty  much  into  the  hands 
of  a  company,  who  came  on  from  Long  Meadow,  in  Connecticut, 
rented  flats  of  them,  and  cultivated  for  a  few  years  largely.  They 
cured  it  and  put  it  \i\  for  market  alter  the  Virginia  fashion.  The 
breeding  of  mules  fo.  the  Baltimore  market,  was  a  considerable 
business  with  them  in  early  years.  In  later  years  they  turned  their 
attention  to  sheep,  nnd  prosecuted  wool  growing  to  an  extent  that 
hns  never  been  exceeded  in  the  United  States.  In  some  observa- 
tions of  Professor  Rcnwick,  they  are  ranked  with  Gen.  Wade  Ilam})- 
ton,  of  S.  Carolina,  in  reJerence  to  the  magnitude  of  their  opera- 
tions, at  the  "head  of  agricultural  pursuits  in  the  United  States." 

While  the  inmiediate  care  of  all  this  chiefly  devolved  upon  Wil- 
ham  Wads'.vorth,  James  iiarticipated  in  it  by  a  general  supervis- 
ion,  the  purchase  and  sale  of  stock  in  distant  markets,  the  procuring 
ot  improved  breeds  of  cattle  and  sheep,  and  a  scientific  investiga*^ 
tion  of  all  matters  of  practical  improvement  in  agriculture. 

T^rom  their  first  coming  into  the  country,  they  were  con,^    atly 
extending  their  farming  operations,  and  adding  to  their  possessions. 
In  early  years  they  were   materially  aided  in  all  this,  by  the  use  of 
the  capital  of  their  friends  in  New  England ;  especially  that  of 
their  relative.  Col.  .Teremiah  Wadsworth;  but  their  extensive  and 
judiciously  conducted   farming,  soon  began  to  yield   them  large 
profits,  winch  added  to  the  commissions  that  James  realized  upon 
various   land  agencies,  in  the  aggregate,  of  vast  magnitude,  and  of 
profits  of  purchase  and  sale  of  wild  lands  upon  his  own  account 
enabled  them  to  add  farm  to  farm,  and  tract  to  tract,  until  they  were 
ranked  among  the  largest  land  holders  in  the  United  States;  and 
m  i-eference  to  present  and  prospective  value  of  their  possessions, 
pi-obably  the  largest.     Certainly  no  others  owned  and  managed  so 
many  cultivated  acres. 


Ini  «  Y«al  ^...:us  ..pj.h.  ,1  moHl  of  the  «iuuil  JcaW.  ^s..i  oi  bun.ca  Luku, 


nlo  pliiL's,  .'Hid 


rilELrS    AXD    GOmiA^MS    PURCHASE. 


335 


,'liu1 


In  February,  1790,  James  Wadsvvorth  sailed  lor  Europe.  He 
went  upon  his  own  account,  upon  tiiat  of  joint  partners  with  him  in 
land  operations,  and  other  km^e  land  holdeis  in  the  United  States. 
And  here  it  is  .not  out  of  fjUice  to  remark,  that  land  s})eculations  had 
beconia  rife  very  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  Large 
quantities  of  wild  lands  were  tlu'own  into  market  by  the  dili'erent 
States,  pre-emption  rights  weie  obtained.  Indian  cessions  followed, 
and  very  soon  most  of  the  available  capital  and  credit  of  the  whole 
country  was  used  in  the  i)urchase  of  lands.  They  rose  rajjidly  in 
value,  fortunes  were  made,  but  as  we  have  seen  in  later  years,  a 
crash  followed,  ruin  and  bankruptcy  overtook,  a  large  and  prominent 
class  of  the  operators.  No  matter  how  low  they  had  purchasetl 
their  lands ;  if  they  were  in  debt  for  them,  sale,  settlement  and  nn- 
provement,  would  fall  behind  the  pay  days  of  purchase  n)oney,  and 
wide  tracts  of  uncultivated  wilderness  was  a  poor  resource  for  taking 
care  of  jn'otested  bills,  and  threatened  foreclosures.  Speculators  had 
over  bought,  even  with  the  ([uantity  of  wild  lands  then  marketable, 
and  when  other  wide  regions  in  the  north-west  territory  were  thrown 
into  market,  and  brought  into  competition,  embarrassments  were  en- 
hanced. In  '95,  '6,  this  untoward  state  of  things  had  arrived  at  its 
culminating  point ;  an  exigency  existed  which  created  the  alterna- 
tives of  ruin  to  nearly  all  who  had  ventured  in  large  land  specula- 
tions, and  the  enlisting  of  cai)ital  in  Europe. 

In  such  a  crisis,  a  distinct  realization  of  which,  can  only  be  liad 
by  a  general  review  of  the  history  of  that  period,  Mr.  Wadsworth 
was  selected  as  an  agent  to  go  to  Eurojie,  and  make  sales  of  lands  to 
foreign  capitalists.  It  was  ce-rtainly  no  sniall  compliment  to  the  bus- 
siness  reputation  and  character  of  one  who  had  gone  out  in  his  youth 
and  acquired  his  recommendations  in  the  back  woods,  to  be  thus 
singled  out  from  among  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  United 
States,  whose  interest,  with  his  own,  he  was  to  proinote.  His  visit 
l(.)  Europe,  was  at  the  suggestion,  and  attended  by  the  co-operation, 
of  Uobert  Morris,  Thomas  Morris,  Governeur  Morris,  Aaron  Burr, 
Charles  Williamson,  De  Witt  Clinton,  Robert  Troup,  Oliver  Phelps. 
Nicholson  and  Greenleaf,  Col.  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  of  Hartford, 
and  other  prominent  men  of  New  England  and  Pennsylvania.  His 
mission  was  undertaken  under  adverse-circumstances  :  —  What  was 
understood  in  Eurojie  to  have  been  the  highly  successful  ventures  of 
the  London'associutes,  and  the  ilolland  Company  of  Amslerdaui,  in 


nnr. 


pni'irrs  and  ciouiiam'm   pni:(!irAMT<:. 


IiiikI.;  ill  flii;  i(Mri,,ti.  Ii;i(|   hail  (Iin  (>li;«ct.  to  sfiiimlafc  ofluTs.  and  at 
firsi,  lo  cnvitc  a,   stioii;^  ilisiiositinn  lor    Aiiiciicaii  land  invcsdncnts. 
hund  a-rciils  liiid  (locked  lo  iMiropc,  and  it  is  not  at  all  stran-c  tliat 
iinp(V'ili..ns  had  liccii  piacliccd.  and  thai   many  liad  lu-cn.  (to  ns<<  :i 
in.'dcrn    l<-nii,)   viclinii/rd.     Tlic   reader  need  only  Ik!  told,  (liat  !i 
system  of  .<|.(-raiions  had  been  carried  on,  not  nnlik<'  tlui   inappinj^ 
•'>iid  |il:illiii;r  upon  papiM-,   uliicli   prevailed  in  lN;t({,  '7.      Mr.  W.ads- 
woith   iv.aclie.l   l':urop(«  .at    ;i  p,>riod   of  ivaetioii,  and  yet.  with  llii> 
f<vstimonials  he  rariied  with  him,  addinl  to  the  conlidenoe  he  inspired 
hy  his  di.niiiy  of  d,>p()rtment  .and  nianil'est  in(ei.rrity  of  purpose,  hy 
!i  slow  process,  his  mission  was  m.ainly  siiccrssliil.      II(.  visited,  .anil 
resided  t(«mporaily  in  London,  I'aris  and  An.sterdam.    His  Idlers  of 
iiilrodiiction.comiii.-;  fromhie;!!  soiirci-s  in  this  country,  ,i;ave  him  no- 
r(>ss  to  the  society  of  prominent  fiiianci.al  men  ol'thal  period,  .and  inci- 
dentally to  that  ol'some  (Miiinent  statesmen  and  scholars.     Favored  ;it 
<Mic.'   I.y  the  eountenanee  .and  hiendship  of  Sir  Wm.  l»ulten(>y  and 
AFr.  folipdioun.  and  in  Amsterdiim,  with  that  of  the  memhers  of  the 
IloI!,and  (\)mpany,  aiiK.n.^  whom  was  on(>  (<ininent  statesman,  and 
several    who  ornipied  a  hi<di  iiosition    .as  bankers,  the  youDir  liack- 
woodsman.  from   then  youn.r  America,  w^as  (Miahled    t.)  plaee  him- 
solf  u|>,m  a  iavorahle  lootinjr.  not  only  with  reCeivnce  to  the  immo- 
diate  ohiects  of  his  mission,  hut  with  nd'erenee  to  those  advanin'^-es 
iHM'iMvd  (  y  foiviim  (rav.d  and  r.>sidence.     I  Je  remained  abroad  until 
the  last   of  \ovember.  17!)S.      In   all   this  time,  he  elllvted   a   larw 
muonnt  of  sales,  and  to  this  mission  is  to  be  attributed  many  of  the 
iorei-n  proprietorships  in  this  re-ion.   as  well  as  in  oth(<r  portions  of 
the    Tnited   States.     Some  brief  extracts  from  his  corrospon.lence 
whil,«  abroad.   po,ss.>ss  not  only   local,  but  i^eueral   hist.irioni    inter- 
est,    imd   are  contained    in   a   note  .•utached.     While    in   London 
Air.   Wadsworth  obtained  a  commission  agency  from  Sir  William 
rnlteney,    for  tho    sale  o['   lands   ujion    the   I\rill    Tract    west  of 
tienesee  H Ivor,  ombraciiur  what  is  now  (Vdcn,  Parma,  Ki^,!,  {1,i|i 
;ind  a  part  of  (Greece  and    Wheatland,  from   William  Sixr.."f  Am- 
sterdam, for  the  sale  o(  the   township,  now   Ucnnetla,  and   from 
tethers,  the   agency  for  the  sale  of  other  tracts.     And   a.Med   fall 
this,  was  the  ns^ency  for  the  s.ale  o(  lands  in  the  Cene.see  country 
belonpni^to.lerciniah   Wadsworth  and.  other  New  England  land*- 
holders.     The  duties  thus  as.sumed.  loszether  with  the  general  man- 
au'onient  o(  what   then,  constituted.  t!ie  Wadsworth  estate,  of  farms 


PITELl'H   A,\I)  (lOKIfAMS   riTUOHARE. 


837 


rind  wild  Innds,  throw  niton  his  hmids  an  arnonnt dI'  I)usin('ss  seldom 
dcvnlvitif^  upon  one  individual,  aiid  rc(iuirin'^r  nil  his  tirno  and  cner- 
<j;i('s.  Ho  must  Ix^  rctrardod  as  the  patroon  of  now  scttlotnents  in 
his  own  nci^hl)orli(M»d,  iti  a  largo  portion  <)\'  llio  present  county  of 
Monroe,  atid  in  several  other  localities.  His  European  a'^encies 
wore  upon  terms  that  ;!;uve  him  an  interest  in  the  sale  and  settlement 
of  wild  lands,  in  soino  instances  more  than  i'.(\\v,i\  to  that  of  the  jiro- 
prietors,  and  he  was  indefati_a;aJ)Ie  in  promotiiiy;  sales.  The  fine  re- 
f^ionscominj^  under  hissu[)ervision,  uid)roken  by  sales  or  settlement, 
prineipally  west  of  the  (Jenesoc;  river;  were  put  in  m;irket,  and 
(.'oinir  to  New  I'iiiLdand,  he  [trosecuted  ti[)on  a.  lar^c^  scialc,  a  system 
that  Mr.  I'helps  had  he.i!;an,  of  exchanivinir  wild  lands  for  farms, " 
whcM  th(!  occupants  would  Ixicome  residents.  lie  thus  secured  a 
jfood  class  of  now  settlers,  and  no  where  in  the  whole  historv  of  new 
settlements  in  thiscotmtr}',  have  they  been  more  prosperous,  abating 
such  dr;iwl)acks  as  were  beyond  his  control,  than  those  were  of 
which  h(^  may  be  regarded  thi>  founder.  And  while  he  was  thus 
the.  instrument,  eventually,  to  promote  the  prosi)erity  of  others,  he 
was  laying  the  foundation,  or  accumulating,  the.  largo  estate  which 
his  family  now  ]>ossess.  The  profits  oi  his  agencies  were  large 
ones,  and   wore  invested  in   wild  lands   and    farms.     These   beiiK^ 

n 

g  niM-ally  retained  and  well  managed,  the  ri.se  in  value  chielly  helped 


NdTK.  —  l''r(im  lidiiihm,  .hiiic, '!M;.  ,F.  W.  writcw  to  OIiiirloM  Wilkes,*  lli:it  lio  wns 
Ujioii  ilii'  iHiinI  111'  ('IJ'rcliii;,'  l:irLCc  siilcH  oi  hiiid,  "luit  all  had  hccii  IViislralcrl  l>v  oppo- 
Hilidi'.  in  llic  II.  (it  Kvp,  1.1  Jay's Ircaly."  "'I'lii'  t'car  of  sciiucslralinii  and  ii.iill«cati(iii 
lias  (ir.sMoycd  .all  cdnlidcnrd  willi  cap'ilalislH  in  Kni^larKl.  lii'sidcs  tlicy  l'c;:r  llic  cllert 
(if  iMvni'h  inlluciu'c  in  llic  riiilcd  yialcs."  "  Mr.  Vdniit,^  ji  lai;;c  Kasl  India  cap- 
ilalist,  l<i  whoni  I  was  froin:,'  to  s<'ll  Itd.OOl)  acres  <if  land  at  liait' a  f;iiin(  a  per  acre, 
backs  (lilt  in  c(inKci|iience  of  news  iVimi  America."  J.  W.  (o  'I'lidiiias  .Mdnis,  .May' 
'HO,  sjiys; — "  I  am  prevetiled  from  Tnalcin;;  sales  liy  (lie  |irdceedinL''K  df  II.  of  Kepre- 
penlatives."  J.  W.  lo  Oiarlcs  Wilkes,  ■linu'.  '!t(i :  — '"I'liiiitrs  are  lookiiii,' lictler  ;  neWH 
lias  l.een  received  llial  ('on^re.-is  liave  passed  llie  necessary  laws  to  carrv  llie  Irealy  into 
eiVecl  ;  contidence  in  American  inve.stmcnls  are  reviving'."  J.  W.  to  Henj.  West,  (llio 
celelirated  p.'Mnter.)  — "  lie  kiml  enonirli  to  use  yo'ir  inlliience  in  i|nieliiii..;  alarm  and 
L'etliiur  lip  Cdnliilence  in  London.  I  liave  no  diiiilil  llial  tin;  L'niled  Slates  will  lie  as 
liappy,  and  their  irdvernment  as  pcrniaTienl,  as  is  ailowalile  to  men,  anil  human  insli- 
luliniisinthe  world."  A  cdrn-pdndenco  lietween  .Mr.  Wadswiirth  and  Aanm  linrr 
was  ki'iit  lip  dnrim';  the  absence  of  the  fdrnier;  the  Icller.sof  Mr.  liinr,  would  some- 
limn.-  lie  upon  mailer,'*  df  Inisine.ss,  Sdmetimes  n|idn  iiolilics,  which  suhject  Wdidd  snd- 
Jenly  he  arrested  hy  his  faviirile  theme,  yossip  upon  conrtship  and  niarriai;e.  Some 
pdrlioHH  of  his  letters  are  dhscnred  liy  the  use  df  his  ci])hers.  A.  1>.  to  .1.  W.,  Xov. 
17!li;  :  —  "1  refer  yon  to  the  !,'a/.ettes  fo'r  the  name  of  the  electors,  and  the  parti'culara 
Vi'l  known  respectiii!.;'  the  elfdion  ;  .1  I  think  will  he  15;  1,  ha.s,  I  think  Ud  chance  ; 
1')  and  I  will  run  ^'cnerally  to!,'ether,  4mt  the  latter  will  not  succeed  liy  rea.son  of 
bomr  .iisaU'ection  in  M ; —  Hi,  U),  Wl  been  at  home,  i;{  would  have  lieen"  the  man  iiH 

*  .\.i  rmineiit  early  inerchant  of  New  York  ;  a  namesake  and  family  cdiinevion  of 
Charii.-  W  dkos,  of  Londiui. 


I 


338 


rnELPs  AXD  goriiam's  purchase. 


to  make  the  lagest  estate,  perhaps,  that  has  ever  heen  accimiulateii 
in  the  United  States,  by  the  same  process. 

But  lul  no  one,  while  viewing  tlie  broad  domains  of  which  he 
died  possessed,  suppose  tiiat  they  came  to  hiia  in  the  absence  of  in- 
dustry, economy,  good  management,  or  of  long  vears  of   severe 
trial  and  embarrassments.     Dependent,  chidly,  in' his  early  enter- 
prises, upon  the  capital  of  others,  he  carried  along  through  an  ex- 
tended period  of  depre.-sion,  a  slow  growth  of  the  country,  a  war  that 
bore  heavily  upon  this  local  region  — a  large  debt,  and  all  the  trials 
and  vexations  which  it  carrits  in  its  train.*     It  was  not  until  the 
war  of  1812  made  a  good  market  for  his  produce,  that  lie  began  to 
•be  relieved  from  embarrassment ;  his  large  clip  of  wool,  his  cattle, 
grain,  and  the  produce  from  his  duiiy,  enabled  him  to  rapidly  di- 
minish his  indebtedness  ;  then  followed  a  few  years  of  depression  ; 
then  came  that  great  measure  of  deliverance,  and  source  of  pros- 
perity to  all  this  region,  the  Erie  Canal ;  and  participating  largely,  as 
his  possessions  enabled  him  to  do,  in  the  rapid  advance  in  the  value 
of  real  estate,  in  the  facilities  for  market  that  it  at  once  atlbrded 
freedom  from  debt,  unincumbered  wealth  that  was  soon  rated  "by 
milHons,  was  the  reward  of  his  early  wilderness  advent,  and  over 
half  a  century  of  industry  and  enterprise. 

In  a  history  of  pioneer  settlement,  such  as  this  is  intended  to  be, 
one  who  bore  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  it,  must  necessarily  occupy 
a  considerable  space,  and  yet  one  entirely  inadeciuate  to  the  task  of 
detailing  his  immediate  and  intimate  connection  with  the  'growth 


7011  will  JO  c.,nvino,..,l  ^v  uMi  y„>,  shall  roturn  hcmo.  Tpon  il,o  wlu.lo  I  am  quite  sat- 
ishcH  .v.ththe..lat.>.,t  t  hm.^s."  "Kxcpt  the  lilllo  h.i-  ahvadv  a.-kn-n  lo"' I  an  1 
vluch  appeai-od  „  have  bL..ii  sent  by  ,ny  bo.,ksellei-8,  pr„bably  under  v.,ur  onl ts  I 
have  m,t  receive.l  a  .,nok  or  a  pan.phh.t  iVun,  you  sin,'e  your  >esi,|,.nee  „broa,l."  '  1 
h,ne  t  horn  the  very  best  authority  that  your  triend  Liuklaen  i.s  soon  to  In.  luarried 
o  a  .lau,,']>  er   ol  Major  L..  yard,    a   prclly  and    aj4re..able   ^dii     Not  a  ba.l  ,  ateh  I 

S^hu  s  A  ;  't  W  ■•;  P'v^^'iit  u.d.^putably  at  llie  head  of  n,y  list.  Under  otir. 
u  dates  A.  B  to  J.  A\  .  --"J  uive  beeiMjiule  a  rerluse  and  a  fanner  this  summer; 
lw\e  not  .een  two  miles  troni  home  smee  my  r.^linn  Inmi  I'hilndelphia;  am  !,ot  iiiar- 
ned  nor  have  made  any  approaches  to  it,  though  .shall  not  probahlv  y.s,  another  shx 
l.H  ,  hs  sinn.le.  though  no  partu.dar  objee,  has  y<.t  engnged  'mv  attwuion.  Cnd  ble  s 
nnd  piosper  you  '  t  is  hoped  by  some,  feined  by  others,  .■in'd   b,.lieved  bv  all,  tliat 

he  ]  resident  will  deelme  being  a  .■andidate  at  the  next  eh-etiou.  Tiie  ea.ididatc.s  will 
be  burw-k,  -1  i,  .1  and  I.  Ihe  ev.nl  seems  pretty  doubttul.  I  have  been  told  (this 
d.iy,)  and  ully  behove  it,  that  ^'D  .-uul  21  «  ere  i-ublielv  married  a  lew  daysa-o.  Adieu 
oiK'o  more,"  »  ..  Jo-    j»>"iu 

_*  In  a  letter  to  a  friend  after  he  liad  had  an  experieiue  of  fifteen  vears  hesjivs'— 
It  IS  slow  realizing  from  new  hinds.     J  will  never  advise  iinotlier  friend  'to  invest  in 
tlK'in,     .Men  genoridly  h.avt!  not  the  i-e.iuisitepatieiK'c  for  siiecuiaang  in  tliein  "' 


PIIELPS  AND   GOEHAM  S   PUKCIIASE. 


339 


and  prosperity  of  this  region.  His  biography  alone,  if  it  followed 
him  in  all  his  relations  to  our  local  region,  would  be  almost  its  early 
history.  To  say  that  his  was  a  useful  life,  would  be  but  a  natural 
deduction  from  his  early  advent,  and  his  leading  participation  in 
laying  the  foundation  of  that  unexampled  prosperity,  which  now 
exists  in  a  region  that  he  entered,  the  wheels  of  his  cart,  and  shoes 
of  his  horse,  making  the  first  impress  of  civilization  upon  its  soil ! 
The  abatement,  if  any,  from  his  life  of  usefulness,  would  be  the 
amount  of  territory  he  encompassed,  and  held  on  to  with  a  tenacity, 
almost  amounting  to  dotage,  or  an  inordinate  desire  to  possess  ex- 
tended fields  and  forests.  This  ambition  was  first  excited  when  a 
young  adventurer,  on  his  way  to  IMontreal,  in  company  with  John 
Jacob  Astor,  to  seek  employment  as  a  school  teacher,  he  saw  an 
extensive  and  beautiful  estate,  in  one  of  the  valleys  of  Vermont ; 
and  traveling  in  Europe,  a  few  years  afterwards,  making  a  sojourn, 
occasionally,  at  the  hospitable  seats  of  immense  land  proprietors,  he 
seems  to  have  been  confirmed  in  his  desire  for  a  similar  position, 
and  to  have  steadily  pursued  his  object  in  after  life.  Great  landed 
estates  in  a  country  like  ours,  are  a  sore  evil ;  the  effects,  in  various 
ways,  bearing  heavily  and  vexatiously  upon  their  immediate 
neigliborhoods.  It  is  no  "  vote  yourself  a  fiu'm"  spirit,  no  sympathy 
in  common  with  agrarianism,  that  dictates  the  exjiression  of  a  hope, 
that  b)'  all  legal  means,  the  evil  may  be  abated.  It  would  have 
been  far  better  for  the  beautiful  valley,  where  Mr.  Wads  worth  cast 
his  lot  in  early  life,  and  with  which  he  became  so  intimately  blen- 
ded, if  his  ambition  for  large  possessions  had  been  more  moderate; 
but,  "  may  I  not  do  as  I  will  with  mine  own?  '"  is  an  interrogation 
he  might  well  have  opposed  to  those  who  cavilled  at  his  monopol}- 
of  the  soil.* 


*  And  this  rcniiiiils  II11'  aiilhur  (if  an  aiu'Cildtu  of  iiii  carlv  and  vi'iioratt'd  coteinpora- 
ry  of  Ml'.  Wadswoith,  the  late  Ani,'ustuH  I'orter.  Tiie  ])(isst'ssiou  in  liis  family  of  "  Goat 
Island."  and  all  the  most  dcsii'atik'  t;-rounds  011  tho  Anicricau  side,  at  Nia^'ara  Falls, 
and  the  tcnarity  with  which  tlioy  were  held,  when  iniiJi-ovcmcuts  were  s(Uii!:ht  to 
he  made,  had  oeeasioned  nn  I'li  of  mnrmmint;  and  faidt  findini;;,  in  which  the  au- 
thor, as  the  editor  of  a  iiajier  in  tjiesanie  eonnly,  had  ]iailu'i]iated,  oeeasionally  !,'ivin,i» 
pome  tln-nstsat  what  nsed  to  lie  called  the  "  nionopuly."  While enn-a!i;ed  in  a  |ireccding 
l.isitirieal  worli,  tlie  old  f,'eiitlenian  had  kindlv  i,d\en  liini  tlu^  henelit  of  days  and 
niu'lits  of  ounversatiou  n])on  Iheeaily  iiistory  ol'  all  this  retjion  ;  his  peisoiial  narrative, 
that  lii'^ini  with  Ids  early  adventures  in  the  wilderuet^s,  his  early  years  spent  in  survey- 
or's canijis,  eneounterini;'  hardships  and  ])rivations;  his  at'ter  Ions  years  of  toil.  At 
the  close  of  tliis  intc^rview.  sulVerinir  under  I'oddy  inthnntics.  partly  consequent  ujion 
nil  this,  ho  observed  :  —  "Isow  you  have  luy  w'hule  history  ;  you  have  seeu  liow  I 


340 


m 


i 


PHELPS  AND  GORITAm's  PUECIIASE. 


At  an  early. period  —  almost  as  soon  as  the  farming  operations  of 
the  Wadsv^orths  were  fairly  commenced —James  Wadsworth  crave 
much  of  his  attention  to  agricultural  improvements.    He  may  be  said 
to  have  given  the  impetus,  in  this  state,  to  the  application  of  science, 
the  heeding  of  the  simple  teaching  of  nature,  the  elt/ntion  of  rural 
labor  from  mere  uninslructed  handicraft,  to  the  position  and  the  di^r. 
nity  It  has  been  rapidly  assuming.     He  had  cotemporaries,  co-opera- 
tors —  there  were  perhaps  those  before  him  in  the  state,  who  had 
labored  m  the  same  field  -  hut  he  had  entered  upon  the  work  with 
an  earnestness,  with  practical  views,  and  aided  with  his  pen  and 
his  purse,  effectual  measures,  that  helped  to  mark  a  new  era  in 
agricultural  improvements.     Practical  in  his  views  upon  all  sub- 
jects, his  theories  and  recommendations  occupied  the  mi.ldle  crround 
betvveen  a  judicious  and  healthy  reform  in  the  cultivation  "of  the 
earth,  and  stock  breeding,  and  the  extravagancies  of  mere  theorists. 
1  he  practicability  and  the  usefulness  of  a  thing  with  him  were  always 
allied.     Had  he  been  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  his  spirit  of  enter- 
prise  may  have  dictated  the  erection  of  a  saw  mill  upon  an  eminence, 
to  be  propelled  by  wind,  but  before  he  had  ventured  upon  the  ex- 
periment, he  would  have  seen  how  his  saw  logs  were  to  be  got  up 
the  steep  ascent. 

His,  was  a  mind  too  active  to  repose  upon  the  possession  of 
wealth,  or  fall  into  supineness  and  inactivity,  when  the  stimulus  of 
gain  had  in  a  measure  subsided.  It  reached  out  after  new  objects, 
when  old  ones  were  accomplished.  Education,  —  educat '  .n  of  the 
masses,  alHed  to  political  economy,  in  all  its  later  years,  became 
with  him,  if  not  a  hobby,  an  object  of  intense  interest.  He  was  not 
unmindful  of  the  higher  interests  of  religion,  but  even  those  he  would 
have  made  secondary  in  the  economy  of  life,  believing  that  educa- 
tion of  the  mind  was  the  broad  superstructure  upon  which  all  of 
spiritual  as  well  as  temporal  good  should  be  based.  As  the  possessor 
of  property,  he  urged  upon  the  wealthy  of  the  state,  by  stron.-  r,p. 
peals,  that  it  had  no  security  short  of  the  education  of  the  masre- , 
out  of  which  alone  wou'd  grow  a  respect  for  the  laws,  aii<I  vested 
rights.  He  was  the  patron  of  J.  Orville  Taylor,  in  his  first  move- 
ments ;  had  essays  upon  education,  upon  political  economy,  tracts, 


hav 

pr 


tmnly  no  c.mvc.,.ic.nt  ^vay  of  ineotrng  tlie  rebuke,  or  answering  the  interrroiat"  ly 


tllG 

ccr- 


P1IELP3   AND    GCPJIAMS   PUECHASE. 


341 


printed  and  distributed  through  the  state,  at  his  own  expense  ;  en- 
listed newspapers  in  tl\e  cause  of  education,  by  paying  tlieni  for 
setting  apart  a  space  for  its  discus^-ion;  aided  i-n  the  estabhshment 
of  the  District  School  Journal,  and  paid  salaries  to  public  lecturers, 
to  go  through  the  State,  and  arouse  public  attention  to  its  impor- 
tance. If  the  system  of  District  School  Libraries  did  not  originate 
with  him,  (as  there  are  some  reasons  to  suppose  it  did,)  it  had  the 
benefit  of  his  early  and  efficient  aid.  In  tne  way  of  agricultural 
improvement,  he  had  essays  printed  and  distributed,  and  was  an 
early  and  efficient  patron  of  Judge  Buel,  in  the  starting  of  the 
Cultivator,  at  Albany 

A  love  of  order,  system  and  regularity,  was  one  of  his  leading 
characteristics.  This  is  strikingly  exhibited  in  his  correspond- 
ence, and  the  careful  manner  in  which  it  was  preserved ;  and 
equally  so  in  the  written  instructions  to  his  agents.  His  office 
clerks  he  reminded  of  the  maxim  :  —  "Every  thing  in  its  place,  and 
a  place  fur  every  thing ;"  and  they  were  forbidden  to  hold  any  con- 
versations with  those  who  came  to  tlie  office  to  do  business,  on 
the  subject  of  party  politics,  but  instructed  to  interest  themselves, 
and  hold  conversations  "in  reference  to  schools,  and  the  means  of 
their  improvement."  His  out-door  clerk,  or  farm  agent,  was  in- 
structed to  "  frequently  visit  every  farm,  make  suggestions  to  ten- 
ants ;  see  how  they  manage  alfairs,  see  that  every  farm  has  growing 
upon  it  good  and  wholesome  fruit  ;.look  to  the  compost  heaps  and 
manure  ;  see  that  the  premises  are  made  conducive  to  health."  All 
short  comings,  negligencies,  and  slovenly,  or  bad  management,  you 
are  to  report  to  the  office.  Your  inquiries  should  be  :  —  "  Are  the 
gates  in  good  order  ?  Is  the  wood-pile  where  it  ought  to  be  ?  Are  the 
grounds  around  the  house  kept  in  a  neat  and  wholesome  manner  ? 
Are  the  sheds,  and  yard  fence  around  the  barn  in  a  good  state  of  re- 
pair ?  The  land  agent  should  make  suggestions  to  the  tenants  on 
the  leading  principles  of  good  husbandry,  with  frequent  reference 


Note. — Tn  a  letter  to  Mr.  Traup,  nl'tcr  lie  had  succoedod  to  the  PulU'iuiy  nguiicy,  in 
180,"),  Mr.  Wiulswin'tli  iirj^'cs  tlio  suttinji;  apart  of  laud  in  eacli  township  "  for  a  school 
house,  meeting:  hovu-^e,  gleljo,  and  pai-sonaj."'."  He  acidic  : — "  1  am  not  sujurslifioiLs,  but 
I  believe  in  Christianity;  lain  no  partwni,  lint  1  lielieve  in  the  piety  iif  patriot- 
is:-i  ;  and  amidst  the  atHu'tionsof  this  wayuard -worhl,  it  ajipears  lo  niethat  thesweot- 
est  ('(insolations  that  attend  advanced  life,  is  a  recollection  of  snb.staulial  lieneiits  con- 
ferred npon  our  country  of  haviiiL;  contributed  our  fidl  ndte  t(j  theimpiovement  and 
happiness  (if  our  felk'W  men  :  especially  t"  llmt  port-'H  of  them  whose  di  slinics, 'ire  in- 
lluenced  more  or  luHS  by  our  decisions,  and  by  iLubiluaUonn,  'whicli,  uudui  Froviduucc, 
w6are  jilaccd." 


342 


PHELPS  AND  GOrJIA;M's  PURCHASE. 


:     .» 
:ltl 


to  sound  mornls,  founded  on  the  sanction  of  religion  and  just 
reasoning;  and  also  the  unappreciable  importance  of  the  edu- 
cation of  youth;  and  of  a  vigilant  attention  to  the  state  of  com- 
mon  schools  in  the  lessees'  district.  Shade  trees  must  bo  about 
each  house.  From  a  look  or  two  about  the  garden  or  house,  you 
can  easily  ascertain  if  the  occupant  drinks  bitters  in  the  morning 
or  whiskey  with  his  dinner.  If  he  drinks  bitters,  vou  will  find  his 
garden  full  of  weeds." 

To  a  natural  love  of  rural  scenery,  skirted  and  dotted  with  forests 
and  shade  trees,had  been  added  observation  in  European  travel  where 
time  ha<l  enhanced  their  beauty  and  value.  In  England,  in  fact, 
he  had  learned  to  love  trees,  and  appreciate  the  importance  of  their 
preservation  ;  and  in  nothing  has  he  so  distinctly  left  traces  of  him- 
self, as  in  the  beautiful  woodland  scenery  and  magnificent  lV,rest 
trees,  so  much  admired,  in  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Genesee 
With  the  same  forecast  that  enabled  him  to  estimate  the  prospec- 
tive value  of  lands,  he  saw  far  ahead  what  this  whole  region  is  no^y 
beginning  to  realize,  the  evil  of  destroying  the  native  forests,  with- 
out planting  and  rearing  trees  for  future  practical  uses,  as  well  as 
ornament. 

The  personal  character  of  Mr.  Wadsworth  may  mostlv  be  infer- 
red  from  tliis  imperfect  sketch  of  him,  as  the  Pioneer  and  founder 
of  settlements.     yVlmost  his  entire  history  is  blended  with  this  local 
region  — its  early  settlement  and  progress;  though  he  took  a  deep 
interest  in  public  affairs,  it  was  in  the  retirement  of  private  life, 
from  which  he  would  seem  to  have  never  had  a  disposition  to  be' 
drawn  by  any  allurements  of  official  stations.     His  private  corres- 
pondence, the  ability  with  which  ho  discussed  various  subjects  of 
political  economy,  scientific  agriculture  and  education,  evince  a 
clear,  sound  judgment,  strengthened  by  judicious,  practical  read- 
ing; mdeed,  his  library,  like  all  the  appointments  of  his  farms    his 
stock,  his  dwelling,  and  his  garden,  is  chosen  with  a  strict  regard  to 
utility.    "  He  was,"  (says  a  surviving  cotemporary,  *  )  «  a  good  jud-^e 
ot  men  — .seldom  erred  in  his  estimation  of  them  — and  reiving  up- 
on his  judgment,  was  even  arbitrary  in  the  withholding  ancfbcstow- 
al  of  confidence.     He  had  not  the  elements  of  popularity ;  or  if  he 
had,  did  not  choose  to  make  them  available ;  usually  absorbed  in 
the  cares  of  business,  or  some  favorite  study,  he  was  reserved  in  his 


Cft.v,,, 


•■"i- 


PITELrs   AXD   GOKnA:\l's   PURCHASE.. 


343 


deportment,  and  liable  to  be  ro,a;nrded  as  austere  and  unsocial ;  but 
relaxing,  as  he  sometimes  would  —  freeing  his  mind  from  its  bur- 
dens,  he  would  exercise  fine  conversational  powers,  not  unmixed 
with  humor,  wit  and  gaiety." 

William  Wadsworth,  as  has  already  been  indicated,  was  the  prac- 
tical farmer,  and  has  little  of  history  disconnected  with  the  imme- 
diate supervision  of  large  farming  operations,  and  his  early  and 
prominent  position  in  the  local  military  organization.  At  the  battle 
of  Queenston,  after  the  wounding  of  Gen.  Solomon  Van  Rensselcar, 
the  immediate  command  devolved  upon  iiim,  and  he  acquitted  him- 
self  with  honor,  and  won  even  something  of  laurels,  upon  a  badly 
selected  and  generally  unfortunate  battle  field,  where  they  were 
scarce,  and  hard  to  acquire.*  He  was  a  bachelor,  and  a  bachelor's 
history  has  always  an  abrupt  termination.  lie  died  in  18r}3,  aged 
71  years.  His  property  which  had  been  mostly  held  in  common 
with  his  brother  James,  was  willed  to  his  children;  thus  leaving  the 
large  estate  unbroken. 

James  Wad"worth  died  at  his  residence  in  Geneseo,  in  June, 
1844,  aged  70  years ;  leaving  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  His 
eldest  daughter,  was  the  wife  of  Martin  Brimmer,  of  Boston,  at 
one  period  the  Mayor  of  that  city;  she  died  in  1834.  His  second 
daughter,  Elizabeth,  was  married  in  January,  of  the  present  yeai', 
in  Scotland,  to  Charles  Augustus  Murray,  second  son  of  the  late 
Earl  of  Dunmore,  and  a  nephew  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  ;  and 
now  resides  at  Cairo,  in  Egypt,  where  her  husband  is  the  diplomatic 
representative   of  the   British  Government.f      His  son,   William 


*  M:iiisSc;l(l,  oiiuof  tlio  hio^rriiphors  of  Gen.  Scott,  says  that  when  lie  had  crossed 
the  Xi;i[,'arn,  at  tlio  l)attlo  of  (^iicciistnii,  and  arrivod  iipfm  the  Tlri^lits,  he  prupnseil 
to  (ieii.  Wadsworth,  ins^teadof  tLssumiiig  tlie  chief  coiiiinaiid  to  Hiiiit  it  to  tlie  lemilur 
force;  to  which  the  brave  and  patriotic  Wadsworlii  replied:  — "  Xo,  you  know  best 
jirofessionally  what  oiiglit  to  be  dr)no  ;  I  am  liere  for  tb.e  honor  of  my  country,  and  the 
New  Yorlv  nulitia."  And  the  l)ioi,'ra])lier  adds  :  — "  Scott  assumed  the  command,  and 
Wadsworth  throuirhout  (lie  movements  that  ensued,  ilared  every  danger  in  .seeondini;' 
his  views.  Though  they  liad  met  for  the  tirst  time,  ho  had  become  attaclied  to  the 
youn<j;  C(donel,  re])eate(lly  durini^  tlui  Ijattle,  interposini!;  his  own  person  to  shield 
Scott  from  till'  Indian  riMes,  which  his  tall  foiTU  attracted."  This  statement,  illus- 
trating llio  modesty  of  his  courage,  is  confirmed  by  General  Scott. 

tHe  is  the  grand  son  of  Loril  Dunmore,  the  governor  of  the  cohmy  of  Virginia  on 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Kovolution,  In  If^'.il,  he  visited  t}m  cotnitry,  u]!on  a  torn- 
undertaken  with  the  two  fehl  objects  of  liusiness  and  jileasure.  Upon  investigation 
he  ascertained  tliat  by  some  defect  or  omission  in  tlie  N'irginia  acts  of  contiscation, 
he  could  recover  a  largo  tract  of  land  that  had  behinged  to  liis  grand-father,  but  he 
declined  consummating  the  recovery  upon  learning  that  the  land  was  nearly  valueless. 
Striking  off  into  tlie  western  States,  lie  orgnnixed  at  St.  Louis  a  eor]>3  of  ulh  eiiturers, 
and  with  them  visited  one  of  the  far  westeni  Indian  nations — the  Pawnees — spend- 
ing the  inoBtof  tt  summer  with  them,  joining  them  in  their  rural  sport ■j,  atvl  i',ccf>';;- 


344 


PHELPS   AXD    GOKIIA.^l's    PUIiOIIASE. 


1^ 


Wadswortli,  who  marriorl  the  daughter  of Auntin,  of  Boston, 

resides  at  the  old  (annW  mansion  in  Geneseo.     His  son.  James  S. 
Wadswnrtii,  who  married  tin:  daughter  of  John  Wharton,  of  Piiiladel- 
phia,  IS  the  occupant  of  a  fine   mansion  he  has  erected  in  a  MV)ve 
a  short  distai^ce  north  of  t.he  village  of  Geneseo,   upon  a  blua'lhat 
overlooks  a  broad  sweep  of  the  valley  of  the  Genesee.     Upon  him. 
in  consequence  of  the  abscence  of  the  surviving  sister,  and  the  in- 
firmities^ of  his  brother,  flevolves    the  entire  management  of  the 
Wadsvvorth  estate  ;  a  difficult  task,  with  all  its  diversified  interest 
Us  numerous  farms,  and  tracts  of  wihl  lands  ;  but  one  that  is  well 
performed,  not  only  in  reference  to  the  estate  itself,  but  with  refer- 
ence to  the  public  interest  in   which  so  large  landed  possessions  are 
necessarily  merged.     The  representative  of  the  early  Pioneers  — 
his  father  and  uncle  -  "  to  the  manor  born"  -  while  he  knows  little 
of  the  hanlships,  self-denial,  the  long  years  of  trial  and  anxiety 
which  attended  the  accumulation  of  tiie  immense  wealth  he  controls, 
he  entertains  liberal  and  enlightened  views  in  reference  to  its  iu;in' 
agement  and   disposition  ;  is  not  unmindful,  as  his  frequent  acts  of 
punhc  munificence  bear  witness,  of  the  local  interests  and  prosper- 
ity of  his  native  valley  of  the  Genesee.     While  in  many  portions 
of  our  country,  the  evil  attending  the  accumulation  of  great  estates 
is  much  enhanced  by  the  narrow  and   sordid  views  of  those  into 
whose  hands  they  fall;  in  this,  as  well   as  in  other  instances,  in  our 
own  prosperous  region,    it  has  been  mitigated.     It   was  something 
more  than  the  mere  possession  of  wealth  — something  of  the  more 
legitimate  claims  to  poi)uIar  esteem  — that  during  the  last  winter 
created  that  intense  anxiety  in  the  local  public   mind,  when   the 
worst  ieai-s  were  entertained  in  reference  to   the  iate  of  the  packet 
ship,  in  which  the  subject  of  this  incidental  notice,  had  taken  pas- 
sage on  iiis  return  voyage  fi'om  Europe. 


pa  .    n-  tu>,u,n  their  huftilo  huuU     He  is  the  .author  of  a  hook  of  "  Travels  in  North 

Amvna,"  an.l  of    he  j.onulur  talc  of  fnet  an<l  tii-tioii  -  of  wikl  adventure  an,l  ro,„an- 

jc  nu.,,  en,s_  entnleJ  tL   "  I'rairie  Und  ;"  ^vhieh  the  author  is  int/.rmeii  iVo!,!.  of 

a  q  1,0    lan.eof  1  he  tanuly  ,lur,ni,^  h,.s  residence  in  Europe,  and  the   youu^-er  nuMuher 

It  ^lou^d,t  a  le.terof  introduction  to  Idn,  when  he  came  out  tothi/countrv  in  ]rM; 

thenu.  the  aoiiuaintance;  the  se<iuel,  after  a  hu.-r  d.day,  consequent  upon  tllo  n.„  ,ied 

lucstiwn  ot  country  and  residence,  lias  been  f},e  transfer  of  one  of  tlie  Jauyhtei's  „i'  the 

f^v  oiT",  !i."  k  7  H '^  ni  I'lr'-V,  *^  ^^'^  '-■""'■^  '""'  ^''"  dil'l^"'=^tic  circle  of  one  of  the 
liu  oil  capilols  ot  the  Old  A\  orld. 

,^''.7?:-  — •''""'•«  ^Va.lswortli  in  his  life  time,  founded  a  Iit,rarv  in  Gencseo,  erectincr 
a  buiUhn,!^  ior  the  puri.ose,  and  for  its  support  deedinir  to  its  Tnistees  two  fr".,.  ami 
faome  vuhige  i^roiierty.    Ue  made  it  free  to  every  citiijeii  of  Livingston  coiiuty.    1 1  has 


riTELPS   AND    GORIIAJI'S   PURCHASE. 


'o 


845 


In  the  primitive  division  of  Ontario  into  Districts,  the  second 
district,  Geneseo,  embraced  all  west  of  the  east  line  of  the  present 
towns  of  Pittsford,  Mendon,  Richmond.  The  first  town  meeting 
for  the  "  District  of  Geneseo, "  was  held  at  Canawajrus,  April  9, 
1791.  John  Ganson  was  chosen  Sup.  David  Bullen,  T.C.  Other 
town  officers :  Gad  Wadsworth,  Nathan  Perry,  Amos  Hall,  Israel 
Stone,  Edward  Carney,  Hill  Carney,  Jno.  Ball,  Isaiah  Thompson, 
Benj.  Gardner,  John  Lusk,  Jasper  Marvin,  Norris  Humphrey. 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  officers  were  distributed  throughout 
the  entire  settled  region  west  of  the  line  named  above.  It  used  to  be 
alledged  that  a  little  feeling  of  aristocracy  had  thus  early  crept  into 
the  backwoods,  and  manifested  itself  in  the  choice  of  supervisor  — 
shoes,  moccasins,  and  bare  feet,  were  the  order  of  the  day,  but  '•  Capl 
Ganson, "  glorying  in  tho  possession  of  a  pair  of  boots,  the  choice 
fell  upon  him. 

The  town  meeting  in  1793,  was  held  at  "Miles  Gore,"  Lima  ; 
Amos  Hall  was  elected  Supervisor.  Thrs  year,  most  of  all  the 
early  roads  in  Livingston,  east  part  of  Monroe,  and  west  part  of 
Ontario,  were  laid  out  and  recorded.  Store  and  tavern  licenses 
were  granted  to  Gilbert  R.  Berry,  Wm.  Wadsworth,  Simon  Stone, 
Elijah  Flowers,  Pierce  and  Ransom,  John  Johnson,  Donald  JMc- 
Donald,  Elijah  Starr,  Abel  Willey,  Peter  Simms,  Nathaniel 
Fowler,  James  Rogers,  Wm.  Hencher,  Abner  Migells.  Nathaniel 
Perry,  Christopher  Dugan. 

At  that  early  period,  when  stock  of  all  kinds  ran  in  the  woods, 
ear  marks  were  appended.  It  is  presumed  that  nearly  all  of  the  in- 
habitant.s  had  their  peculiar  marks  recorded.  In  many  of  the  old 
town  books,  the  picture  of  a  hog  or  a  sheep's  ear,  is  drawn,  with 
each  man's  mark  delienated  opposite  his  name.  In  179G,  there 
were  upon  the  town  books  of  the  district  of  Geneseo,  the  following 
names  of  those  who  had  chosen  ear  marks,  in  all  the  wide  region 
west  of  East  Bloomfield  to  the  western  boundaries  of  the  State. 
There  is  no  other  form  in  which  so  many  Pioneer  names  are  re- 
corded : — 


mm-  about  2,1500  Toluincs,  and  a  yearly  income  of  about  $G0O.  In  his  will,  lie  constitu- 
ted Ills  iininrdiiite  heirs  its  trustees.  Its  maiiagcniont  devolves  ujwn  James  S.  Wads- 
worth,  under  which  it  iscarryinj^  oui  the  designs  of  its  founder,  and  promises  to  become 
oneof  Ihc  lar<iest  Libraries  in  the  State.  He  gave  $10,000  the  income  of  whicli  is  to  be 
en!i>l(!yed  hi  the  education  of  .any  iiulii^cnt  vcl.'ilive.  He.  also  g.nve  *! 0.000,  tliein- 
coiiie  of  which  is  to  be  devoted  to  the  benefit  of  the  commou  schools  of  the  State. 


22 


f 

1  ! 


346 


PlIELrs  AND   GORHASl's   PURCHASE. 


Benjamin  Gurdner, 
IViiz  (tiirdiier, 
J.  I'.  ScaiH, 
Clark  Peek, 
Jas|)cr  -Marvin, 
Jiifiii  Alifcr 
Jolm  Gardner, 
Jcihii  Elinor, 
yiiliiinon  Hovey, 
Anius  Hall, 
As,i  linker, 
Saiiniol  iiarkur, 
Paul  Davisdii, 
Saniut'l  |{aki'r,jr., 
lOliJah  Mori;an, 
'i'licpiiias  Peck, 
Sylvi  sior  ilarviii, 
Nathaiiicil  Fowler, 
Win.  Harris 
Kbcrii'zcr  Mcitv, 
Jariil)  W'riL^lit, " 
Al)raliani   VVrii,dit, 
S.  C.  linu'kway, 

Elisl.il  \V;uh', 

StL'i)li('ii  'rui'kor, 
Amariali  JJittts, 
Jos.  Wright, 
John  Park^, 
-lohn  Gansoii, 
David  9(" villi  mr, 
Alexander  Forsyth, 
•Icihii  Beach, 
Reuben  Thayer, 
Nuthauiel  ifun;'er. 


Henry  Redding, 
Josejih  Sniiili, 
Adiia  lleai'ook, 
Marvin  (iatos, 
Danifl  (!ate«, 
Phineas  Hates, 
Awdiei  Jiiirchell, 
Klicnezer  Sprague, 
Simon  Titl'any, 
Ezra  Burchull, 
Seth  Lewis, 
Alexander  Ewing, 
Gad  W'adsworth, 
Wni.  Markhani, 
Ehenezer  Alerry, 
Wni.  VVad^worih, 
Jed.  Cuniniinf,'s, 
Benjamin  Thompson, 
Lonn  Wait, 
'I'liomas  Lee, 
lliehard  Wait, 
Wni.  Moore, 
John  Barnes, 
Daviil  Davis, 
Samuel  Goodrich, 
Gershoni  lieacb, 
Daniel  Fox, 
Aaron  Lyon, 
"William  Layton, 
Hoiekiah  Fox, 
Joseph  Baker, 
Zebailon  Moses, 
Asahel  Warner, 


Tim.  Ilosmor, 
John  ItlioiU-H, 
David  Bailev, 
Thomas  Rlii,'ells 
Theo.  She|)herd, 
Ransom  Smith, 
Philip  Simms, 
David  Markhani, 
Reuben  Heath, 
Daidel  Wright, 
J'.s.  Arthur, 
P.  and  J.  Sheffor, 
Jo.s.  Morgan, 
Enos  Hai-t, 
Abel  Wil.sey, 
John  Morgan, 
Asa  B.  Simmons, 
David  B.  Jlorgan, 
Samuel  Bullen, 
Samuel  Stevens, 
Ge(jigo  (iardner, 
Joseph  >rorton, 
Jesse  Pangburn, 
Joel  Har\ey, 
David  Benton, 
Jeremiah  Olmsted, 
Joshua  Whitney, 
David  Pierson, 
Justus  Minard, 
Jon.athan  (lonld, 
Abiol  (iardner, 
Ezekiel  Chamlierlin, 
Benjamin  Parsons, 


The  location  of  the  Wadsworths  at  Geneseo.made  that  point  the 
nucleus  of  a  considerable  neighborhood,  though  for  many  years, 
there  was  but  a  small  cluster  of  buildings.     The  business  of  the 
new  settlements  was  divided  between  Geneseo,  "  Old  Leicester," 
and  Williamsburg.     The  Wadsworths  resided  in  their  primitive  W 
house  until  1794,  when  they  built  a  large  block  house  on  the  site  of 
the  old  Wadsworth  mansion.     About  1804,  they  had  erected  the 
upright  part  of  the  present  building,  a  large  square  roofed  house 
that  made  an  imposing  appearance  in  a  region  of  log  houses,  where 
a  framed  house  of  any  size  was  a  rarity.      The  early  clerk  of 
James  Wadsworth,  after  he  had  opened  his  land  office,  was  Samuel 
B.  Walley,  an  Englishman,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Dudley  Marvin ;  lie 
was  succeeded  by  Andrew  McNabb,  who  went  into  the  Bath  land 
office ;  Joseph  W.  Lawrence  was  first  blacksmith  in  Geneseo.     He 
removed  to  Michigan,  where  he  died  in  1845.     Among  the  promi- 
nent early  settlers,  were :  —  Lemuel  B.  Jenning.s,  Benjamin  Squire, 
Wm.  Crossett,  Rodman  Clark,  Wm.  Findlay,  David  Findiav.     As 


PHELPS  AND    OOUHAm's  PUR(^nASE. 


847 


oarly  as  IFOl.  Mv.  Wadsworth  visited  Mnrlhorough.  Connecticut, 
and  exoiumtrc'd  hnds  I'or  Ihrms,  thus  inducint,'  several  families  to 
remove,  who  settled  on  the  road  leading  to  Conesus,  among  whom 
was  David  Kneeland  ;  their  location  was  early  called  "  IMarlhoroufrh 
Street." 

The  early  merchants  atGeneseo  were  Minor  &  Hall.  In  1805, 
one  of  the  firm,  Hall,  died  at  Oneida  Castle,  on  his  way  to  New 
York  to  purchase  goorls. 

The  prominent  early  merchant  of  Geneseo  was  the  late  Major 
Wm.  n.  Spencer.  He  was  from  East  Haddam,  Conn.  Arriving 
upon  the  Genesee  River  in  1803,  with  his  axe  upon  his  shoulder,  he 
was  a  Pioneer  of  "  Fairfield  "  now  Ogden  ;  breaking  into  the  wilder- 
ness on  Rush  creek,  about  a  mile  east  of  Spencer's  Basin,  he  built 
a  cabin,  kept  bachelor's  hall,  bought  provisions  of  Mr.  Shaefler, 
carrying  most  of  them  in  on  his  back  ;  built  a  saw  mill,  and  in  a  little 
over  a  year  cleared  fifty  acres.  Getting  ready  for  his  saw  mill  irons, 
he  went  to  Connecticut,  and  brought  them  all  the  way  from  there 
with  an  ox-team.  In  1804  he  struck  the  first  blow  in  Rin-a,  makinc 
an  opening,  and  erecting  a  house  for  Mr.  Wadsworth,  a  mile  and  a 
half  southeast  of  Churchville. 

In  1805  he  was  induced  by  Mr.  Wadsworth  to  take  an  interest 
with  him  in  a  mercantile  establishment  in  Geneseo.  Starting  with 
a  large  stock  of  goods  for  that  period,  his  business  extended  as  set- 
tlement advanced,  and  there  were  many  early  years  that  his  trade 
embraced  a  wide  region.  His  goods  came  by  the  water  route  from 
Schenectady  to  the  foot  of  Cayuga  Lake,  and  from  thence  on  wheels 
to  Geneseo;  the  transportation  usually  costing  about  83,00  per  cwt. 
Doing  principally  a  barter  trade,  his  furs,  tobacco,  hemp,  grain,  pork, 
and  maple  sugar,  were  in  the  earliest  years  marketed  at  Baltimore  ; 
by  wagoning  to  Arkport  on  the  Canisteo,  and  from  thence  by  water. 
The  first  produce  shipped  at  Arkport,  was  from  Dansville  ;  the  sec- 
ond shipments  were  by  Spencer  &  Co.,  from  Geneseo.  This  was 
the  avenue  to  market  for  all  the  southern  portion  of  Phelps  and  Gor- 
ham's  Purchase,  until  the  Jefferson  embargo ;  then  it  changed  to 
Lake  Onfar-  •,  by  wagon  roads  to  the  mouth  of  Genesee  River, 
until  bateaux  wei  j  introduced  upon  the  river.  These  ran  from  the 
rapids  above  Rochester,  as  higb  up  as  Geneseo ;  and  Durham  boats 
used  to  ascend  to  Mount  Morris.  In  the  war  of  1812  INIaj.  Spencer 
was  the  aid  of  Gen.  Wadsworth.     Many  year's  since  he   retired 


348 


PHELl'3   AND    GOnilAJi's    PURCHASE. 


from  the  mercantile  business  to  his  extensive  farm  of  flats  and  up- 
land, on  the  river  opposite  Geneseo.  lie  was  the  owner  of  the 
beautiful  sweep  of  flats,  field  after  field,  along  on  either  side  of  the 
road  from  Geneseo  to  PifFardinia ;  and  had  become  one  of  the  largest 
grazers,  wool  and  wheat  growers  in  the  valley  of  the  Genesee.  He 
died  suddenly,  of  ajjpoplexy,  in  January  of  this  year,  while  engaged 
in  the  active  management  of  the  large  estate  that  had  been  gai'ned 
by  early  Pioneer  enterprise,  industry  and  perseverance. 

In  1805  Geneseo  had  but  about  a  dozen  dwellings,  there  were 
two  public  houses,  one  kept  by  Faulkner,  and  the  other  by  Bishop  ; 
John  Pierce  had  started  the  hatting  business.  Seymour  Welcon 
was  a  tavern  keeper  there  as  early  as  1809  or  '10.  Dr.  Sill  was  the 
early  physician.     He  died  in  early  years ;  he  was  the  father  of  Dr. 

Sill,  of  Livonia,  and Sill  of  Wheatland.     He  was  succeeded 

in  practice  by  Dr.  Augustus  VVolcott,  who  emigrated  west  in  early 
years.  Ashbel  Atkins  was  the  early  tanner  and  shoe  makei-.  The 
earliest  religious  meetings  were  held  in  a  small  building  called  the 
"  town  house,  "  opposite  the  Park,  which  also  answered  the  purpo- 
ses of  a  school-house.  Elder  Joseph  Lindsley  was  the  first  resident 
clergyman.  That  portion  of  Morris  Reserve  and  the  Holland  Pur- 
chase lying  west  of  Geneseo,  commenced  settling  along  in  1805  and 
'6,  and  Geneseo  being  upon  the  main  thoroughfare,  its  trade,  and 
the  business  of  its  public  houses,  derived  a  considerable  impetus 
from  it.  Much  of  the  trade  of  the  new  settlers  was  done  there  and 
the  grain  raised  upon  Wadsworths,  Jones,  and  Mt.  Morris  flats, 
was  their  principal  dependence. 


A  RECLUSE. 


In  1793  or  '4,  DeEoui,  a  Frenchman,  wandered  to  this  region  with  a  single 
eninpaniun,  a  negro  slave,  Imilt  a  log  cabin  on  Wadsworth's  flats,  and  lived  tJie 
life  of  a  recluse.  He  was  a  nati\  e  'jf  Alsace.  While  a  youth,  he  cjuarrellcd 
witha  fiiend,  wounded  liim  in  a  duel,  fled  to  St.  Domingo,  where  he  .served 
as  a  ])rivate  soldier,  until  his  sajtcndp  attainments  reeonuuended  him  for  em- 
ployment in  llie  pul.lic  ,ser\  !«•  as  an  engineer.  He  finally  received  the  appoin- 
ment  of  Inspector  General  of  the  higliroads,  and  became  besides,  a  consider- 
able planter.  Tlie  rf\(»lution  in  St.  ijoininon,  bi'caking  out,  lie  tied  to  Amer- 
ica, bringing  with  hiii!  om  faithful  servant,  iuict  the  remnant  of  hk  eaalo,  a 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's   PURCHASE. 


349 


few  bills  on  France.  Col.  Wadsworth,  of  Hartford,  assumed  tlie  neQ;otiation 
of  his  bills,  ad\aiieod  him  money,  and  granted  to  him  the  use  of  a  small  ti-aet 
of  land,  which  ho  came  on  and  occupied.  When  the  Duke  Liancourt,  and 
his  Frvnch  compani(jns  were  upon  the  river,  in  1795,  they  visited  .ii.n  and 
spent  the  night  in  his  hut.  They  found  him  a  confinnc-d  misanthrope,  but 
pleased  at  the  unexpected  visit  of  his  ccuiitryinon  to  his  backwooils  I'etreat.  A 
highly  cultivated  mind  had  been  soured  by  misfortune  ;  and  he  had  contract- 
ed a  disgust  for  his  race,  seeking  no  other  associates  but  his  taitliful  servant, 
who  cooked  his  food,  and  cultivated  a  small  patch  (jf  ground  for  tlu.-ir  nuitual 
sustenance.  Ll^nless  he  is  right  in  assuming  that  he  finally  joined  a  colony  of 
his  countrymen  at  Asylum,  in  Pennsylvania,  the  author  is  unable  to  state 
what  became  of  him. 


HORATIO  AND  JOHN  H.  JONES. 


B£ 


In  1788,  John  H.  Jones  had  joined  his  brother  Horatio,  in  Gene- 
\a.  In  the  spring  of  1789,  having  obtained  a  yoke  of  oxen,  the 
two  brothers  went  into  what  is  now  Phelps,  found  an  open  spot, 
ploughed  and  planted  five  or  six  acres  of  corn,  which  they  sold  on 
the  ground.  In  August  of  that  year,  the  Indians  having  promised 
Horatio  a  tract  of  land  west  of  the  Genesee  river,  the  advent  of 
the  two  brothers,  was  as  related  in  page  328. 

With  the  history  of  Horatio  Jones,  the  public  have  already  been 
made  familiar.  In  a  previous  work  of  the  author's  — the  history 
of  the  Holland  Purchase,—  there  is  a  sketch  of  his  life.  Identified 
as  he  had  become,  with  the  Senecas,  and  shaving  hirgely  in  their 
esteem  and  confidence,  in  his  settlement  west  of  the  river,  he  had 
relied  upon  their  intention  of  granting  him  his  location,  in  which 
he  was  not  disappointed,  as  will  be  seen  in  connection  with  the 
Morris  treaty.  Receiving  from  President  Washington  the  appoint- 
ment of  Indian  interpreter,  in  early  years,  his  attendance  upon 
treaties,  the  accompanying  of  Indian  delegation.^  to  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment,  and  various  other  trusts  connected  with  the  Indians,  em- 
ployed most  of  his  time.  When  alive,  there  veas  none  of  our  race, 
save  Mary  Jemison,  who  had  been  so  long  a  resident  of  this  region. 
He  was  with  Col.  Broadliead  in  his  expedition  to  the  Allegany,  and 
as  an  Indian  prisoner,  he  resided  at  Nunda,  as  early  as  1781.     The 


Nom  — Noouo  wlioselot  was  ever  cast  with  the  Seiiccas,  was  a  better  jikIot  of 
Iheir  chiiriietcr;  mikI  no  one  lui^  in  ii  ,nm\>}T  ■.Icirrii'j  contribute!!  lis  .ii;r  kiuiv-U'd^e  of 
them.    Ills  lirothcr  gave  to  tlie  author,  some  observations  of  his,  in  reference  to^thok 


II 


!Ji 


i 


350 


PHELPS  AND   GORIIAM'ri  PURCirASE, 


farming  principally  devolved  upon  John  II.  Jones,  and  in  early  years, 
the  brothers  were  large  producers,  especially  of  corn,  for  the  new' 
settlers  who  dropped  in  around  and  beyond  them.     At  a  primitive 
period,  when  the  In/lians  in  all  that  region,  far  out  numbere<l  the 
whites  — at  a  period  too,  when  they  were  unreconciled,  and  unde- 
termined,  as  to  their  relations  with  the  whites,  Horatio  Jones  ex- 
ercised a  salutary  influence;  and  to  him  much  of  the  credit  is  due, 
for  the  .success  of  Indian  treaties,  and  the  suppression  of  hostilities. 
The  Indian  captive  boy  became  the  arbitrer  between  his  captors 
and  his  own  race  ;  and  by  an  inherent  strength  of  mind  and  energy 
of  character,  which  marked  him  as  no  ordinary  man,  made  eaSy 
misfortune  the  means  ol  conspicuously  identifying  himself  with  the 
early  iiistory  of  ali  tiiis  region  :  rendering  to  it  essential  service  in 
years  of  weakness ;  becoming  in  fact,  a  founder  of  settlement  and 
civilization  upon  soil  where  he  began  his  career  as  an  alien  and 
captive. 

Among  the  captives  with  whom  he  became  acquainted  while  in 
captivity  himself,  was  the  daughter  of Whitmore,  of  Schenec- 
tady. She  was  rele;tsed  with  him  at  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix, 
soon  after  which  they  were  married.  She  died  in  1794.  He  died 
1830,  aged  75  years.  The  surviving  sons,  are  :  —  William,  Hiram 
and  Charles,  of  Leicester,  Horatio,  of  Moscow,  Seneca,  a  Califor- 
nia  adventurer.  Daughters : —Mrs.  Lyman  of  Moscow,  Mrs. 
Fitzhugh,  of  Saginaw,  Michigan,  Mrs.  Hewitt  and  Mrs.  B.  F.  Angell, 
of  Geneseo,  Mrs.  Fintey,  of  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan.  Two  sons,' 
George  and  James,  were  killed  at  the  IJritish  attack  on  Lewiston,' 
in  the  war  of  181'J. 

John  H.  Jones,  is  now  living  at  the  age  of  80  years,  his  mind 
but  little  impaired,  and  with  the  exception  of  rheumatism,  a  physi- 
cal constitution  but  little  broken.  In  1792,  lie  was  engaged 
in  the  Indian  trade  at  the  mouth  of  Genesee  river,  upon  Ihe 
Allegany  river,  and  Cattaraugus  creek.  He  speaks  familiarly 
of  being  at  Buffalo,  when    the  only  white  inhabitant  was  Win- 


Tnt  1  I  i  •  '•  '\''"''  "  "  '"'"T*"'  '"'•"  "^■^■'-■''  '"^^''"■^'  ''<'^'>'  l'"l'li^l"''i.  ill'  used  to 
H!X^  tjMt  thou-  soutlicTi,  wMrs  M-,ih  llioirowii  ntcc,  tlicir  Kurass  in  tlu'tn.  were  .,ft,.n 
tl.rii-tljn,i..si,i   t  HMVMr  .la.Kv,  ;iii.l  iu   Hum,-  ui-wiinis.     ii,.  iw.s  oflon  hvnvd   ilu,  „ld 

IT,'/'  >      '  I  ",'  '■'''■>■  "•'"""  "''  '^''"'■'■■'.   lui'l  .1  ffiTor  will.  IiHliaiis  .,f  (itli.M-  naliniiH 

At  t  ij'  south  ami  tlu.  wc'st,  iiiid  aiiinnir  iho  nalions  u{  dnuuh.  tlic  Sciiwii  wai-wiioon" 
would  almost  .•oiHiuci'  of  iiscli:  II,.  said  that  even  as  lalo  as  (ho  war  uf  18l:>,  the  In- 
auiiiH  <.t  (  aiia.ia  w.to  struok  with  tenor,  whuii  they  k-amed  that  thov  luusttncouuter 


PHELPS    AND    GORILUl's    PURCHASE. 


351 


ncy,  a  Butler  Ranger,  and  the  only  resident  on  all  the  south 
shore  of  Lake  Erie,  west  of  Buffalo,  other  than  Indinns,  was  "  Black 
Joe,"  a  fugitive  slave,  at  the  mouth  of  Cattaraugus  creek.  Judge 
Jones  was  a  magistrate  of  Ontario  before  the  division;  soon  after 
Genesee  was  set  off,  he  became  one  of  its  Judges,  and  from  1812  to 
1822,  was  first  Judge  of  Genesee,  and  after  that  for  several  years 
of  Livingston.  He  was  the  first  supervisor  of  Leicester,  and  was 
in  all  early  years,  a  prominent,  active  helper  in  pioneer  movements. 
His  surviving  sons  are,  George  W.,  Ilorntio,  Thomas  J.,  James  M., 
John  H.,  Lucicn  B.,  Iliram,  and  Fayette,  all  residing  in  his  imme- 
diate neighborhood  ;  and  Napoleon  N.,  of  Scottsville.  Daughters ; 
Mrs.  Clute,  of  Cuylerville,  Mrs.  William  Jones,  of  Leicester,  Mrs. 
James  Jones,  of  Cincinnatti. 

The  three  brothers,  Jellis,  Thomas  and  William  Clute,  from 
Schenectady,  were  early  settlers  at  Leicester.  Jellis  was  engaged 
in  the  Indian  trade  at  Beardstown.  Thomas  and  William  settled 
at  Gardeau. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  a  na- 
tive of  Derby,  Conn.  He  emigrated  to  the  Genesee  river  in  1795. 
He  joined  Thomas  Morris  and  others  in  the  purchase  of  10,000 
acres  of  land  in  Groveland  and  Sparta,  at  a  period  of  high  prices, 
paying  and  contracting  to  pay  80  per  acre.  The  price  soon  fell 
below  82.  He  settled  near  where  Col.  Fitzhugh  afterwards  loca- 
ted ;  erecting  a  framed  house  and  moving  into  it,  it  burned  down, 
with  all  his  household  furniture,  the  family  barely  escaping.  This, 
with  his  unfortunate  investment  in  lands,  embarrassed  him,  and  dis- 
couraged the  spirit  of  enterprise  that  had  brought  him  from  New 
England.  He  was  the  early  minister,  for  several  years  itinerating 
among  the  new  settlements,  until  the  period  of  his  death,  soon  after 
1800.  His  wife  returned  to  Connecticut.  One  of  his  sons,  the 
late  Gen.  William  A.  Mills,  was  destined  +0  a  more  fortunate  career. 
Thrown  upon  his  own  resources  at  the  age  of  17,  he  rented  flats 
of  the  Indians,  occupying  a  shantee,  where  he  lived  alone  at  Mount 
Morris,  his  nearest  neighbors,  the  Indians.  Renting  iiis  land  upon 
easy  terms,  and  hiring  the  Indians  and  Squaws  to  assist  iiim  in 
working  it,  ho  was  soon  enabled  to  erect  a  distillery  ;  and  when  the 
Mount  Morris  tract  was  opened  for  sale,  he  purchased  from  time 
to  time,  until  he  became  possessed  of  eight  hundred  acres,  including 
several  hundred  acres  oi  the  fine  flats  opi)osite  the  present  village 


352 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAJl's   PUECHASE. 


of  Mount  Morris.     His  Indian  name,  "  Sa-nem-ge-wa,"  (generous) 
would  indicate  their  esteem  for  him,  and  the  probity  that  governed 
his  early  intercourse  with  them.     He  spoke  their  language  (luent- 
ly,  and  from  early  associations,  was  much  attached  to  them.     When, 
after  their  removal,  they  would  occasionlly  revisit  their  old  homes 
upon  the  Genesee,  he  met  them,  and  treated  them  as  old  friends.  * 
To  his  distilling  and  grain  raising  in  early  years,  he  added  grazing 
upon  the  Mount  Morris  and  Gardeau  flats,  and  became  finally  large- 
ly engaged  in  that  business  ;  and  successful,  as  many  have  witness- 
ed at  our  early  county  and  State  fairs.     He  was  for  twenty  years, 
the  Supervisor  of  Mount  Morris ;  a  commissioned  officer  in  the 
early  military  organization  in  his  region,  he  was  upon  the  frontier 
in  the  war  of  1912,  and  in  later  years,  rose  to  the  rank  of  Brig. 
General.     He  died  in  1844,  aged  67  years.     His  sons  are  :  —  Wil- 
liam  A.,  Sidney  H.,  Minard.H.  and  Julius  F.,  of  Mount  Morris, 
and  Dr.  xMyron  H.,  ol'  Rochester.     Daughters  :  —  Mrs.  Levi  Beach 
of  Knox  county,  Ohio,  Mrs.  Dr.  G.  W.  Branch  and  jMrs.  William 
Hamlin,  of  Mount  Morris. 

Alexander  Mills,  another  son  of  the  early  Pioneer,  Rev.  Samuel 
J.  Mills,  located  at  Olean  in  an  early  day,  where  he  was  extensively 
engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  ;  now  resides  in  Cleveland.  Major 
Philo  Mills,  another  son,  located  in  Groveland,  emigrated  to  Tecum- 
seh,  Michigan.  Frederick  L.  Mills,  another  son, 'located  on  flats; 
he  died  in  1834;  his  living  descendants  are  :— George,  of  Mount 
Morris,  Philo,  of  Groveland,  Lewis,  of  Allegany,  and  Mrs.  Hunt, 
of  Groveland. 

The  first  saw  mill  west  of  Genesee  river,  (save  one  at  Niagara 
Falls,  erected  by  Stedman,)  was  erected  by  Ebenezer  Allan,  on°  the 
outlet  of  the  Silver  Lake.  This  supplied  the  first  board^^  had  in  the 
ui)per  valley  of  the  Genesee.  It  was  built  in  1792,  and  raised  by 
the  help  of  the  Indians,  for  the  want  of  suflicient  white  men  in  the 
country.  In  some  of  the  earliest  years.  Judge  Phelps  had  a  distil- 
lery  erected  near  the  present  village  of  Moscow.  In  1800,  Augus- 
tus Porter,  as  the  agent  of  Oliver  Phelps,  laid  out  the  village'  of 


And  tl'is,  the  mitlior  would  here  remark,  wns  not  unlike  the  rcLitio",  that  existed 
.etween  nios  of  (he  I'lonenrs  of  the  (ieiuwee  country  and  the  Indians,  wlioro  they 
hecarne  nei-hliors  ni  early  years,  and  Koniethin.'  .'.f  mutual  dependence  existed 
Jl.veii  now.  ni  our  I'ities  fiud  vill.u.f...  tl.f.  ,,i.i  i>:, „,,,.,, _..    ,,.,:,,,  i      jv  ..    •         ■, 

mg  uitn  (legrudation,  and  j.roinpt  to  resist  any  insult  otrored  totiieui. 


PHELPS    A]ST>    GOEIIA.Al'8  PUKCIIASE. 


353 


Leicester,  *  on  a  tract  ho  had  purchased  of  Jones  and  Smith,  and 
opened  the  direct  road  across  the  flats  to  "  Jones'  Ford  ;"  previous 
to  which,  it  had  cjone  via  Beardstown.  He  also  erected  a  saw  mill 
on  Beards'  Creek,  near  the  present  village  of  Moscow.  For  several 
years  after  1800,  the  village  of  Leicester  bore  an  important  relation 
to  the  new  settlements  forming  in  Wyoming,  Allegany,  and  south 
part  of  Erie.  The  early  and  well  known  tavern  keeper,  was 
Leonard  Stimson,  from  Albany,  who  had  been  engaged  in  a 
small  Indian  trade  at  Mount  Morris.  He  opened  the  first  store, 
and  started  the  first  blacksmith  shop.  He  left  Geneseo  soon  after 
the  war  of  1812  ;  his  descendants  reside  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Rochester.  The  first  physician  was  Dr.  Paul  Newcomb.  Colonel 
Jedediah  Horsford,  the  present  M.  C.  I'rom  Livingston,  was  an  early 
teacher  of  a  missionary  school  at  Squaky  Hill,  and  an  early  land- 
lord at  Moscow.  Joel  Harvey  was  an  early  tavern  keeper  a  little 
west  of  Old  Leicester. 

The  first  town  meeting  in  Leicester,  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Joseph  Smith.  John  J.  Jones  was  elected  Supervisor  ;  George  A. 
Wheeler,  Town  Clerk.  Other  town  officers :  —  Samuel  Ewing, 
Alpheus  Harris,  Dennison  Foster,  Abel  Cleavland,  Samuel  Hascall, 
George  Gardner,  Wm.  A.  Mills,  Joel  Harvey,  David  Dickinson, 
James  Dale. 

One  hundred  dollars  was  raised  to  pay  "  bounty  on  wolves  and 
wild  cats,  killed  by  white  people." 

By  a  resolution  of  a  special  town  meeting,  in  1803,  town  of  An- 
gelica was  set  ofT  from  Leicester. 

The  village  of  Moscow  was  started  just  after  the  close  of  the 
war  of  1812,  under  the  auspices  of  the  late  Samuel  M.  Hopkins, 
who  in  company  with  Benjamin  W.  Rngers,  had  purchased  three 
fourths  of  the  original  Jones  and  Smith's  Indian  grant,  of  Isaac 
Bronson.  Hopkins  built  the  fine  residence  now  owned  by  W.  T. 
Cuylor,  between  Cuylerville  and  Moscow.  The  first  merchant  was 
Nicholas  Ayrault,  late  of  Rochester ;  Wm.  Robb,  William  Lyman, 
and  Sherwood  and  Miller,  were  (\irly  merchants.  The  earl  v  land- 
lords were:  —  Jessee  Wadhams,  Wm.  T.  Jenkins,  Homer  Sher- 
wood. Early  lawyers,  other  than  S.  M.  Hopkins: — Felix  Tracy, 
John  Baldwin,  George  Miles,  recently  one  the  Judges  of  the  Su- 


W 


*  Name,  from  Oliver  Lciceater  Plielps. 


354 


PHELPS    AND  GOKUAM's   PURCIIASE. 


preme  Court,  of  Michigan.  Rev.  Mr.  Mason  founded  the  first 
Presbyterian  church.  An  Academy  was  founded  principally  under 
the  auspices  of  Mr.  Hopkins,  in  1817;  the  first  rrinci])al  \vas  Og- 
den  M.  Willey ;  his  assistants,  the  Miss  Raymonds,  one  of  whom 
became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Calvin  C.  Colton,  the  author  of  the 
hfe  of  Henry  Clay,  then  a  settled  Presbyterian  minister,  at  Batavia. 
The  early  physicians  were :  —  Asa  R.  Palmer,  J.  W.  Montross, 
Daniel  II.  and  Daniel  P.  Bissell. 

Cuylerville  sprung  up  after  the  completion  of  the  Genesee  Valley 
Canal.  W.  T.  Cuyler,  who  was  an  early  citizen  of  Rochester,  pur- 
chased tile  Hopkins  house  and  farm,  of  Richard  Post,  a  son  of  the 
late  Dr.  Post,  of  ^cw  York,  in  1830.  TJie  village  has  grown  up 
on  or  near  the  site  of  the  old  Indian  village  of  Beardstown,  where  the 
road  from  Perry  and  Warsaw  crosses  the  canal.  Mr.  Cuyler 
started  the  first  ford  warding  and  commission  house;  the  early  mer- 
chants were:  —  Odell  and  Evans,  and  Joseph  Wheelock. 

From  Ebenezer  Allan,  the  Mt.  Morris  tract,  of  four  scjuare  miles, 
went  into  the  hands  of  Robert  Morris,  and  afterwards  his  son  Thom- 
as became  a  joint  owner  with  others.     Col.  John  Trumbull,  of 
Revolutionary  memory,  the  celebrated  artist,  was  one  of  the  early 
proprietors.     He  visited  the  country,  and  selected  for  his  residence, 
the  site,  in  the  present  village,  now  occupied  by  George  Hastino's, 
Esq.;  planted  an  orchard,  and  made  some  preparations  for  building. 
The  name,  which  had  been  "  Allan's  Hill,"  he  changed  to  "  Rich- 
mond Hill."      Afterwards,   when  he  had  abandoned  the  idea  of 
making  it  his  residence,  the  name  was  changed  to  Mt.  Morris.     The 
early  jjroprietors  of  the  tract,  other  than  those  named,  were :  — Mr. 
Fitzsimmons,  of  Philadelphia,  Charles  Williamson,  Robert  Troup, 
the  Messrs.  Wadsworths,  John  Murray*  &  Sons,  of  New  York 
(of  which  firm  Wm.  Ogden  was  a  partner,)   Benj.  W.   Rod-'ers' 
Isaac  Bronson,  Gen.  JMills,  and  Jessee  Stanley,  were  the  prominent 
pioneers  of  settlement.     Deacon  Stanley  was  from  Goshen,  Conn., 
his  residence  was  the  site  now  occupied  by  James  Bond.     He  died 
in  184G,  aged  90  years ;   he  was  the  father  of  Oliver  Stan-ley,  of 
Mt.  Morris.     The  village  has  grown  up  principally  on  the  lands  of 
Messrs.  Mills,  Stanley,  and  Mai'k  Hopkins,  a  brother  of  Samuel  M. 


*  .Tdlin  \{.  Miirrny,  <if  Mr.  ArniTis  is  tlio  !rrnnil*tn  of  J<>liu  Muiray.  Ihe  o.".rl-.-  jiniiiri.' 
tor  at  Mt.  Murri«,  aud  owner  of  tlio  towiiwluj',  uuw  Oyduu. 


PHEirS  AND  GOElIA]\l's  PUECnASE. 


355 


Hopkins.     Mr.  Hopkins  came  on  as  agent  for  owners,  soou  after  the 
tract  was  opened  for  sale.     He  died  soon  after  1820. 


VALLEY  OF  THE  CANASCRAGA. 


u 


Following  the  tract  of  Mr.  Williamson  when  he  broke  in  from 
Pennsylvania  and  made  a  commencement  at  Williamsburg,  settlers 
soon  began  to  drop  into  the  valley  of  the  Canascraga.  In  Grove- 
land,  other  than  at  Williamsburg,  John  Smith  was  the  Pioneer.  He 
wasiiom  New  Jersey,  a  surveyor  ii.  the  eii.j)loy  of  Mr.  Williamson. 
He  purchased  a  mile  square,  upon  which  he  resided  until  his  death 
in  1817.  Benjamin  Parker,  a  step  son  ul' John  Smith,  John  Harri- 
son, William  and  Thomas  Lemen,  William  and  Daniel  Kelley, 
James  Roseborough,  were  among  the  earliest.  Smith  in  '99,  built  a 
mill  between  Hornellsville  and  Arkport,  and  as  early  as  1800  took 
lumber  from  it  to  the  Baltimore  market.  Michael  Roup  was  an  early 
Pioneer  upon  the  up  lands  in  Groveland,  with  his  son  Christain 
Roup,  He  died  during  the  war  of  1812 ;  iMichael  Roup,  of  Grove- 
land  is  his  son.  The  early  minister  that  visited  the  neighborhood  was 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Gray ;  the  first  school  taught  was  by  Robert  M'- 
Kay,  in  one  of  the  houses  that  the  Germans  had  deserted. 

The  early  Pioneers  of  Sparta,  on  the  Canascraga,  between  jNIount 
Morris  and  Dansville,  were  :  — J.  Duncan,  John  Clark,  Thomas 
Ward,  Wm.  McCartney,  Henry  Driesback,  Benjamin  Wilcox,  Geo. 
Wilkenson,  Rev.  Andrew  Grey,  John  McNair. 

In  Groveland,  other  than  those  named  in  another  connection  :  — 
Samuel  Nibleck,  (Nibleck's  Hill,)  William  Martin,  Samuel  Stilwell, 
John  Vance, Doty,  Ewart. 

In  reference  to  all  the  upper  valley  of  the  Canascraga,  Dansville 
was  the  prominent  pioneer  locality,  as  it  is  now  the  focus  of  business 
and  enteri)rise.  The  Pioneer  in  the  town  of  Sparta,  near  the  present 
village  of  Dansville,  was  Hugh  McCartney,  who  had  accompanied 
Mr.  Williamson  from  Scotland,  and  of  whom,  the  author  has  no  ac- 
count other  than  the  fact  of  his  early  advent.  Upon  the  site  of  the 
village  of  Dansville,  Neil  McCoy,  was  the  first  settler.  He  came 
from  Painted  Post,  and  located  where  his  step-son,  James  McCurdy^ 
who  came  in  with  him,  now  resides.     The  family  were  four  days  in 


856 


PHELPS  AOT)   GOEHAMS    PTTRCIIASE. 


making  the  journey  from  Painted  Post,  camping  out  two  niirhts  on 
the  way.     The  only  tenement  they  found,  was  a  small  hut  built  for 
surveyors,  where  Conrad  Welch  now  resides  on  Ossian  street.     At 
this  time  there  was  no  white  inhabitant  in  what  is  now  the  town  of 
Dansville.     Preparing  logs  for  a  house  14  by  18  feet,  help  to  raise 
it  came  from  Bath,  Geneseo  and  Mount  Morris,  with  Indians  Irom 
Squaky  Hill  and  Gardeau.     It  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  McCurdy,  in 
some  reminiscences  he  contributed  several  years  since  to  a  local 
history  of  Dansville,*  from  which  the  author  derives  many  facts  to 
add  to  what  he  has  gleaned  from  other  sources,  that  his  mother,  Mrs. 
M'Coy,  the  first  season  heard  of  the  arrival  of  Judge  Hurlburt's  iamily 
at  Arkport,  on  the  Canisteo,  eleven  miles  distant,  and  as  an  act  of 
backwoods  courtesy,  resolved  upon  making  the  first  call.     Taking 
her  son  (McCuidy)  with  her,  she  made  the  visit  through  the  woods 
by  marked  trees,  dined  with  her  new  neighbors,  and  returned  in 
time  to  do  her  milking,  after  a  walk,  going  and  coming  of  twenty- 
two  miles !     During  the  first  winter  they  needed  no  hay  for  their 
stock,  the  rushes  upon  the  Canascraga  flats  furnishing  a  substitute, 
upon  which  their  cattle  would  thrive.     The  Indians  belonging  in  the 
villages  along  the  Genesee  river,  were  almost  constantly  encamped  on 
the  flats  of  the  Canascraga,  as  high  up  as  Dansville,  principally  engag- 
ed in  hunting,  though  they  cultivated  small  patches  of  ground,    l^ietr 
venison  and  corn  was  a  part  of  the  subsistence  of  the  new  settlers. 
Mr.  McCoy  died  in  1809,  childless;  his  representative,  and  the 
occupant  of  his  primitive  locality,  is  James  M'Curdy  Esq.,  his  step 
son. 

The  venerable  Amariah  Hammond,  for  a  long  period  a  patriarch 
of  the  setflement  and  village  of  Dansville,  after  living  to  see  a  young 
and  flourishing  city  grow  up  in  the  wilderness,  where  he  so  early 
cast  his  lot,  died  in  the  winter  of  '50,  '51.  His  large  farm,  is  im- 
mediately adjoining  the  village,  on  the  main  road'  to  Geneseo. 
Daughters  of  his,  became  the  wives  of  L.  Bradfor,  Esq.,  and  Dr. 
James  Faulkner,  both  of  whom  are  prominently  identified  with  the 
locality.  L.  C.  Woodruff;  Esq.,  formerly  of  Lockport,  graduating 
in  his  youth  from  a  printing  office,  and  now  the  principal  active 
manager  of  the  Bank  of  Dansville,  a  sound  and  flourishing  institu- 
tion, married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Bradner,  the  grand-daughter  of 


If  i 


'Miniature  uf  Diinsville,"  by  J.  W.  Claik. 


PHELPS   AND   GORIIAM's   PURCHASE. 


357 


the  early  and  much  respected  Pioneer.  The  first  wife  of  Mr. 
Huinniond  died  in  1798,  "  She  had,"  says  Mr.  M'Curdy,  "endear- 
ed herself  to  all  of  us  by  hei  many  virtues.  When  she  died,  all 
wept  who  had  hearts  and  eyes." 

The  author  of  the  small  local  history  already  named,  states  that 
Mr.  Hammond  on  coming  in  to  explore,  slept  two  nights  under  a 
pine  tree  on  the  premises  he  afterwards  purchased.  Early  in  the 
spring  of  1796,  "  he  removed  his  young  family  from  Bath  to  this 
place  ;  his  wife  and  infant  child  on  horseback,  his  household  goods 
and  farming  utensils  on  a  sled  drawn  by  four  oxen,  and  a  hired  man 
driving  the  cattle."  Some  difficulty  occurring  in  getting  the  cattle 
through  the  woods,  Mr.  Hammond  after  arriving  at  his  log  cabin, 
went  b;ick  upon  his  track,  and  remained  in  the  woods  all  night, 
leaving  his  young  wife  with  her  infant  child  to  sjiend  the  first  night 
alone.  Mr.  Hammond  among  other  instances  of  the  embarrass- 
ments of  pioneer  life,  that  he  used  to  relate,  said  that  the  first  scythes 
he  used,  cost  him  a  journey  to  Tioga  Point.  Two  scythes  and  the 
journey  costing  him  eleven  dollars. 

In  relating  to  his  London  principals  the  progress  of  settlement, 
Mr.  Williamson  says:  —  "I  sold  also  on  six  years  credit,  the  west 
half  of  township  No.  6,  Gth  range,"  (this  includes  a  large  portion  of 
the  site  of  Dansville,)  to  a  Mr.  Fitzgerald,  at  $1  50  i»or  acre.  He 
so^d  the  land  to  gentlemen  in  Pennsylvania  for  a  large  profit.  The 
purchasers  were,  a  Mr.  Wilson,  one  of  the  Judges  of  Northumber- 
land CO.,  a  Mr.  C.  Hall,  a  counsellor  at  law  in  Pennsylvania,  a  Mr. 
Dunn,  and  a  Mr.  Faulkner.  These  gentlemen  have  carried  on  the 
settlement  with  much  spirit,  and  Mr.  Faulkner  is  at  the  head  of  it. 
The\-  have  a  neat  town,  a  company  of  militia,  two  saw  mills  and  a 
grist  mill,  and  indeed,  every  convenience.  Mr.  Faulkner,  although 
he  came  from  Pennsylvania,  was  originally  from  the  State  of  New 
York,  north  from  Albany.  This  winter  he  went  down  to  see  his 
father  and  other  connections ;.  the  consequence  was,  that  he  moved 


Note. — In  "Uescriptiniis  of  tlie  Geiicsoc  country,"  -Bjiftcu  liy  Mr.  Willianisoii,  in 
798,  111'  ii'iiiiirks  :  —  "  Ol'tlidso  M'ttlcnicntH  lu'guii  fii  ]7!)(i  iJiuro  tiro  two  worthy  ofiio- 
ice  ,  tiiat  (if  tlie  Ui'v.  Mr.  Gray,  in  T.  4,  7th  l<;ingc,  who  removed  from  ruunsylvaniix 
ritli  a  ri'spci'tablf  ]iart  of  liis  former  j);iri>h,  ami  a  ^Mr.  Daniol  Faulkner,  witU  ir.lereey 
cttlcmcnt,  on  the  head  of  Canaseraga  ereek  ;  both  of  them  exhibit  iristances  of  iudus- 
ry  and  enterprisi'.  I'lie  ensuini^  season,  ilr.  Faulkner  beinf,'a]i])ointed  cajitain  of  a 
onipany  of  i,n-eiiadiers  to  be  rai.-ed  in  his  settlement,  at  the  ori;anization  of  tlie  militia 
if  Steuben,  ;i[)|ie;i.'eil  on  parade  ai  the  head  of  27  f,Tena(!!ers,  all  in  a  iiandsonie  uuiform, 
llld  well  .armed,  mid  eiiniiuiseil  Riilelv  iif  the.  vniinir  ihi'M  nf  liis  Hetfli'iiipiit  " 


35S 


PHELPS   AND  GORHAIM's   PTJRCnASE. 


IP: 


up  about  fifteen  very  decent  families,  who  passed  through  Albany 
with  excellent  teams,  every  way  well  equipped.  He  sold  to  some 
very  wealthy  and  respectable  men  of  Albany.  r,,000  acres  at  a  large 
profit.  "  The  Captain  Faulkner,  who  Mv.  Williamson  names,  was 
Daniel  P.  Faulkner,  an  early  patroon  ol  Uansville,  as  will  be  infer- 
red. "Capt.  Dan.  Faulkner,"  was  his  familiar  backwoods  appella- 
tive, and  thence  the  name  ~  Dans-vWle."  He  was  the  uncle  of  Dr. 
James  Faulkner. 

Soon  after  settlement  commenced,  Mr.  Williamson  had  erected 
a  grist  and  saw  mill,  on  the  .site  afterwards  occupied  by  Col.  Roches- 
ter. David  Scholl,  who  was  Mr.  Williamson's  mill-wriglit  at  the 
Lyons  mills,  erected  the  mills.  The  early  mill-wright  of  the  Gen- 
esee country,  emigrated  many  years  since  to  Michigan.  Mrs.  Sol- 
omon and  Mrs.  Isaac  Fentztermacher,  of  Dansville,  are  his  diuightcrs. 
The  mill  was  burned  down  soon  after  1800,  after  which,  befm-e  re- 
building, the  neighborhood  had  to  go  to  Bosley's  mills  at  the  foot  of 
Hemlock  Lake. 

Jacob   Welch  came   from  Pennsylvania  to  Dansville,  in   1708. 
He  died  in  1831.     His  widow  still  survives,  aged  80  years.     His 
sons,  Jacob,  Henrv  and  Conrad,  are  residents  of  Dansville.     His 
daughters  became  the  wives  of  John  Beltz,  Peter  Labach,  Will- 
iam  Kercher,  and  Valentine  Hamsher.     The  deccndants  of  Jacob 
Welch,  residents  of  Dansville  and  its  vicinity,  number  over  one 
hundred    and  thirty.     The   part  of  his   farm   inherited   by  his  son 
Conrad  Welch,  embraces  the  Dansville  canal  slip  and  basin.     Mr. 
Conrad  Welch,  a  prominent  and  \vorthy  citizen  of  Dansville,  gave 
the  author  some  account  of  the  early  advent  of  his  fathcr,'^and 
others:  — "My  grand-fulher,  Jacol)  Martz,  resided  near  Sunbury, 
Northumberland  county,  Pa.     The  advent  of  Charles  Williamson 
through  that  region,  his  road,  and  all  that  was  going  on  under  Wu 
auspices,  created  a  good  deal  of  interest  for  the  Genesee  country. 
Jacob  Martz  came  out  and  viewed  it,  and  returning,  reported  so 
favorably,  that  an  emigrant  party  was  soon  organized.     It  consisted 
of  Jacob  Martz,  In's  son  Conrad  Martz,  George  Shirey,  Frederick 
Barnhart  and  Jacob  Welch,  and  their  flnuilies.     The  partv  came 
via  Batii,  and  up  the  Conhocton.     From  what  afterwards  became 
Blood's  corners,  the  emigrants  had  their  own  road  to  make  througn 
to  Dansville.     A   winding  road  had  been  underbrushed,  but  no 
streams  bridged,  and  high  winds  had  encumbered  it  with  fallen  trees 


I'lLfiLPS   AND    GOMLUfs   rUKCIIASE. 


350 


They  were  three  days  coming  in  from  Buth,  camping  out  two  nights. 
Hearing  of  our  approach,  the  new  settlers  in  Dansville  nearly  all 
turned  out,  met  and  assisted  us.  Prominent  of  the  party  was  Mr. 
Faulkner,  who  was  ahvay  ready  to  assist  new  settlers  by  such  acts 
of  kindness.  Occupying  an  old  deserted  hut,  and  quartering  our- 
selves upon  the  settlers  in  their  log  cabins,  we  got  through  the 
winter,  and  in  the  spring  erected  log  cabins  for  ourselves.  When 
we  arrived,  Samuel  Faulkner  had  opened  a  small  framed  tavern, 
near  where  Mr.  Bradner's  store  now  is.  In  addition  to  the  Faulk- 
ners,  Hammond,  and  M'Coy,  there  was  here  when  we  arrived, 
Wm.  riienix,  James  Logan,  David  Scholl,  John  Vandeventer,*  the 
father-ill-law  of  Escp  Hammond,  Jared  Erwin.Wm.  Perrine.  Tliere 
was  three  or  four  families  along  on  the  road  to  Williamsburg." 

"There  had  been,  where  Dansville  now  is,  a  pretty  large  Indian 
.settlement,  fifteen  or  twenty  huts  were  standing  when  white  settle- 
ment commenced,  and  several  Indian  families  lingered  for  several 
years  in  the  neighborhood." 

"Game  was  very  abundant;  the  new  settlers  could  kill  deer 
about  when  they  pleased.  After  yarding  their  sheep,  they  would 
often  have  to  go  out  and  scare  the  wolves  off.  In  cold  winter 
nights,  the  wolves  would  set  up  a  terrific  howl  in  all  the  surround- 
ing forests.  They  attacked  cattle  ;  in  one  instance,  they  killed  a  cow 
of  my  grand-father  Martz.  Steel  traps,  dead  falls  and  pits,  were 
put  in  requisition,  and  soon  thinned  them  out.  There  was  fine  fish- 
ing in  the  streams.  iMill  Creek,  especially,  was  a  fine  trout  stream. 
Pigeons  were  so  abundant,  that  almost  uniformly,  newly  sowed 
fields  had  to  be  watched  almost  constantly." 

*  A  l)riitlic;r  of  Isaac  VaiidevoiitLT,  tlie  oarly  sottluroii  liulfalo  i-oacl  west  of  Clarence 
Hollow. 

Note.  — The  autlKU-  copies  iVoin  the  iiiamiacripts  of  W.  H.  C.  Hosmer,  Esq.,  the  fol- 
lowintj  account  of  a!i  "  ancient  trrave  at  Dansville  :  "  — 

"Picibre  the  Revoliuioii,  aceonlint;  to  Indian  tradition,  a  liattlo  took  place  on  a  hill 
a  few  miles  distant  fioui  the  village  of  Dansville,  lietweeuthe  Cauisteo  Indians  ajid 
those  livin.s;  on  the  '  Gii-nose-ga-j^-o,'  [Canascra,L,a]  Creek.  A  chief  of  the  latter,  of 
preat  renown,  was  slain,  and  1)!nie(l  with  f^reat  ])onip  by  nis  trihesmen.  When  the 
wliites  first  settled  here,  ihe  spot  where  he  f'.dl  was  niarkeil  by  a  lar!j;e  liole  dug  in  the 
shajie  of  a  man  prostrate,  with  his  arms  extended.  An  Indian  trail  Idl  liy  the  phice, 
and  the  passing,'  red  man  was  accustomed  to  clear  away  the  dry  leaves  and  brush 
lilown  in  by  tlie  winds,  'i'lie  chief  was  interrt'd  in  an  old  burial  jdace  near  the  present 
site  of  Ihe  'Lutheran  Church  in  the  village  of  l);insville.  The  ground  was  formerly 
covered  with  graves  to  the  extent  of  two  or  three  anres.  His  monument  consisted  of 
a  large  pile  of  small  stones,  gathered  IVom  time  to  time  by  the  natives,  from  a  hill,  a 
miledislant;  ]iassiiig,  they  would  add  to  tlie  heap,  by  lusslng  ou  ii,  after  the  manner 
of  the  ancient  Cakdoui;uis",  tlieir  rude  tiibules  of  .all'ectiou." 


if 


h   ! 

ill 


IJ 


360 


PUELl'S   AND    GOEIIAMS    PURCHASE. 


The  primitive  settlers  of  Dansville  were  mostly  Lutherans,  or 
Dutch  lli'Ibrmed.  The  first  meetings  were  held  from  house  to 
liouse  ;  Frederick  Biirnhurt  or  Adiim  Miller,  usually  taking  the 
lead.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Murkle,  a  Lutheran  jn-eachcr  from  Geneva, 
occasionally  visited  the  place,  as  did  Elder  Gray.  The  first  loca- 
ted minister,  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pratt.     The  Rev. Hubbard,  a 

son-in-law  of  Moses  Van  Campen,  was  an  early  settled  minister. 
He  was  the  father  of  John  Hubbard,  of  Oswego. 

Jonathan  Rowley  was  an  early  landlord  in  Dansville  ;  he  erect- 
ed for  a  tavern  the  first  brick  house  in  the  villaae.  He  died  in 
1830,  childless;  the  only  representative  of  the  family,  residing  in 
Dansville,  is  a  niece  of  Mr.  Rowley,  the  wife  of  Samuel  W. 
Smith. 

William  Perrine,  has  been  before  named  as  one  of  the  primitive 
class  of  Pioneers,  died  in  1847,  at  the  advanced  age  of  93  years. 
He  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  in  the  Pennsylvania  line.  His 
son,  Peter  Perrine,  occupies  the  farm  on  which  his  father  originally 
settled,  near  the  village.  William  Perrine,  of  South  Dansville,  and 
Robert  Perrine,  of  West  Sparta,  are  also  sons  of  the  early  Pioneer. 
Mrs.  Robert  Thompson,  of  Dansville,  is  a  daughter  of  his. 

Harman  Iiartman  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  Pennsylvania 
emigrants.  His  descendants  are  numerous,  residing  princii)ally  in 
Dansville  and  its  vicinity. 

Hugh  McCurdy,  Esq.,  in  a  statement  made  for  tlie  author  of  the 
published  reminiscences  of  Dansville,  already  alluded  to,  says :  — 
"  The  first  tanner  and  currier  was  Israel  Vandeventer  ;  the  first  black- 
smith, James  Porter ;  the  first  marriage  was  that  of  Wm.  McCartnev 
to  Mary  McCurdy  ;  our  first  school  was  taught  by  Thomas  Mac- 
lain  ;  the  first  established  preacher  and  founder  of  a  church  among 
us,  was  the  Rev.  Andrew  Gray  ;  the  first  Justice  of  the  peace  was 
Dr.  James  Faulkner,  (uncle  to  the  present  Dr.  James  Faulkner;) 
the  first  Supervisor  was  Amariah  Hammond  ;  the  first  death  was 
that  of  Captain  Nathaniel  Porter ;  the  first  P.  M.  was  Israel  Irwin ; 
the  first  merchant  goods  were  brought  in  by  Captain  Daniel  P. 
Faulkner  ;  the  next  merchant,  Jared  Ervvin.  He  died  of  the  pre- 
vailing fever  during  the  war  of  1812  ;  his  widow  became  the  wife 
of  Col.  James  JM'Burney ;  Mrs.  Gansevoort,  of  Bath,  is  his  daugh- 


ter. 


Joshua  Shepherd,  L.  Bradner  and  S.  W.  Smith,  were  early  and 


PHELPS  AND  (iOIUIAM's  PURCHASE. 


501 


proniinont  mcrclmnts  of  Dansville.  Mr.  Sliephenl  died  in  lh'29  ; 
Mr.  Bnidner  is  the  President  of  tlie  Bank  of  Dansville  ;  Mr.  Smith 
is  a  son  of  the  early  landlord  on  the  main  road  fn  n  Avon  to  Cale- 
donia. 

I'inneer  settlers  of  Dansville,  other  ii:an  tht'se  named  : — Natha- 
niel Porter,  John  Haas,  Thonias  Mc'  'i..>rt(  i.  Samuel  vShannon. 
James  Harrison,  Daniel  Hamsher,  TJathe  ],orr,  Oliver  Warren. 
a  ne{)he\v  of  Dr.  Warren,  of  llevolutionar}  .Tiemory. 

Col.  Xathaniel  Rochester  became  aresideni  of  Dansville  in  1810, 
purchasing  a  large  tract  of  land,  which  includes  the  greater  portion 
ol'  the  water  power  now  within  the  limits  of  the  corporation.  The 
old  Williamson  mills  were  eiribraced  in  his  })urchase.  lie  added 
to  till!  mills,  a  paper  mill,  the  pioneer  establishment  in  that  line,  in 
all  western  New  York.  *  In  1815,  Col.  Rochester  sold  his  land, 
mills,  and  water  power,  to  the  Rev.  Christian  Endress  from  the 
borough  of  Easton,  Pa.,  and  Mr.  Jacob  Opp,  from  Northampton  Co.. 
Pa.  Mr.  Endress  resided  in  Dansville  but  a  year,  when  he  return- 
ed, and  resumed  the  charge  of  a  German  Lutheran  cougregation  in 
Easton.  He  died  in  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  1827.  His  interest  in 
Dansville  was  purchased  by  Dr.  James  Faulkner.  Judge  Endress 
and  Dr.  Endress,  of  Dansville,  are  his  sons.  Mr.  Opp  died  in 
Louisville,  in  1847,  aged  84  years.  Henry  B.  Opp,  of  Dansville,  is 
his  son. 

North  Dansville,  in  which  is  the  site  of  Dansville  village,  was  in 
the  county  of  Steuben,  until  1822,  when  it  was  attached  to  the 
town  of  Sparta,  Livingston  county.  In  1840,  the  old  town  of 
Sparta  was  divided  into  three  towns  —  of  which  the  town  of 
North  Dansville,  three  miles  square,  was  one.  The  town  of  Dans- 
ville, is  still  in  Steuben  county. 

Although  it  is  one  of  the  pioneer  localities,  of  the  Genesee  coun- 
try, and  commenced  in  an  early  period  to  be  a  place  of  considera- 
ble business,  Dansville  was  but  little  known  in  the  northern  por- 
tion of  western  New  York,  until  after  the  completion  of  the  Gene- 
see Valley  Canal ;  and  even  now,  away  from  the  main  eastern  and 
western  thoroughfares,  as  it  is,  it  may  well  be  presumed  that  this 
work  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  many  readers,  who  have  neither 

*  The  pnro  ■water  at  Dansville  aiul  fine  ■n-ator  pciwcr,  has  invitod  tliis  braiirli  of  inanu- 
fnpluvcs  tlii'iv  to  a  axeat  cxtt-iit.     TliiTu  wire  I'mr  larire  ])ai>L'r  mills  tlare  in  1844, 
iiiauutai'turiiig  over  $1UII,UUU  worth  of  paper  jxir  aiiiunu. 
23 


sssmmmmii^L 


36f 


niELT'S    AXD   G  MIFIAM's    PUltCIIASE. 


seen  the  bustlinrr,  prosperous  large  village,  hid  away  among  the 
southorn  hills,  nor  perhaps,  read  any  account  of  it.  For  this  rea- 
son, a  brief  topographical  sketch  will  be  given  — a  departure  from 
the  uniform  purpose  of  the  author,  in  this  history  of  pioneer  set- 
tlement. 

Thouy'i  some  sixteen  miles  from  the  Genesee  River,  it  is  in  fact 
at  the  head  of  the  Genesee  Valley.*  Coming  down  through  the  nar- 
row gorges  of  Allegany  and  the  southern  portion  of  Livingslon,  the 
river  has  but  an  occasional  broad  sweep  of  flats,  until  it  reaches  Mt. 
Morris.  The  flats  of  the  river  are  continuous,  and  mostly  of  uni- 
form  width,  from  a  few  miles  above  Rochester,  to  Mount  Morris, 
from  whicli  point  gradually  narrowing,  they  follow  the  course  of  the 
Canascraga  to  Dans vi lie,  where,  after  widening  out,  and  gradually 
rising  in  beautiful  table  lands,  they  come  to  an  abrupt  termination, 
and  are  hemmed  in  by  hills.  The  Canascraga,  Mill  Creek,  and 
Stony  Brook,  coming  down  from  the  highlands,  through  narrow 
gorgi?s,  enter  the  valley  and  unite  maiidy  within  the  village  limits. 
The  Canascraga  enters  the  valley  through  a  narrow  pass  called 
"Pog's  Hole,"  through  whicli,  climbing  along  a  steep  acclivity,  and 
tb.en  descending  to  a  level  with  the  stream,  passes  the  Ilornellsville 
road.  Upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream  from  the  road,  through 
the  whole  length  of  the  narrow  pass,  is  a  perpendicular  ledge  of 
rocks,  an  hundred  feet  in  height.  Beyond  this  pass,  the  valley 
widens  out  occasionally,  into  small  areas  of  intervale,  but  ranges  of 
highlands  rise  in  near  proximity  on  either  hand.  The  scenery  is 
wild  and  romantic,  at  every  step  reminding  the  contemplative  ob- 
server, of  the  written  descriptions  of  the  passes  of  the  Aljis.  Mill 
creek  making  in  irom  another  direction,  has  a  rai)id  descent  for  a  con- 
siderable distance,  before  reaching  the  valley,  furnishing  a  succes- 
sion of  hydraulic  facilities,  as  does  the  Canascraga,  where  it  jjasses 
from  the  highlands,  and  for  a  considerable  distance  below.  The 
aggregate  durable  water  power  of  both  streams,  before  and  after 
their  union,  is  immense  —largely  improved  now  —  and  equal  to  any 
present  or  prospective  retiuirements. 

At  the  head  of  the  valley,  is  a  succession  of  promontories,  over- 
looking the  town,  upon  one  of  which  is  a  rural  cemetery,  not  unlike  the 
Mt.  Hope,  at  the  other  extremity  of  the  Genesee  Valley.     Moulder- 

*  Tl.p  term  "  viillov  "  ia  here  uml  not  in  its  luliirged House  —  the  term " flats  "  would 
ptTLiipri  be  better. 


PirELPS    AND    GORIIAMS    PUECIIASE. 


863 


ing  in  its  shades,  upon  its  slopes  and  summits,  are  all  that  was  earth- 
ly of  nearly  all  the  rioncers,  who,  eiiterin-j;  that  beautil'ul  valley, 
when  it  was  a  wilderness,  laid,  amid  toil,  disease,  and  j>rivations,  the 
foundation  of  that  busy  scene  of  enterprise,  ])rosperity  and  happi- 
ness. Admonished  may  their  successors  and  inheritors  be,  that 
their  spirits  may  be  lingering  upon  that  summit,  (guardians  and 
watchers,  over  those  to  whom  they  bequeathed  so  rich  an  inherit- 
ance. Let  that  elevated  city  of  the  dead,  be  to  them  a  Mount  Sinai 
or  an  Horeb,  i'rom  which  to  catch,  as  if  by  inspiration,  a  nioietv  of 
the  stern  resolves,  the  moral  courage,  the  patriotism,  of  the  Pioneers. 

The  main  street  of  tlic  town  is  parallel  with,  and  at  the  base  of 
an  unbroken  range  of  high  land,  rising  to  the  height  of  nearly  f /e 
hundred  feet  —  steep,  but  yet  admitting  of  cultivation.  Cultivated 
fields  and  woodlands,  rising  one  above  another,  form  tiie  back  grounti, 
or  rurd  landscape  ;  iu  the  foreground  are  gentle  olfsets,  or  table 
lands,  at  the  termination  of  which,  the  Canascraga  winds  along  the 
base  of  another  similar  hill,  or  mountain  range  ;  to  the  left  are  the 
headlands,  that  have  been  named,  and  to  the  right,  the  Canascra- 
ga, winding  along  between  the  two  ranges  of  highlands,  ilows  to  min- 
gle its  waters  with  the  Genesee,  at  Mount  Morris. 

The  Genesee  Valley  Canal,  terminateti  a  half  mile  from  main  street, 
where  it  is  fed  from  Mill  creek,  and  a  mile  below,  at  Woodville, 
receives  the  waters  of  the  Canascraga.  The  canal  terminating 
too  far  from  the  central  business  locality  of  the  town,  individual 
enterprise  has  supplied  a  side  cut,  or  slip  which  remedies  the  incon- 
venience. 

In  reference  to  the  whole  scenery  of  the  southern  portion  of  the 
Genesee  country,  the  upper  vallios  of  the  Genesee,  the  Canascraga, 
the  Allegany,  the  Cattaraugus,  the  Conhocton,  and  the  Canisteo,  it 
may  here  be  remarked,  that  the  traveller  or  tourist  of  wdiat  Mr. 
Williamson  called  the  "northern  plains, "  who  breaks  out  for  a 
summer  excursion  to  the  east,  the  north  or  the  west,  may  be  told 
that  a  day's  journey  to  the  south,  will  bring  him  to  a  region  of  hill 
and  valley,  rivers  and  creeks,  mountains  and  rivulels.  cultivated 
fields  and  wild  woodlands,  which  should  satisfy  any  reasonable  desire 
for  the  romantic  and  picturesque.  And  if  health  is  the  object  of 
his  summer  wanderings,  no  where  can  he  breathe  "  freer  and  deeper," 
of  a  pure  and  invigorating  atmosphere  —  or  drink  I'rom  purer  springs 
and  streams,  —  thau  in  jdl  our  local  southern  reuion. 


3G4 


niELPS    AOT)  GORHAaAl's    PUKCIIASE. 

WILLIAM  I'lTZHUGU. 


He  was  of  a  family,  the  name  and  services  of  which  are  inti- 
nnately  blended  with  the  history  of  the  stirrinsr  events  of  the  Rev- 
olution  in   the    colony   of  Maryland.     The   lather,   Col.    William 
iMtzlmgh,   held   the   commission  of  Colonel   in  the  liritish   army, 
retired  upon  half  pay,  when  the  troubles  l)etween  the  colonies  and 
the  mother  comitry  commenced.     IJe  resided  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Patuxent.^where  he  had  a  larw  estate,  a  farm,  mills    and  manufac- 
tories.    Exercising  an  unusual  share  of  inHuence  with  his   fellow 
citixens,^  the  Briti.-^h  colonial  Governor  made  him  the  extraordinary 
oiler   of  a   continuance  of  his  rank  and    half  pav,  and   the   (juie't 
possesion  of  his  property  if  he  would  remain  a  neutral    in  the  con- 
test.    Though  an    uivalid,  by    ivason   of  physical  infirmities,  here- 
jected  the  overture,  surrendered  his  connnis.sion  —  (or  inther  left  it 
tipon  the  Covernoi''s  table  when  he  refu.sed  to  receive  it)  — encour- 
aged his  two   .sons  to  take  commissions  in  the  "rebel"  army,  takin<r 
himself  a  seat  in   the  Executive  council  of  Maryland,  to  assist  in 
devising  ways  and   means  for  his  country's   deliverance.     His  fine 
estate,  easy  of  access  from  its  locality,  was  of  course  doomed  to  pil- 
Inge  and  the  torch.     Tn  the  absence  of  the  father  and  .sons,  a   small 
British  party  landed,  but  resistance  came  from  an  unexpected  source. 
The  Kevclutionaiy  wife  and  mother.  Mrs.  Eitzhugh,  armed  the  slaves 
iijHni  the  estate,  and  carrying  herself  carfridiies  in  her  apron,  went 
out  to  meet  the  invader.s  and   intimidated  them  to  a  hasty  retreat. 
It  was  however,  but  a  warding  oil"  of  destiny  for  a  brief  season.  A 
stronger   party   came  and  ruthlessly  executed    their  mission,    the 
family  fleeing  to  an  a.sylum  fifty  miles  up  the  river  where  it  remain- 
ed  until  the  contest  ended.* 

The  son.  Col.  Peregrine  Fitzhugh,  was  first  commissioned  in  a 
corps  of  light  horse,  but  in  a  later  period  of  the  war  s  enrolled  in 
the  military  family  of  Washington.  DCT  See  Soaus.  William, 
the  more  immediate  subject  of  this  brief  sketch,  served  as  a  Colonel 
in  a  division  of  cavalry,  and  after  the  war,  was  a  member  oi'  the 
Maryland  Legislature.  Previous  to  ISOO  Col.  Peregrine  Eif/.hugh 
had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Willlam'son,  and  had  visited  the 


'  PriiK  iii.illv  I'lom  Mrs.  EUet'w  "Wonifu  of  Uie  Revolution." 


V"^ 


•1  ■> 


PHELPS   AND  GORHAJl's    PURCHASE. 


365 


Genesee  Country.  Wlien  Col.  Willhmi  Fitzlmgh  first  visited  the 
country  in  1800  in  company  with  Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester,  Major 
Charles  Carroll,  and  several  others,  he  brought  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion to  Mr.  Williamson  from  his  brother,  foi  himself  and  Col.  Roches- 
ter  ;  IMaJor  Carroll  as  would  seetu  from  the  reading  of  the  letter, 
having  previously  known  him.  During  this  visit,  in  addition  to  a 
third  interest  in  the  "100  acre  Tract"  at  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee,  pur- 
chased  in  company  with  Messrs.  Rochester  and  Carroll,  jointly  with 
Mr.  Carroll  he  purchased  on  the  Canascraga,  in  Groveland  and  vSpar- 
ta,  12,000  acres  of  Mr.  Williamson,  paying  8  201)  per  acre.*  Their 
tract  embraced  the  old  site  of  Williamsburg,  Mi-.  Williamson  having 
abandoned  his  enterprise  of  forming  a  town  there  after  the  failure 
with  his  German  colony.  Leaving  iheir  property  in  the  care  of  an 
agent.  Messrs.  Fit/hugh  and  Carroll  did  not  emigrate  with  then 
families  until  181(5,  when  a  division  of  the  joint  purchase  was 
made. 

Col.  Fitzhughdied  in  1839,  aged  78  years;  his  wife,  who  was  the 
daughter  of  Col.  Daniel  Hughes,  of  Washington  county,  Md.,  died  in 
1821),  aged  50  years.  The  surviving  sons  and  daughters  are  :  — 
Wm.  H.  Fit/.hugh,  residing  upon  the  old  homestead  in  Maryland ; 
Dr.  D.  H.  Fit/.hugh,  residing  upon  the  Canascraga  four  miles  from  Mt. 
Morris;  James  Fitzhugh,  in  Ohio  county,  Ky.:  Richard  P.  Fitzhugh, 
on  the  Canascraga  near  his  brotlier  Daniel  ;  Hen.y  Fitzhugh,  in 
Oswego;  m^.  Dr.  Fi'ederick  F.  Backus,  of  Rochester ;"Mrs. 
James  G.  Rirney,  of  Kentucky  ;  ^frs.  Gerrit  Smith  of  Peterboro  ; 
Mrs.  John  T.  Talman,  of  Rochester ;  Mrs.  Lieut.  J.  W.  Swit\ 
of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  residing  at  Geneva.     A   son,  Judye  Samuel 


l.H'ir  tnu'i  wiis  i)niici|iiilly  up  Ituids  ;  a  striuii,'.'  clioicc  it  wn.s  tlioiif,'lil  at  tlio  time, 
wJiou  X\\v\-  wtTi'  ,,lk'i'i'(l  the  Mt.  .Mon-is  tract,  with  its  hfautifiil  swoi'i.s  .if  tliits,  at  m,m 
per  aoiy.  l!ut  they  liad  vumv  IVdiii  a  n'i;i(.ii  mIutc  tiiiil)i'i-  va.s  ficaivo.  aiul  t'licv  had 
loanu'd  to  apinvcian^  its  value  ;iiid  wilii  ivloiviici'  to  intrinsic  relalivu  valno  i.i'  soil ; 
tun.',  and  iin|iv,.voi  systems  of  .■ultivation  an-  fust  dcmonstfatini'-  that  their  ehoice  <if 
lands  was  lar  li>s  mjndieious  than  it  iisod  ♦  .  be  considenMh  'J'iie  late  iMajoi-  ^'jjenm- 
told  tlie  authevthat  the  uplands  uj.on  his  L.  >•  f,  .  ■>■  were  wofth  as  mueh  T)eV  anv  as  his 
Hats.  ' 

NoTK.— Tlie  i^hiikei-  settleuienf  af  the  [iini'tion  of  the  Kishaiiua  creek  willi  flio 
taiuiseni-a  atew  mdesahove  Mt.  Miu'iis,  wheiv  llie  (ieneseo  Vallev  canal  entefs  tho 
valley  ol  the  (  anas.raoa.  isa])ait  of  the  ofi-inal  Fitzlmgh  and  ('arroU  tr-t  Tins 
s.|eletv  puivhascMl  .if  Dr.  Fitzlin.-'.,  :;  '■  «•  years ^in.v.    17(1(1  acivs,  for  whi.'h  toey  paid 

f  ,U,(I(  0  ;  an,!  t..  whu'h  they  ha 'u,m1  s.'veral  hun.lred  a.uvs.     Tlieir  ...ijani/.atiou  is 

after  the  nianner  ..1  lli..  socieliOH  at  Niskavuna  an.l  N.'w  Lebanon  ;  thev  are  enterpri- 
bin.u'and  prnsp>.rous  :  (h.niselvesan.'  ;h..ir  h.^autiftil  location  one  of  the  many  ubiects 
-A  Jiiterest  ii,  the  soiulicni  portion  of  our  h)L'id" region. 


|i  ,  kJ  it 

l!r  IS!  I     I 


wn 


sou 


PflKLI'H    AND    OORHAm's     I'l'KCirASK. 


Fil/Im-h,  ivsi.li.iir  ;,(.  Mt.  M«rris,  died  in  1811) ;  ;„hI  :i  y()un!.cr  son. 
ItoLerl,  .li.'.l  ill  (In.vchni.l.  in  1N.'{(;.  Tlu-re  :uv  over  80  (Icsceud- 
unts  ul  (Jul.  Wni.  riizjuiuli. 


CHARLES  CAKUOLL. 


Ifis  coniioction  with  Messrs.  Iloclu-slcr  j.nd  Fit/.himh,  ;ind  his 
.•idveiit  to  ;his  ivoi(»n  Willi  them  in  IHOO,  will  Imvc  hirn  noticed. 
lie  had  pivvionsly  in  ttu;  year  17i)8.  with  a  bi-olher.  Daniel  Cnrroil, 
been  here  upon  a  four  of  exploration.  They  eanic  via  the  Sus(iuo- 
hannah  route,  witii  paek  mules,  made  a  general  survey  of  the  coun- 
try, were  ])leased  with  it,  hut  made  no  investments  as  will  he  oh- 
served.  until  1800.  1'heir  residence  in  Maryland  was  at  IJellevue, 
near  1ho;erstown  :  the  earlier  home  of  the  family  had  heen  ujion 
the  site  of  the  city  of  \Vashin,uton  ;  the  cajHlal  (.f  die  Tnited  States, 
ii"w  occupies  a  portion  yf  tlie  estate  of  their  father,  Charles  Carroll,' 
niio  wa.s  a  cousin  of   •  Charles  Carroll  of  Cariollton." 

The  author  has  little  of  the  history  of  Major  Carroll,  disconnected 
with  that  of  his  associates.  Messrs.    Rochester  and  Fitzluio|i.     He 
died  at    his   residence    in  ( ooveland,  in    1897,  ajved  (iO  year.s.     His 
hviiur  sons  are:  — Charles  (^irroll,  the  occupant   of  the  homestead, 
recently  the  representative  in  (\.nnress  of  the  Livingston  and   On- 
tario .li.strict,   and  a  Stat.-   Senator;  Dr.  ])aniel  .).  Carrol  of  New 
"^ovk:   William   'J'.   Carroll,   a  clerk  of  the   Supreme  Court  of  the 
ruited  Slates.      Dauuhters  became  the   wives  of  Henry   Fit/hnuh, 
of  Oswego:  I\ros(«s    Tahhs,  of  Washington,  D.   C.;  Dr.   llard.ige' 
Lane  of  St.  Louis.     The  (-Idest   ..on  was  the    jirivate  Secretary  of 
Mr.  (lay,  at  tduMit  :  becoming  soon   :d'ter  the   clt-rk  of  his   father 
who  held  the  ..iHce  of  Kec(>iver  at  Franklin,  Missouri,  he  was  killed' 
in  an  alfray  which  occurred  in  that  town. 


There  came  t.)  the  Cienesee  country  with  Messrs.  Fit/hugh, 
Kochester  and  Carroll,  <ir  at  about  the  same  time.  Col.  .Tonas  Hog- 
inire,  of  Washington  comity,  Md.,  Wm.  Heal,  and  .lohn  Wilson,  of 
Frederick  couiily.  Col.  llogmire  purchased  of  Mr.  Wadsworlh, 
on  the  river,  in  Avon,  um  acres  of  land,  upon  which  his  sons  Con-' 


'!( 


1  , 


rilELPS    AND  OOIiJlAMri    I'UllCIIASE, 


367 


rad  and  Samuel  Hosimire  now  reside.  The  father  never  emigrated. 
Messrs.  Beul  and  Wilson  purchased  a  large  tract  on  tiie  (^anascraga, 
in  Sparta. 


AVON. 


Gil!)(M-t  R.  Berry,  was  the  first  permanent  settler  in  what  is  no 
Avon.*  He  was  irom  All)any.  He  married  the  daughter  of  the 
early  Indian  trader,  Wemple,  wlio  has  been  named  in  connection 
with  the  Uev.  Mr.  Kirkland.  Enga,y;in<r  in  the  Indian  trade,  he 
located  first  at  Geneva,  and  in  1785),  removed  to  the  Genesee  river, 
erected  ;i  lo^y  house  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  near  the  present 
l)ridji;(>,  oi)ened  a  trade  with  the  Indinn  village  of  Canawaugus,  es 
tahlished  a  ferry,  and  pntertained  the  few  travellers  that  passed 
through  on  the  old  Niagara  trail.  He  died  in  '9()  or  '7,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  widow.  The  Holl and  Purchase  being  opened  for 
settlnnent  soon  tdterwards,  the  "Widow  Berry's"  tavern  was 
widely  know  in  all  early  years,  west  of  the  river;  and  besides  fur- 
nishino-  a  comfortable  resting  place  for  early  Pioneers,  in  her  prim- 
itive tavern,  i^ome  of  the  best  wives  and  mothers  of  the  Genesee 
count  ry,  were  reared  and  fitted  for  the  duties  of  life.  Her  daughters 
became  the  wives  of  Geo.  Hosmer,  Estp,  of  A\(;n,  E.  Clark  Hickox, 
the  early  merchant  of  J?atavia  and  Bullah^  .lohn  Mastick,  Es(i.,  the 
Pioneer  lawyer  of  Rochester,  and  George  A.  TiHany,  whose  father 
was  one  of  the  early  ]).rinters  of  Canandaigua. 

Cajit.  .Tohn  Ganson,  was  the  pioneer  settler  following  Mr.  Berry. 
Holding  a  commission  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  he  had  accompanied 


'I'hi^i-i.'issmiu'tl    tVointiu-   l)cst   iiiforniati.m   the  autlior  hius  bwrn  able  to  olitsiin. 


WilliuH  UicfwasiU  Avon  in  llu'  snine  yoar,  and  must  liavo  sciili'il  i'm-iv  sunn  allur 
Mr  IUmtv  Muiviina.ul  Williiini  Ih-slia,  wove  upon  Iho  "  l)i'>lia  l-lats,"  us  oarly  n.s 
ns'l  .■hmiiiii"  uiiil.T  an  Indian  f;Tanl  ;  liut  tiio  title  failin-,',  tla-.y  iviudvea  to  Canada. 
Tli.MV  NvrivtluTe  in  tliat  voar,  be.sides,  several  lieads  of  fanulies.  wlio  afe  supposed  not 
toliav..  l,renpennaneuf  settlers.  Tlie  son  of  the  Wm.  Riee  named  above,  was  the 
tirst  horn  up..i'  tlie  I'helps  an.l  Gorhan.'s  I'nrel.ase.  He  wa.  nmne,  •Oliver  1  helps 
Uiee  "  .!ud"e  I'lielps  uave  him  an  KKI  aeres  i.f  land  in  Livoma,  wlu.'h  he  oeer.pied 
when  he  beeanu'  of  a-e.  Mrs.  liiee  was  a  «o<..l  specimen  of  the  slron-  mn.ded  ener- 
1\h-  women,  who  were  the  1  l;„a.er  n.olhers  of  thisre-iun  MulUd  as  a  nudw.leand 
nur-e  she  wnt  from  seltlemeni  lo  settlement,  and  trom  In-  eabir  to  lo^^  .■abin.  olren 
sum.i'vin-  the  i.laee  of  a  phvsieian.  Her  manv  aets  of  kindn.'ss  are  jtraleluliy  remein- 
l        fl      11  '    'a riv  I'iot.eers.     Mrs.  Gould  of  Lima,  and  Mrs.  llhodes  ol  Gcausco,  an- 


I 


I   I 


her  daui,diiers. 


3GS 


rjIELPS   AND    GOWlAJi's  rUlICilASE. 


the  expodition  of  Gen.  Sullivan.     Before  the  treaty  was  concluded, 
in  178H,  he  revisited  the  country,  and  selected  a  fine  tract  of  land 
on   the  river,  about  two  miles  below  Avon.     Ills  sons  John  and 
James  wintered  in  a  cabin  in  1788,  '<),  ujKm  the  premises;  and  the 
father  and  family  came  on  in  the  fall  of  1780.     During  the  fnllow- 
inc^ winter  they  erected  a  rude  "tub  mill "  on  the  small  stream  that 
puts  into   the  river  on  the  Markham  i'arm.     It  was  a  .'^mall   lorr 
building;  no  boards  could  be  had  ;  the   curb  was  made  of  liewed 
plank  ;  the  spindle  was  made  by  straightening  out  a  section  of  a  cart 
tire  ;  the  stont's  were  roughly  carved  out  of  native  rock.     There 
was  no  b(jlt,  the  substitute  being  hand  sieves,  made  of  sjilints.     It 
was  a  rude,  ])rimitive  concern  ;  but  it  would  mash  tiie  corn  a  little 
better  than  a  wooden  mortar  and  pestle ;  and  was  (juite  an  acquisi- 
tion to  the  country.     It  preceded  the  Allan  mill  a  lew  months,  and 
if  we  shall  call  it  a  mill,  it  was  the  first  in  the  Genesee  Valley.     The 
buckwheat  that  lias  been  mentioned,  produced  upon  Boughton  Hill, 
was  ground  or  mashed  in  it,  having  been  carried  there  twenty  miles 
through  tlui  woods,  by  Jared  Boughton,  in  the  fall  of  178!) ;  and  the 
producer,  and  mill  boy  (or  man)  lives  to  eat  buckwheat  cakes,  now  in 
the  winter  of  1850,  '51.     Borrowing  the  language  of  Shaks])care,  and 
applying  it  to  this  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  that  early  period,  may 

"Godil  (lif^i'stiuu  wail  on  iii)j)etite, 
Ami  hoallli  du  botli." 

Capt.  Ganson  had  claimed  title  either  under  the  Indian  grant,  or 
under  tlu'  Lessees,  which  failed,  and  Col.  Wm.  Markham  becam.e 
liis  successor.  He  resided  for  several  years  afterwards,  four  miles 
east  oi"  Avon,  on  the  main  road.  As  early  as  1788,  about  the  period 
ot  the  conimencement  of  surveys  ujton  the  Holland  Purchase.  Capt. 
Ganson,  had  jjushed  on  to  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  purchased 
the  i)ioneer  tavern  stand  of  Charles  Wilbur,  on  the  then  vern-e  of 
civilization,  one  mile  east  of  the  ])resent  village  of  Le  Rov.  In  this 
location  he  was  widely  known  in  early  years.  His  iiouse  \\as  the 
liome  of  early  land  agents,  surveyors,  explorers  and  pioneer  settlers. 
He  was  both  loved  and  i'eared  by  the  Indians;  thev  came  t(j  him 
for  ct)unsel  and  advice  ;  and  when  they  became  turbulent  in  their 
drunken  frolics  and  threatened  outrage,  he  would  quell  thetn  by  his 
determined  will,  or  with  his  strong  arm.  He  was  even  ultra  in  his 
Revolutionary  principles.  When  he  came  upon  the  river,  he  and 
the   Butler  Hangers  —  the  tories  of  the  Revolution,    were  far  from 


PHELPS  AND  GORUAlVl's   PURCHASE. 


[569 


beini?  ngreeuble  neighbors  ;  lie  was  impatient  to  see  the  last  of  them 
on  their  wny  to  Canada. 

'J'ownship  10,  11.  7,  (Avon,)  was  sold  by  Mr.  Phelps  to  "  Wads- 
worth,  Lewis  &  Co."  Those  interested  in  the  purchase,  wt-rc  :  — 
William   Wadsworth,   of  Farmington,  Conn.,    (a  cousin  of  .lames 

and  William,) Wells  of  Hartford,  Isaiah  Thompson,  Timothy 

Ilosmer,  and Lewis.  The  price  paid  was  Is  (Jd,  N.  E.  cur- 
rency per  acre;  "a  high  price  at  the  ))priod,  in  conseiiuenco  of  the 
hirge  amount  of  open  Hats."  Dr.  Hosmer,  and  Thomiison,  were  the 
only  ones  of  the  proprietors  who  became  residents.  ]\Lijor  Thomp- 
son, who  had  not  brought  his  family,  died  the  first  season,  of  hillious 
fever.  His  son  Charles  afterwards  became  a  resident,  ;nid  died  in 
Avon,  nniny  years  since.  Mrs.  Tompkins,  of  Batavia  is  a  grand- 
daughter  of  Major  Thompson. 

Dr.  Timothy  Hosmer  was  a  native  of  West  Hartford,  Conn. 
With  a  little  more  than  an  ordinary  academical  education,  he  be- 
came a  student  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Dickinson,  of  Middleton. 
But  recently  settled  in  practice  in  Farmington,  at  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Revolution,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  colonies,  as  a  sur- 
geon, in  the  Connecticut  line.  Serving  in  that  capacity  through 
the  eventful  crisis,  he  retired,  happy  in  the  recollection  of  its  glori- 
ous result,  hut  like  most  of  those  who  had  achieved  it,  poor  and 
pennyless,  a  growing  family  dependent  on  his  professional  services 
for  support.  In  the  army  he  had  accjuired  a  high  reputation  in  his 
profession;  especially  lor  his  successful  treatment  .of  the  small  pox, 
at  Daid)ury,  where  an  army  hospital  hail  been  established  for  |>atients. 
The  discovery  of  .lenner,  having  been  but  recently  promulgated  in 
Europe,  its  efficacy  was  a  mooted  question ;  with  a  professional 
boldness  which  was  characteristic  of  the  man,  he  espoused  the  new 
discovery,  and  used  it  with  gi;eat  success.  His  mate,  in  the  army, 
was  Dr.  Eustis,  afterwards  Secretary  of  War. 

Personally  acquainted  with  jMr.  Phelps,  and  hearing  of  his  pur- 
chase in  the  Genesee  country,  partly  from  a  love  of  adventure  and 


iNoTK.  —  Jiiiiifs  aii<l   Joliii  GiMisii 


o,    ,.     I      ,,       ...  .,    ""    t lie  siiiis.  were  nivlv   IiiiHllords  ;it    Lo  Roy  and 

Ht.u,..i,l.  Mv>^.  WiiiToi.  roMuiiij.-iu.ai-  Lcn-kimi-t,  isa  .laiin-hfr.  Jainc-s  Causm  is  stiU 
Jiuny-,  ai-o.s,,U,,t  ot  .liickson,  .Mu-l.i-aii ;  l,is  sons,  arc  .)olm  S.  Gaii-m,,  ,,f  liuffiilo, 
1  rcsuuMit  of  ho  Jiuiicol  .\ttioa;  Josoph  (iansoii,  .-.  nu.roluiiit  of  J!i-ookiK,n.  Ilira: 
t  oi-iiolius  aiK  Coriioil.  i-o,Hilonts(,fMiolui;ini.  and  aimtluM- son  rosi.lo- 
llio  sons  ol  .loliii  Gaiison,  aro  Dr.  Uolloii  (iaiison  of  Ha 


iiaiu, 
in  Mihvaiilvpc. 

•     ,,  ,;.  , ,'"i' •"'•"•  *""i"ii  v.iiMMMi  ui  liataviii;  Jolin  (ian^dii.  an  .-Utor- 

lioy  Jii  l.iiUulo;  luul  Jiiino.s  (imiHou,  Ca.siiior  of  tliu  .Marino  Bank  of  iiuQUlo. 


370 


PIIELI^    AND    GORIIA:\i's    PURCHASE. 


new  entcM-pnso,  and  partly  to  escape  from  alai-e  practice  that  wa. 
re.iu.niiur  too  ,nuch  of  constant  toil,  in   1700,  he  visiteil  this  re-non 
111  company  with  Major  Thompson,  with  whom,  for  themseU-os''and 
associates,   he   made    the    purchase  of  a  township.     Spendin-r  the 
summer  ol  -DO  in  Avon;   in -Ol   he  brought  on  his  two  sons.  Fred- 
eiickand   Sydney;  erectin.s;  a  lonr  house,  the  first  dwellincr  on  the 
liresent  site  of  Avon,  where  Mr.  Merrill's  house  now  stands.     His 
whole  lannly  joined  him  in  1792.     Coming  into  the  wilderness,  with 
other  objects  m  view,  he  was  forced  by  necessitv-bv   the   ab.sence 
ot  others  of  his  profession,  to  engage  in  practice,  widch  he  contin- 
ued until  relieved  by  others.     Among  the  old  pioneers  who  in  those 
primitive  days,  were  in  detached  settlements  throughout  a  wide 
range,  you  udl  hear  him  .spoken  of;  and  especiallv  do  thev  remem- 
ber Ins  disregard  of  fatigue,  his  long,  night,  wood's  rides,  prompted 
more  by  a  .spirit  of  benevolence  than  professional  gain;  his   .rood 
humor,  and  the  kind  words  he  always  ha.l  t..  cheer  the  despoiidin^ 
settler  wh<j  was  wrestling  with  disease,  or  the  hardships  of  pioneer 
Ide       J  he  Indians  early  learned  to  appreciate  his  profes.sional  skill, 
and  personal  good  oflices.  They  named  him  •'  At-tta-.rus,"  the  healer 
of  disease.     In  a  period  of  doubt  as  to  their  relations'wifh  the   new 
settlers,  he  helped  to  reconcile  them  and  aven  a  threatened  .langer. 
V\  hen  Ontario  was  organized  he  became  one  of  its  Jud^res,  and 
succeeded  Mr.  Thelps  as  first  Judge,  which  ollice  he  held  until  he 
was  sixty  years  of  age,  the  constitutional  limitation.     He  possessed 
naturally  a  fine  literary  taste ;   and  his  well  selected  librarv  was  an 
ano.naly  ,n  the  backwoods,     hi  his  correspondence  with  Messrs. 
\V  adsw.M-th  and  Williamson,  which  the  author  has  perused,  there  are 
indicr.tions  of  the  scholar,  the  poet,*  and  alw.n's,  of  ardent,  enli<dit- 
ened  patriotism.  ^  ^ 

He  died  in  November,  1815,  aged  70  years.     His  surviving  sons, 


!  ::;;      ''^^'"^•"'  ^'^'•'■-.  «o„l,l  notlK.  ..i,vn,ns.TilK..l  il,  il«  limits  t.Ml.o  .hoU  of 

tic  I     ;        St.,t     '  "'7'  "^  •■•■"'■'■','""■.    "  '-^''''T".  «H,1  that  1h.  ...xt..M^i^,.  t..ni|,„.v  of 
Smij    :     ^^''"^■"■™"  ''^'  ^'"V''"H.,1  with  th.-pvafstlarililv,  andwitlia  .h-r-v  ofh.p. 

1'}  >uiU,o„.  :  a,Ml  ,t  isthwvlure  not  a  matter  of  suquisc,  to  .e.  Frauce,  who.u  a nnif 


linvi 


T— ?; 


PHELPS  AND   G0RHA:M  8    PtmCIIASE. 


an 


most  of  whom  ciime  to- the  country  as  junior  pioneers,  are  William 
T.,  of  Meadville,  Pa.;  George,  of  Avon,  who  in  early  years  occu- 
pied a  conspicuous  position  at  the  bar  of  W.  N.  York,  the  father 
of  Wm.  II.  C.  Hosiner,  the  author  of  "  Yonnondio,"   "Themes  of 
Sonif,''  and  other  poems ;  who  is  justly  entitled  to  the  positifui  that 
lias  been  awarded  him  in  the  front  rank  of  American  scholars  and 
poets.     Geo.  Hosmer  pursued  his  early  studies  under  the  tuition  of 
the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Johnson  of  Lima ;   in   17i)9  entered  the  law 
oflice  of  the  Hon.  Nathaniel  W.  Howell,  as  a  student ;  and  in  1802 
•svas  admitted  to  practice,  oi)ening  his  oflice  in  Avon,  then  the  only 
lawyer  west  of  Canandaigua.     In  the  war  of  1812  he  was  upon  the 
frontier   as  the  aid   of  Gen.   Hall.    He  is  now  OO  years  of  age. 
Timotiiy,  the  early  and  widely  known  landlord  at  Avon,  resides  at 
the  Four  Mile  creek,  near  Fort  Niagara  ;  Sylvester,  in  Caledonia  ; 
Albert  in  Hartland,  Niogara  co.    An  only  daughter  of  Judge  Hos- 
mer is  the  wife  of  the  Kev.  Flavel  F.  BHss,  of  Churchville.     Fred- 
erick Hosmer,   deceased,  was  a  son  of  Judge  Hosmer;  he  was  the 
first  merchant  at  Avon  ;  another  son,  A.  tSydney  Hosmer,  was  long 
known  ns  a  tavern  keeper  at  Le  Roy;  he  emigrated  to  Wisconsin, 
where  he  died  in  1835. 

Colonel  William  Markham,  who  had  first  settled  at  Bloomfield, 
moved  to  Avon  in  1790.  In  Bloomfield  he  had  purchased  an  hundred 
acres  of  Innd,  and  paid  for  it  with  the  proceeds  of  one  acre  of  po- 
tat(»es.  With  the  proceeds  of  tliat  land,  he  purchased  and  paid  for 
the  fine  farm  on  the  river,  now  owned  by  his  son,  Guy  Markham, 
which  has  rented  tor  !$1,000  per  year.  He  became  a  useful,  public 
spirited  citizen,  and  his  name  is  mingled  with  the  reminiscences  of  the 
town,  in  all  early  years.  He  died  in  1827,  or '8.  His  surviving  sons 
are  ;  Guy  and  Ira,  of  Rush,  Wayne,  on  Ridge  Road,  near  Clarkson, 
Vine,  in  Michigan.  Daughters  :  —  Mrs.  Whitney,  Michigan  ;  Mrs. 
Boughton  and  Mrs.  Dr.  Socrates  Smith,  of  Rush. 

Gad  Wadsworth  was  a  distant  connexion  of  James  and  William, 
and  came  in  with  them,  in  their  primitive  advent  in  1790,  in  care, 
personally,  pf  the  stock.  James  and  William  having  become,  by 
purchase  from   first  hands,  land   proprietors  in   Avon,   he  settled 


liiivf  fiiiii'liitlitiViiitlli.Mif  liKlvpt-iidi'iice,  ill  Aiiicrii'M,  vk'toriimsovi'iMlif  tninidnsof  des- 
pois.  Anil  it'  I  limy  bo  allti\v('<l  the  ]irivil('<;'t'  of  a  prodiftioii,  I  i^lKlll  liavc  ln.t  Utile 
iif'sitiiiioii  ill  iirououiu'ing,  that  tlie  extirjiatiou  of  tyrants  and  tyranny  from  Europe, 
is  but  a  ^niall  remove  from  the  present  era." 


I^^^l 

^H 

■ 

1 

'■'mM 

1 

m 

■ 

372 


PIIKLI'S  AND  GORIIAJl's    I'UUCIIASE. 


^f  f 


tlioro  in  1702,  his  ninn  bein,<r  what  are  now  the  fiirms  of  liis  son, 
irtMiiy  Wn.lsworth.  aiul  Asa  Nowlon,  upon  wliich  aro  the  Avon 
si)rinir^s.  He  died  soon  after  IH20.  nearly  HO  years  old.  Another 
son  of  his,  Rieliard,  inhabited  that  piirfof  the  farm  upon  wiiirh  tiie 
sprinnrs  are  situated,  and  sold  to  Mr.  Novvien.  lie  emigrated  to 
Sandusky. 

IMajor  Isaac  .Smith  was  the  early  and  widely  known  landlord,  four 
miles  west  of  the  river,  eomnienein<r  th(>re  as  early  as  INOO.  I'n- 
der  his  roof,  a  lartje  pioj)ortion  of  the  Pioneers  west  of  the  river, 
have  I'ound  rest  and  refreshment ;  and  from  under  it,  it  may  ;ilso  be 
added,  have  eome  not  less  th;m  half  a  dozen  excellent  wives  aii.l 
mothers.  They  were  :  —  Mrs.  Isnac  Sutherland,  and  Mrs.  K.  Kim- 
berly,  of  IJatavia,  Mrs.  John  M'Kny,  of  (^idedonia,  Mrs.  A.  Sidney 
Hosnier,  formerly  of  Le  Hoy,  Mrs.  Faulkner,  (jf  Dansville,  and 
Mrs.  Sylvester  Hosmer,  of  Caledonia.  S.  W.  Smith,  .^f  Dansville, 
an<l  Nelson  Smith,  of  ]\Iichi<ran,  are  sons  of  the  early  landlord. 

The  n(<xt  landlord  at  Avon,  after  Gilbert  K.  Rerry,  w:is  Nathan 
Perry.     lie  built  a  framed  house,  north  side  of  square,  on  the  site 
now  occujiied  by  the  dwelling  of  i\Ir.  Curtis  Ilawley.     Perry  emi- 
irrated  to  the  Connecticut  Re.serve,  and  was  succeeded  by  Sydney 
llosmer,  who  nuide  additions  to  the  house.     In  180(5  .lames  Wads- 
worth  buih  the  hotel  on  tlie  corner,  and  soon  after  .sold  it  to  Sidney 
and  W.  T.  Hosmer,  after  which  it  was  loni;;  known  as   the  Hos- 
mer Stand.*     During  the  war,  and  for  many  years  alter,  it  was 
kept  by  Tihiothy  Hosmer.     The  old  landlord  "aiiil  hr  diady  are  still 
alive,  the  owners  and  occupants  of  one  of  the  linest  'arms,  in  that 
region  of  fine  farms,  Niagara  county.     The  first  school  hou.^e  was 
a  log  one,  erected  a  little   north  of  the  Episcopal  church.     .Judge 
Hosmer  and  the  Wadsworfhs.  built  saw-mills  on  the  Conesus,  as 
early  as  170G.     The  first  meetings  were  held  in  the  log  .shool  house. 
Judge  Hosmer  usually  reading  the  Episcopal  service.     Mr.  Crane, 
an  Episcopal  clergyman,  and  Rev.  SamuoJ  J.  Mills,   were  early 
itinerant  ministers. 

Jehiel  Kelsey  yet  survives,  of  the  early  Pioneers  of  Avon.  He 
has  reached  his  SOth  year.  The  old  gentleman  si)eaks  familiarly  of 
early  events,  of  the   [)eriod   when  not  over  twenty  or  t\  enty-flve 


■Prcvidiis  1(1  till"  silc.  li( 


liiiwt'vci-,  T);iviil  Finillnv  iiml  JosliuaLovcjov  wiiiv  iMTiipiintH. 
Lov(jjt..v  ivmovcl  to  I'.iilthI,..  j;^"  Scf  nccuuiil' of  llu'  nuwsicru  ol'.Mns.  Lowiov,  at 
tJie  di'.siructioa  ul'  JJulValo,  iu  lli.storv  of  Jiulhuul  I'luvliiise. 


^m^Mi 


I'lIELi'S   AND  GOUIIAAl's   PUIICHASE. 


373 


iiK'ii  cdulil  In;  i-iiiscd  in  all  the  UciieHce  valley,  to  put  a  lui:  bridf^e 
over  I  )(•('[)  Hollow,  in  the  n(nv  city  of  Rochester.  In  17J)8  he 
Itrounht  the  first  carj^'o  of  salt  that  came  from  Ononda;ii;a,  by  water, 
and  around  the  Portat^e,  at  Genesee  Falls.  He  paid  lor  each  bushel 
ol  salt,  a  pound  of  pork,  and  sold  his  salt  at  810  jier  barrel.  He 
well  rcmenibors  seeing  companies  of  surveyors  fitting;  <nit,  and  load- 
iiijj;  their  pack  hor.scs  at  Avon,  to  break  into  the  Holland  Purchase. 

In  180r>,  a  Ijibrary  was  established  at  Avon.  The  trustees  were  : 
A.  Sidney  Hosmer,  .Job  Pierce,  .Toshua  Lovejoy,  .lehirl  Jvelsey, 
Elkanah  Whitney,  .lames  Lawrence,  Win.  Markham,  George  Hos- 
mer, Stephen  Ilodi,fers. 

ill  ISIO,  "  a  number  of  persons  be inij;  stated  hearers  of  llev.  John 
F.  Pliss,  of  Avon,"  met  and  organi/.ed  "Avon  Rcjligious  Society." 
Samuel  Bliss  and  Asa  Clark  presided.  Trustees: — .Tohn  Pierson, 
George  Hosmer,  Nathaniel  Bancroft,  .Tolm  Brown,  E/.ekiel  Mosely, 
William  Markham. 


AVON  SPHLVdS. 


Tlio  ra]M(l]y  incroasing  colcbvity  of  Avon  Springs  a.s  a  sunn  tier  resort  for 
invuliils,  jileasure  ]>nrlios,  ami  toinisls  ;  invite<l  ;is  well  hy  tlic  healing  waterji, 
n?\>\  clKirniing  seencry,  the  bmail,  cnltivated  fields,  and  beautiful  t'oi'ests,  tliat 
suriduud  them,  will  juiiliaps  render  some  early  reininiscenees  of  them  nut  un- 
inleresting:  —  They  were  known  to  the  Jesuit  Mis.sionarie.s,  and  Joneaire,  un- 
der l'"n;neli  duuiinion,  and  they  recognizeil  their  usi-  by  the  Indians,  fui'  ir;edi- 
cinal  or  healing  jnu'poses.  'i'lie  Seneca  name  tor  them  was  "  Can-a-wau-gus," 
(feiid.  liad  smelling  water,)  and  tlieneo  the  name  of  their  villa::.',  in  ihc  im- 
mediate neighliorhood.  When  settlement  eonuneured,  sixty  years  since,  they 
were  surround<!i|  by  a  dense  ced.ar  marsh.  'J'Ik;  waters  of  tho  springs  tlowed 
into  a  hasin  or  poml,  covering  a  space  of  several  acres,  tlio  margin  of  wliidi, 
wa<  pure  white  sanil,  thrown  up  by  the  action  of  the  water.  The  watei's  W(,'re 
clear  and  transparent,  and  shaded  by  the  dark  forest,  the  spot  had  a  secluded 
and  romantic  as])ect.  It  was  tirst  noticed  as  a  resort  of  the  wild  ]«igef)n. 
Indian  paths  were  found  leading  to  the  spot,  from  tho  old  Niagara  trail,  and 
from  the  branch  trails;  and  the  Indians  told  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  ellicacy 
of'  tin.'  waters  in  cutaneous  diseases.  vVt  an  early  jierioil  in  tho  settlement  of 
the  country,  as  many  will  remember,  the  mea.sles,  (as  it  was  called*)  was 

*  It  tlie  iiii'ilii'al  faculty  will  excuse  a  non-])rof(!ssor  for  tho  iutroduotiou  of  a  new 
luuiic,  in  llii'ir\<n'aiiul;uv,  it  was  tlie  "  Genesee  ifcti,"  to  wliichincua.s  well  as  Miiiiiiiils 
vrci't' siiliji'ct  in  this  retjion,  when  tirst  cuinini,'  here — cndeinical  in  its  chararter  —  or 
rntlu-r  inciJoifcil  to  forest  lifu  here.    The  Jesuit  uiissiouaricb  wero  alliictcd  with  it. 


'>§ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


/. 


4. 


1.0 


1.1 


u  iii 

£  us 

WUu 


M 

2.2 

1.8 


1.25      1.4 

1.6 

^ 6"     — 

► 

Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


sr  ^^    MP. 


(A 


i 


374 


PHELPS  AXD  GOItHAIM's   PUECHASE. 


preva  ont  amono:  tl,e_  hoo..     It  was  oLsen-d,  tl,at  when  thus  afflictK].  tl.ey 

lentl}  ortbatol-ject  In  early  yoa..,  Miss  \Ven.],le,  a  si.ter  of  M,..  ulL 
upon  e  ,.e<..„,„u,Kanuno  D..Hc™,  bathed  in  an.l  chank  the  waters,  a.K 
vas  ,ehe^ed;  an.l  other  snn.Jar  ca.es  occuvrecl.  Soon  aft.T  the  war  of  l.si'> 
visitors  troni  abroad  be.Q-aij  to  resort  to  the  Sprino^s,  and  Hiehard  Wadsworth! 
at  nesugges uon,  and  w,th  the  aid  of  George  llosn.er,  Ks<,.,  erected  a  sn'al 
kahmg.stabl,sh.nent  and  shower  bath.  Afrerthe  pnrohase  of  the  prup.l 
bv  M..  iNowlen,  and  the  erection  of  a  boardinij  house  by  Mr.  IhnXL  a 
new  nnpetns  wasgnen  to  ^npro^•enlents;  ^■isito;>; be^an  tJ  increase,  tV^.n  year 
to  yeaiv  improvements  have  been  progressive ;  nntil  sick  or  uvil,  the.^  is  notpot 
moieinMting  in  western^ew  Vork.     Bnt  a  ],ioneer  history  was  only  intended 


EEMINISCENCES  OF  GEORGE  HOSMER. 


_  Mr.  Ilostner  confirms  tlie  position,  tliat  the  domestic  lioo-  will  go  back  to 
bis  native  s  ate,  soon  after  he  has  re-entered  a  f.avst  lif<..  In  earlf  ye  k  of 
s.-ttleinent,  there  were  droves  of  h„gs,  generally  roaming  ov^  the  I  1  kN 
a  ong  the  Genesee  river,  the  immediate  p.-ogenitors  of  .ddch  ha,I  be  V        ' 


lose 


.omesticated  by  the  Indians,  and  those  brond.t  here  by  Bntler's  ]{  ,  o.^. 

They  w<.re  wiid,  as  ,u:  those  now  seen  by  Ca!itV,rnia  adintnrei^  in  cn,;si,  ^ 

he  Isthmns  ot  Panama.     They  Mere  nntameable,  and  when  wanted  t U' 

wild '-ame    '"  "''"^'^''"°    ^   ^'        ''^  ^'^"^'^  ''"'"  ^''''^''^  ^'""^  ^^^^^  ^^^  ''ti'«' 
•  11^795  Frederick  Hosmer,  attlie  instance  of  Mr.  Williamson,  went  to 
reside  at  the  mouth  ot  the  river.     Erecting  a  Jog  shantee,  he  kept  a  tl. 
goods  to  barter  with  the  Indians  for  fnrs,  and  trade  with  the  b Ltteann  ..Ai 
used  to  make  that  a  stopping  place.     George  Hosmer  was  freuueiuh   ^^i 
mn.     British  deserte.^  trom  Niagara  would  frequently  come  down  the  Lake 
Lpon  one  occasion  some  deserte.s  were  followed  bv  a  voung  Lieutenant  and 
agmu-dof  8  nien  in  a  boat.     Arnving  at  the  mouth  of  tlurrivei,  and  W 
ign<.thingof  therctugees,_tbe  Lieutenant  hunted  and  fished;  lendin.-  Is 
to^^lng  piece  to  two  of  his  soldiers  who  were  goino-up  to  theFalb'tlcv 
too  deserted.     The  Lieutenant  pursued  them  to  dr^m,Z  S  oneV  b  B  td 

"    md  0?  £1^  '^^"''-^l'^  tliey  werefieemg  toson.e  new^llemo!;;'!;!'^ 

land  ot  hbe.t3      «o  rapidly,  that  he  gave  uj)  the  chase,  and  returned  to  Fort 

Niagara,  minus    wo  of  his  guard,  addcl  to  Ihe  deserte  s.     The  unt ,  ami' 

^"=::;;f  tc:^-'^ '-'  "^"  -^  '^^  ^-^-'-  -^  ^"^  ^-^'^ 

sol  lierr;'?  *!l ";  f  '''''"  ^'"^^^^  ^^l'  ^''^^^''^  ''^^  frequent  a.  soon  as  the 
soLheis  knew  that  there  we.e  new  settlements  in  this  .juarter -  placxs  uf  re- 
fuge,-  Lidians  were  iired  by  the  British  officers  to  pursue  them  and  failin<v 
to  arrest,    to  shoot  them.     White   hunters,  and  citizens  visiting  the  Fort" 

falniSs'lJe'lv'sJ^fW^"  NonviHe's  arn.y,,.erc  attacked  ^ith  thT^^^nJ^l^.. 
^X^:l:l:::::l^!^;'^'^^''  ----iterate,  and  otherwise  n^oh4.  diilbr- 


PHELPS  AND   GOEHAm's   PURCHASE. 


375 


fflict.'fl.  tliey 
•  forest  a}i|)a- 
Mix.  \ktY\j, 
wati'is,  aikl 
>ai'  of  18 IL', 
Wailswortli, 
cteil  a  small 

;llO  lirnp(,'ity 

loiiulituii,  a 
I',  fii;iiiyfar 
no  is  no  spot 
ly  in  tended. 


go  back  to 
y  years  of 
!io  ti|ilanils, 

bei_-n  ilioso 
s  ]"t;iiio'ei's. 

Ill  crossinfi" 
waiiletl  fur 
fc  like  other 

II,  Avont  to 
kept  ^  few 
luuii'ii  tfcat 
lently  with 
n  tlie  Lako. 
tonant  and 
and  liear- 
oiuliiio-  Lis 
Falls,' t  key 
L  J)i'in'Iit(.in, 
lent  in  tlio 
led  to  I'uit 
iiifoiiunale 
he  liei'o  at 

oon  as  the 
aees  ( )f  re- 
nid  failing 
the  Fort, 

:im."  '11)0 
W!iy  would 
iully  difll-r- 


nnd  intondinpf  to  pass  through  the  wikh^rncss  to  the  eastward,  wore  furnished 
with  a  medal,  or  a  token,  to  show  the  Indians  thus  employed,  to  iire\ cnt  ar- 
rest. " Tuscarora,'' or  "Stitf-amiod  George,"  was  thus  employed,  and  he 
was  one,  of  the  worst speeimons  of  his  race;  a  terror  wherever  he  was  known. 
Ho  shot  and  scaljK'd  several  deserters,  carrying  his  trophies  to  Fort  Niao-ara 
for  reward.  Ui)on  one  occasion,  wlien  (Joorgo  Hosmer  was  left  to  take  care 
of  tliH  shantee  in  the  absence  of  his  brother'  Frederick,  Gooro-(«  deiiiandod 
rum,  which  being  refuseil,  the  Indian  pushed  him  back  against  a  post,  and 
striking  at  his  head  with  his  tomahawk,  the  blow  was  averted,  making  an 
impression  upon  the  post  which  evidenced  the  intention  of  the  reven'\'ful 
sa\-age.     Mr.  Iloncher  and  his  hireil  man  came  to  the  rescue.*  ° 

Ebenezer  Allan  was  rather  imposing  in  his  appearance,  usuallv  mild  and 
gentlemanly,  but  ho  had  a  bold  and  determined  look;  could  easily  put  on  the 
savage  character.  IIo  had  acquired  a  distaste  for  civilized  life.  Mrs.  Dii'mn, 
his  sister,  was  mild  and  amiable  —  somewhat  accomplished.  ° 

_  The  "On-ta-gua,"  or  Horse  Shoe  Pond,  a  mile  and  a  half  bel.iw  Avon 
village,  abounded  in  line  fish,  especially  large  black  bass,  in  an  oaily  day ; 
and  it  was  also  the  favorite  resort  of  ducks,  goose,  and  other  wild  water  fowl. 
Speckled  trout  wcmo  plenty  in  the  river,  an.l  in  all  the  tributary  streams. 
Thei-o  was  no  pickerel,  or  pike,  above  the  Genesee  Falls,  until  ]R10,  wlK-n 
William  Wjidswortli,  and  some  others,  caught  pickerel  in  Lake  Oiit'irio,  and 
other  Lake  fish,  and  i)ut  them  into  Conesus  Lake;  and  pickerel  abound  tiiere 
now;  have  been  taken  weigliing  20  lbs.  As  the  pickerel  came  down  from 
the  Lake  into  the  Genesee  river,  the  trout  disappeared. 

The  most  troublesome  wild  animals  in  early  days,  other  than  boars  and 
wolves,  were  the  foxes  and  wild  cats  preying  upon  die  fowls,  piireons  preying 
npon  the  newly  sowed  crops,  chipmucks,  ravens,  hawks,  owls,  wood  chucks^ 
and  black  stpiiri'cls.  There  were  a  few  turkey  buzzards  upon  the  ri\er,  and 
a  few  turkeys  npon  tlie  uplands;  several  panthers  were  killed.  The  crow, 
the  grey  squirrel,  the  quail,  came  in  with  civilization.  New  species  of  bii'ds 
have  been  coming  in  almost  yearlj-.     The  opossum  is  a  new  couior. 


LIMA. 


Paul  Davison,  in  the  summer  of  1788,t  about  the  period  that  Mr. 
Phelps  was  negotiating  his  Indian  purchase,  in  company  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Jonathan  Gould,  came  from  the  valley  of  the  Sus- 
quehannah,  to  look  out  a  new  home  in  the  Genesee  country.    Passhio- 


*  He  finally  met  his  deserts.    Enlisting  as  an  ally  of  the  western  Indians  against 
Wiiync,  lie  was  among  the  killed.  ^ 

tif  tlio  aiitlier's  informant  is  rorrect  in  the  year,  this  was  the  first  advent  of  an 
hou!ielwld  west  of  the  Adam's  settlement,  iuBlooiiitield. 


"! 


376 


PITELPS   ANP    GORIIAJl's   PURCHASE. 


the  last  white  habitation  at  Geneva,  tliey  pursued  tlie  Indian  trail 
to  the  present  town  of  Lima ;  where,  finding  a  location  to  suit  them, 
they  erected  a  cabin  and  commenced  making  an  opening  in  the 
forest.     Going  to  the  Indian  lands  at  Canawaugus,  they  plorited  and 
raised  a  patch  of  corn  and  potatoes.     Their  location  was  about  one 
mile  south  of  the  Indian  trail,  near  the  west  line  of  the  town.     Af- 
ter some  improvements  upon  their  cabin,  such  as  the  luxury  of  a 
bark  roof,  and  a  hewed  plank  floor,  and  gathering  the  small  crop 
they  had  raiserl  upon  Indian  lands,  they  returned  to  the  Susquehan- 
nah,  and  in  the  spring  of  1789,  Mr.  Davison,  with  his  family,  con- 
sisting of  his  wife  and  her  mother,  and  two  children,  came  to  make 
his  permanent  home  in  the  wilderness.     He  was   accomi)anie(l  by 
Asahel  Burchard,     The  family  and  household  implements  were  con- 
veyed in  an  ox  cart,  Mr.  Davison  and  his  companion  sleeping  under 
the  cart,  and  the  family  in  the   cart,  during   the  whole  journey. 
Their  route  was  Sullivan's  track,  the  whole  distance  from  the  Sus- 
quehannah  to  where  the  Indian   trail  bore  off  in  the  direction  of 
Canawaljgus.     They  had  bridges  to  build  occasionally,  and  logs  to 
cut  out,  before  they  left  the  track  of  Sullivan ;  after  that,  they  had 
their  own  road  to  make  for  the  greater  part  of  the  way  to  the  place 
of  their  destination.     The  journey  consumed  three  weeks.     Mr. 
Davison  raised  a  crop  of  oats  and  turnips,  the  first  of  any  kind  raised 
in  Lima ;  and  in  that  and  a  few  succeeding  ye-ars,  cultivated  Indian 
lands  at  Canawaugus.     For  two  years,  the  family  pounded  all  their 
corn  in  a  stump  mortar,  getting  their  first  grinding  done  at  the  Al- 
lan mill.     Cai)tain  Davison  and  some  of  his  Pioneer  neighbors,  took 
six  or  seven  bushels  of  corn  to  Canawaugus,  hired  an  Indian  canoe, 
and  took  it  down  to  the  mill.     On  their  return  up  the  river,  their 
canoe  ui)set,  and  their  meal  became  wet  and  unfit  for  use ;  a  small 
matter  to  make  a  record  of,  some  readers  will  say,  and  yet,  let  them 
be  assured,  it  was  no  small  matter  with  those  new  beginners  in  the 
wilderness.     In  1790,  Mrs.  Davison's  mother  died;  it  being  the 
second  death  in  the  Genesee  country  after  .settlement  commenced. 
A  daughter  of  Captain  Davison,  who  became  the  wife  of  James 
Otis,  of  Perry,  Wyoming  county,  was  the  first  born  white  female 
west  of  Geneva.     Captain  Davison  died  in  1804,   aged  41  years, 
after  having  become  a  successful  farmer,  and  the  owner  of  a  large 
farm.     Mrs.  Davison  died  in  1844,  aged  80  years. 
Dr.  John  Miner  and  Abner  Migells,  had  settled  in  Lima,  in  the 


PlIELPS   AKD   GCPJIA:m'3   PURCHASE. 


377 


summer  of  1790  ;  and  it  is  presumed  that  Mr.  Burchard  liad  tlien 
brought  in  his  family ;  as  his  name,  as  the  head  of  a  family,  occurs 
in  tiie  census  of  that  period.  He  still  survives  to  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  his  early  enterprise  and  life  of  toil.  ■'  He  was,"  says  a  corres- 
pondent  of  the  author,  "always  a  kind  and  good  neighbor,  and  much 
esteemed  by  the  early  settlei-s." 

Lima  was  cal'  ^d,  in  arx  early  period,  "  Miles'  Gore,"  the  fraction 
of  a  township  having  been  purchased  in  the  name  of  Abner  Miles, 
or  Abner  Migells,  as  the  author  finds  it  on  some  of  the  early  records.' 
According  to  the  recollccticns  of  William  Henchcr,  he  must  have 
left  Lima  soon  after  settlement  commenced  there  ;  as  he  was  early 
engaged  with  his  father  in  trading  trips  to  Canada,  and  erected  a 
public  house  at  Toronto  in  the  earliest  years  of  settlement  there. 

The  brothers,  Asahel  and  Matthew  Warner,  Miles  Bristol,  and 
others,  who  were  early  and  prominent  Pioneers  in  Lima,  the  author 
hopes  to  be  able  to  speak  of  in  another  connection.  At  present,  he 
has  not  the  necessary  datas. 

Reuben  F.  Thayer  must  have  settled  in  Lima  before  the  close  of 
1790.  The  venerable  Judge  Hopkins,  of  Niagara  county,  was  in 
the  fall  of  1789,  with  a  number  of  companions,  returning  to  New 
Jersey,  after  a  trading  excursion.  Passing  Canawaugus,  they  as- 
sisted Gilbert  R.  Berry  in  erecting  his  first  log  house  ;  and  the  next 
day,  finding  a  "  settler  just  arrived  by  the  name  of  Thayer,  with 
logs  ready  for  a  house,"  they  stopped  and  assisted  him. 

Wheelock  Wood  came  to  Lima  in  the  winter  of  1795,  Incatino- 
upon  the  present  site  of  the  college,  where  he  commenced  clearinc" 
and  erected  a  log  cabin.  He  remained  there  a  few  j^ears,  and  re- 
moved to  Livonia,  and  from  there,  in  1807,  to  Gainesville,  Wyoming 
county.     He  died  in  1834. 

In  an  early  period  of  settlement  in  Lima,  ancient  remains,  and 
relics  of  French  occupancy  were  to  be  seen  in  various  localities. 
The  "Ball  Farm,"  so  prolific  in  these,  and  so  often  alluded  to  by  an- 
tiquarians, is  within  the  town.  Upon  the  farm  of  Miles  Bristol,  a 
short  distance  west  of  Lima  village,  upon  a  commanding  eminence, 
the  embankments  and  ditches  of  an  ancient  Fort  were  easily  traced! 
In  ploughing  upon  his  farm,  in  early  years,  Mr.  Bristol  picked  up 
several  hundred  pounds  of  old  iron,  chiefly  French  axes. 

James  K.  Guernsey,  in  connection  with  the  Nortons,  of  Bloom- 
field  aud  Canandaigua,  and  afterwards  upon  his  own  account  was 


178 


PIIELPS  AND   GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 


i 


the  ear  y  prominent  merchant  of  Lima.  He  removed  'to  Pittsford, 
where  he  died  m  1839.  George  Guernsey,  of  Michigan,  is  his  son  ' 
Mrs.  Mortimer  F.  Delano,  of  Rochester,  is  his  daughter.  For  m^ny 
years,  his  stare  m  Lima  commanded  the  trade  of  a  wide  region 


CHAPTER    VI 


PIONEER    EVENTS    IN    WHAT    IS    NOW   WAYNT^    COUNTY. 


chased  T   12,  R.  2  now  Palmyra,  and  commenced  the  survey  of  it 
-nto  farm  lo  .,  m  M^rch.     Jenkins  being  a  practical  surveyoif  bu 
a  camp  on  the  bank  of  Ganargwa  creek,  about  two  miles  below  the 
pesent  village  of  Paln.yra.     His  assistants  were  his  nephew,  Al! 

pheus  Harns,  Solomon  Earle, Baker,  and  Daniel  Ransom.    One 

mormng  about  2  o'clock,  the  party  being  asleep  .n  their  bunks,  thai 
fire  givmg  hght  enough  to  show  their  several  positions,  a  party  of  fonr 
Tuscarora  Indians  and  a  squaw  stealthily  approached,  and  the  Indi- 
ans puting  their  guns  through  the  open  spaces  between  the  logs,  se- 
lected  their  victims  and  fired.    Baker  was  killed,  Earle,  lying  upon  his 
bacK  with  his  hand  upon  his  breast,  a  ball  passed  through  his  hand 
and  breast,  mutilated  his  nose,  and  lodged  under  the  frontal  sinus 
between  h.s  eyes.     Jenkins  and  Ransom  escaped  unhurt,  and  en- 
countering the  murderers- Jenkins  with  his  Jacob  staff,  and  Ran- 
som  with  an  axe  -  drove  them  off,  capturing  two  of  their  rifles  and 
a  tomahavvk     In  the  morning  they  buried  their  dead  companion, 
earned  Earle  to  Geneva,  and  gave  the  alarm.     The  Indians  were 
pursued  and  two  captured  on  the  Ciiemung  river.     Tlie  nearest  jail 
being  Johnstown,  it  was  feared  they  would  be  rescued;  if  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  carry  them  there ;  what  in  later  years  would  be 
called  a  Lynch  court,  was  organized  ;  they  were  tried  and  execu- 
ted at  Newtown,  now  Elmira.     The  execution  was  after  the  Indian 
method,  with  the  tomahawk.      They  were  taken  back   into  the 


PHELPS   AND   GORHAM's   PTTKCHASE. 


379" 


woods,  and  blindfolded.  One  of  the  executioners  dispatched  his 
TMCtiin  at  a  blow ;  the  other  failed ;  the  Indian  being  a  stout  athletic 
fellow,  parried  the  blow,  escaped,  was  followed  by  a  possee,  who 
caught  and  beat  him  to  death  with  stones  and  pine  knots  !  This 
was  the  first  trial  and  execution  in  the  Genesee  country.  Horrid 
and  lawless  as  it  may  now  seem,  it  was  justified  by  then  existing 
exigencies. 

During  the  summer,  John  Swift  moved  into  the  township,  erect- 
ingj^a  log  house  and  store  house  at  "Swift's  Landing  a  little  north  of 
the  lower  end  of  Main  street,  Palmvra. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  1789,  Webb  Harwood,  from  Adams, 
Berkshire  county,  with  his  wife  came  in  and  erected  a  cabin  on  the 
rise  of  ground  near  first  lock  west  of  Palmyra,  upon  the  farm  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  Dennison  Rogers.  He  was  accompanied' 
by  Noah  Porter,  Jonathan  Warner  and  Bennet  Bates,  single  men. 
The  author  is  disposed  to  regard  Harwood  as  the  Pioneer,  although 
it  is  generally  supposed  that  Gen.  Swift  had  previously  brought  in°a 
family.     No  family  but  that  of  Mr.  Harwood  and  David" White 

K'oTE.— The  I'lJian  party  had  their  hunting  camp  neiirtlie  aurvevors.  and  had  seve- 
ral times  shaved  tlieir  provisions ;  tlie  incentive  was  huii;,'er.  One 'of  them  that 
escaped  was  "  Turkey"  well  knmwn  m  after  vears  ujion  tlie  Genesee  river.  He  had  a 
s.^ar  upon  his  face,  the  mark  of  a  blow  from  Ileukin's  Jacob  staftl  IJuiim.-  the  war  ot 
1812,  he  contracted  the  small  pox  upon  tlie  frontier ;  came  to  Scpiak  v  llFll.  The  In- 
dians dreading  the  spread  of  the  disease,  carried  him  to  a  hut  in  the  piiie  woods  near 
Moscow,  where  lie  was  left  to  die  alone.  Earl  rci; )ve!ed.  He  was  the  early  ferry  num 
iit  the  Seneca  outlet.  Tliere  have  been  many  versions  of  tiiis  aflair.  The  author  de- 
rived his  information  from  the  late  Judge  Porter,  and  from  Judge  JoJin  H.Jones,  whoso 
informants  were  Horatio  Jones  and  Jasper  I'ani^h,  wlio  were'  present  at  the  trial  and 
execution.  He  has  a-lso  a  printed  account  of  it  in  the  Maryland  Journal,  of  April  17.><9. 
Alpheus  Hivrris  waslidng  a  few  years  since,  if  ho  is  i.ot'now,  at  Sjiauish  Hill,  a  few" 
miles  from  Tioga  Pohit.    He  says  the  Indians  were  "  tried  by  committee  law." 

XoTE.  — John  Swift  was  a  native  of  Litchfield  Cotmtv  Connecticut.  He  took  .an 
active  part  in  the  Kevolutionar^  war,  and  at  its  close,  with  his  brother  Philetus  was 
an  emigrant  to  the  disputed  territory  in  Peiinsvlvania.  He  held  a  commission,  and 
was  at  the  battle  of  Wyoming ;  and  wa.s  also  engaged  in  the  "  Pennamite  "  war,  where 
he  set  tiro  to  a  Pennamite  block  house.  He  became  a  conimissionod  otficer  'in  the 
earhest  organization  of  the  militia  and  in  the  campaiirn  of  1S14  iip<jn  the  Nia^'ara  Fron- 
tier, he  was  co.nmissioned  as  Brig  Gen.  of  N.  Y.  voluuteeis.  In  reconnoiU'rinf'  the 
enemy's  position  and  works  at  Fort  George,  he  captured  a  picket  guard,  and  while  in 
the  act  of  receiving  theirarms,  one  of  the  prisoners  shot  him  through  the  breast ;  an  at- 
tack from  a  superior  British  force  followed  ;  tlio  wounded  General  ralhed  his  men, 
commenced  a  successful  engagement,  when  he  fell  exhausted  bv  his  wound.  "Never"' 
Bays  an  historian  of  the  war,  "wa.s  the  country  calknl  upon  to  lament  the  loss  of  a  firm- 
er patriot  or  braver  man."  The  Legislature  voted  a  sword  to  his  oldest  male  heir. 
The  gift  fell  to  Asa  R.  Swift  of  Palmyra  who  was  (h-owned  in  Sodus  liay  in  l!^20  or  -21 
by  the  upsetting  of  a  boat  wlule  engaged  in  fishing.  The  sword  is  now  in  the  Innds 
of  Henry  C.  Swift,  his  .son,  a  resident  o.fPhelps.  His  companion  Ashley  Van  Duzer, 
was  also  drowned  ;  his  widow  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Gen.  Brooks,  became  the  wife  of  Gen. 
Mills  ot  Mt.  Morns,  ami  now  resides  at  Brook's  Grove.  The  Rev.  Marcus  Swift,  of 
Michigan  is  a  sou  of  Gen  Swift. 


880 


PHELPS  A]SD  GORHAm's  PURCHASE. 


!■ 


IS  enumerated  in  the  census  taken  in  the  summer  of  1790.  Mr 
Harvvood  died  in  1824.  Wrn.  Ilarvvood,  of  Ann  Arbor,  Midi, 
igan  IS  a  son  of  his;  his  daughters  becauie  the  wives  of  Isaac  Mace 

oi  lerry,  Wyoming  co,  and Coe,  of  Kirthmd,  Ohio. 

The  settlers  that  followed,  in  1790,  'gi,  '92,  in  the  order  in  which 
tliey  are  named,  or  as  nearly  so  as  the  author's  information  enables 
him  to  arrange  them,  were: -Lemuel  Spear,  David  Jaekways, 
James  Galloway,  Jonathan  Millet,  the  Mattisons ;  Gideon  Durfee 
the  elder,  his  sons  Gideon,  Edward,  Job,  Pardon,  Stephen,  ami 
Lemuel;  Isaac  Springer;  William,  James  and  Thomas  Ri-rerT; 
John  Russell,  Nathan  Harris.  David  Wilcox,  Joel  Foster,  Abraham 
Foster,  Elias  Reeves,  Luther  Sanlbrd ;  and  to  what  was  Palmyra, 
now  Macedon,  in  addition  to  those  that  have  been  named,  Messrs, 
Reid,  Delano,  Packard  Barney,  Brown,  Adam  Kingman,  Hill,  Lap- 
ham,  Benj.  and  Philip  Woods. 

Lemuel  Spear,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  as  most  of  the 
Pioneer   settlers  of  Palmyra   were.     He   was  from  Cun.mington, 
Mass.     The  family  came  on  runners,  before  the  breaking  up  ot  the 
ground  in  Feb  '90,  with  two  yoke  of  oxen,  some  cows  and  sheep, 
having  little  more  than  a  bare  track  and  blazed  trees  to  guide  them 
from  Vienna  to  their  destination,  a  mile  above  Palmyra  village,  where 
Mr.  Spear  had  purchased  land  of  Isaac  Hathaway,  for  twenty  cents 
per  acre.     The  season  being  mild,  they  turned  their  stock  out  upon 
the  open  flats,  some  of  which  had  been  cultivated  by  the  Indians, 
where  they  got  along  well  through   the  winter  and  spring;  the  fam- 
ily consisting  of  the  parents  and  nine  children,  living  in  a  covered 
sleigh  and  in  a  structure  similar  to  the  Indians  camp,  until  they  had 
planted  a  few  acres  in  the  si)ring,  when  they  built  a  log   house. 
Bringing  in  a  year's  provisions,   and  killing  deer  whenever  they 
wanted  fresh  meat,  or  bartering  for  venison  with  the  Indians,  they 
got  along  very  well  until  after  the  harvest  of  their  few  primitive  acres 
of  crops.     In  the  first  winters,  the  Indians  camped  upon  the  flats  and 
w^ere  peaceable,  good  neighbors,  hunting  and  trapping,  occasionally 
getting  a  beaver,  the  last  of  a  colony,  selling  their  furs  and  skins  to 
traders  and  bantering  their  surplus   venison  with  the  new  settlers. 
Lemuel  Spear  died  in  1809;  his   surviving  sons,  are:  — Ebenezer 
Spear,   of  Penfield,  Abraham   Spear,   of  Jeddo.   Orleans    county, 
Stephen  Spear,  residing   upon   the  old  homestead.     A  daughter  is 
the  wife  of  Dr.  Mallory,  of  Wisconsin. 


PHELPS  AIST)    GORHAll's  PURCHASE. 


381 


Ebenezer  Spear  is  now  in  his  78th  year.  Leaving  Palmyra  in 
early  years  he  went  to  sea,  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  Bos- 
ton, returned  to  Palmyra  in  1804,  married  for  a  second  wife,  a 
daughter  of  Francis  Postle,  an  early  tailor  in  Canandaigua  and  Pal- 
myra, from  the  city  of  Prague,  in  Bohemia,  moved  to  North  Pen- 
field  in.  1807.  He  was  one  of  the  Carthage  Bridge  company,  and 
opened  a  tavern  at  Carthage,  while  the  bridge  was  cor-tructing. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  EBENEZER  SPEAR, 


In  1790,  after  we  had  got  settled  at  Palmyra,  the  wife  of  our  predecessor 
in  the  wildorness,  Webb  Ilanvood,  in  a  delicate  state  of  lieaUh,  prececUiig 
child-bii'tli,  I'eqiiired  wine,  and  her  indulgent  husband  determined  ujion  pro- 
curing some.  At  his  request,  I  went  to  Canandaigua,  found  none  —  to 
Utica,  and  was  equally  unsuccessful  —  and  continuing  my  journey  to 
Schenectady,  j^rdcui'ed  six  quarts  of  wine  of  Charles  Kane.  I  was  fourteen 
days  making  the  journey  on  foot,  carrying  my  provisions  in  a  knapsack, 
sleeping  undei  a  roof  but  four  of  thirteen  nights. 

Our  tirst  boards  came  from  Granger's  saw-mill  on  Flint  Creek,  several  years 
after  we  came  in;  Captain  Porter  built  the  tirst  framed  barn,  and  my  father 
the  next  one.  1  burned  the  tirst  lime  kiln  west  of  Seneca  Lake,  for  General 
Othniel  Taylor,  of  Canandaigua.  In  1794,  or  '5,  Abraham  and  Jacob 
Smith  built  mills  in  Farmington,  on  the  Ganargwa  Creek;  previous  to  which, 
we  used  to  go  to  The  Friend's  mills  in  Jerusalem.  The  tirst  corn  carried  to 
mill  from  Palmyra,  was  by  Noah  Porter.  He  went  to  Jerusalem  with  an  ox 
team  in  '90,  carrying  corn  for  all  the  settlers,  taking  leu  days  in  going  and 
retui'ning.  His  return  to  tlie  settlement  was  hailed  with  great  joy,  for }  nvmd- 
ing  corn  was  very  hard  work.  Our  cotfee  was  made  of  burnt  com;  our  tea, 
of  hendock  and  other  bark ;  and  for  chocolate,  dried  evans  root  was  frequent- 
ly used. 


David  White  died  in  early  years  —  the  first  death  and  funeral  in 
Palmyra.  His  sons  weve,  the  late  Gen.  David  White,  of  Sylvania, 
Michigan  ;  Orrin  White,  a  resident  of  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan  ;  and 
Drs.  James  and  William  White,  who  reside  at  Black  Rock ;  a 
daughter  married  Col.  Otis  Turner,  of  Niagara  Falls.  Ber'-''tt 
Bates  is  still  living  at  Ridgeway,  Oneans  county ;  is  the  fathei 
of  Lyman  Bates,  of  Ridgeway,  and  Orlando  Bates,  of  Jeddo. 
Noah  Porter  died  in  early  years ;  he  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Sey- 
mour Scovell,  of  Lewiston,  and  John  Porter,  Esq.,  of  Youngstown. 


382 


PHELPS  AND  GOrjIAJl's   PURCHASE. 


1'^ 


Jacob  Gannett  was  an  early  settler,  and  founder  of  the  mills  near 
Macedon  Locks. 

The  Durfee  family,  who  have  been  named,  were  from  Tiverton, 
Rhode  Island.    In  the  summer  of  1790,  Gideon  and  Edward  came 
first  to  Farmington,  and  Gideon  returning  in  the  fall,  represented 
the  country  so  favorably,  that  the  whole  family  resolved  upon  emi- 
gration.   Gideon,  with  Isacc  Springer,  came  buck  in  the  winter  of 
'90,  '91,  with  an  ox  sled,  consuming   17J   days  in  the   journey. 
Gideon  purchased  of  John  Swift  his  choice  of  IGOO  acres.     He 
located  it  on  what  was  long  known  as  "  Durfee  Street,"  a  short  dis- 
tance below  Palmyra,  securing  a  large  amount  of  the  ilats  on  the 
Ganargwa.     Being  soon  re-joined   by  iiis  brother  Edward,    the 
brothers  and  Springer  built  a  cabin,  and  clearing  six  acres,  and 
without  the  use  of  a  plough,  planted  it  to  corn.     The  brothers  re- 
turned to  Rhode  Island,  and  brought  out  their  brothers,  Pardon  and 
Job,  with  their  families,  coming  in  a  batteaux,  and  landing  at  their 
new  home  in  the  wilderness,  almost  destitute  of  food.    They  were  re- 
joiced on  their  arrival  to  find  their  corn  fit  for  roasting,  a  forward- 
ness they  have  never  since  known.     It  served   them  the  tv,o-fold 
purposes  of  food,  and  confidence  in  the  soil  and  climate.     The  six 
acres  yielded  50  bushels  to  the  acre,  a  quantity  that  served  their 
own  wants  and  over-stocked  the  market,  as  there  were  few  con- 
sumers.^    The  remainder  of  the  large  family  came  out  in  the  winter 
of  '91,  '2.     They  had  a  large  crop,  some  of  which  was  marketed 
at  Schenectady,  probably  the  first  that  ever  reached  that  market 
from  as  far  west  as  Palmyra.     Otherwise  prosperous,  sickness  soon 
laid  a  heavy  hand  upon  the  large  household,  17  out  of  22  being 
prostrated  at  one  time  with  fevers.     Their  first  bread  was  made 
from  pounded  corn  ;  their  first  grinding  was  procured  at  Wilder's 
mill,  and  occasionally  at  The  Friend's  mill,  Jerusalem, 

The  descendants  of  the  Pioneer  and  Patriarch,  Gideon  Durfee, 
were  1 1  sons  and  daughters,  9G  grand-children,  and  the  whole  num- 
ber are  now  over  200.  The  daughters  became  the  wives  of  the 
Pioneers,  Welcome  Herendeen,  of  Farmington,  Weaver  Osborne, 
Humphrey  Sherman  and  William  Wilcox,  of  Palmyra.  The  only 
surviving  son,  is  Stephen  Durfee,  of  Palmyra,  aged  75  years ;  and 
the  only  surviving  daughter,  is  Ruth  Wilcox,  aged  76  years. 

Elias  Durfee  and  IMrs.  Thomas  Lakey,  of  Marion,  Elihu  Durfee, 
of  Williamson,  William,  Isaac,  Lemuel,  Bailey  Durfee  and  Mrs. 


PIIELPS    AND    GOEHAMS   PURCHASE. 


383 


Brown,  of  Palmyra,  Mrs.  Wicks,  of  Ogden,  Mrs.  Edward  8.  Town- 
send,  late  of  Palmyra,  Charles  Durfee,  ot  New  York,  Pliilo  Durfee. 
of  Bullalo,  Sidney  Durfee,  of  Chicago,  Allen,  Barton  and  Nathaniel 
Durfee,  of  Michigan,  are  among  the  descendants. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  STEPHEN  DURFEE 


There  was  general  prosjieiity  in  the  early  settlement;  all  were  friendly; 
mutual  de])endenee iiiado  us  so;  and  stnijrgling  with  the  hardships  of  pionet-r 
life,  tliero  was  a  fellow  feeling,  u  sympathy  for  each  other's  misfortune's,  but 
little  of  which  exists  now.  The  fii-st  curse  that  came  upon  us  was  whiskey 
distilleries,  when  the  new  settlers  would  take  their  corn  and  rye,  and  get  them 
con\'erted  to  what  wiis  the  cause  in  many  instances,  of  their  ruin,  and  that  of 
many  of  their  sons.  There  was  not  only  habitual,  every  day  drinking,  but 
much  intoxication.  I  saw  so  much  of  the  evils  of  intoxication,  that  I  refrain- 
e<]  entirely,  and  was  almost  alone  in  it.  I  think  the  first  temperance  movi- 
ment,  practical  one,  in  all  this  region,  was  made  by  me  when  I  raised  my 
house  in  1811.  When  I  invited  my  neighbors  to  the  raising,  I  gave  out  that 
no  liquor  would  be  pronded;  and  although  it  wiisa  new  experiment,  1  ha^i 
no  difficulty  in  raising  my  hou.se.  Strict  temperance  was  not  then  a  disci- 
pline with  the  society  of  Friends  to  which  I  belonged,  but  aftenvards  be- 
came so. 

In  the  way  of  markets,  our  eiuliest  grain  mostly  went  to  the  distillericN 
and  supplied  the  new  settlers.  After  Zebulon  Williams,  the  early  merchant 
established  his  store,  he  commenced  a  barter  trade,  receiving  for  goods,  grain 
and  cattle.  Money  was  .scarce ;  those  who  were  pretty  well  off  wei'c  trouble'! 
many  times,  to  pay  their  taxes,  and  much  property  used  to  be  saci'ificed  at 
public  sale.  W^illiams  wiis  the  fii'st  cash  purchaser  for  wheat,  but  the  prices 
were  fluctuating;  running  down  sometimes  to  37+ cents.  One  of  my  neigh - 
1)ors  once  sold  his  wheat  in  Rochester,  for  twenty-five  cents. 

In  early  yeara  we  couU  hardly  believe  that  settlement  would  go  much  be- 
yond the  Genesee  River,  dui'ing  our  life  time.  We  thought  we  were  quite 
far  enough  to  the  west ;  as  far  removed  from  markets  as  it  would  answer  to 
venture ;  and  we  that  had  seen  the  hardest  features  of  pioneer  life,  wei'e  surju-ise'l 
to  see  or  hear  of  men  attacking  tlie  dark  hea^■y  forests  of  the  Holland  Purchase. 

Our  fii'st  commerce  was  the  navigation  of  the  Ganargwa  creek ;  then  cam.i 
the  ''big  wagons,"  and  then  the  Erie  Canal,  that  ga\e  usf;ur,  steady  prices 
for  prod  uce,  raised  the  value  of  lands,  and  brought  on  a  new  era  of  enterprisie 
and  prosperity. 

The  Indians,  were  hunting  and  traj^ping,  camping  in  our  neighborhood,  in 
all  tlve  eailiest  years.  The  flats  of  the  Ganargwa,  and  tlie  adjoining  up  lands 
were  favorite  hunting  grounds.  Many  of  the  sons  of  the  early  settlers  were 
trai)i>ers.  It  was  about  our  only  means  of  obtaining  any  money.  I  have  re- 
iilized  from  muskrat  and  coon  furs,  850  in  a  season.  I  caug'ht  a  beaver  in  a 
trap  that  I  set  for  otter.     Henry  Lovell,  a  famous  hunter  was  here  in  early 


3S4  riiELrs  and  ooeuam's  rcKcnASE. 

i«u1L,!I;,Ixi;z;;::„';L;;^ 

tW  Smt-J^    If   1  hV  '°™,'-'  '?""  »'P"'i»'ti"'l.    Join.  Swift  ,VM 

too^'inl'^oJT"'i '''*'' ^'^'^'""''1^'''^  '''^^'>'  ^'""t*^^  «f  P^'l'^vr^;  and  fisherman 
of  C  WniiSf:rcriT'"  M?'^"'r^"^^''^'  ^^-^^  ti.  present  rcia^^e 

&e  '•  m  to  .vlvi^^^  a»  early  convert  to  Mormonism,  and  mortgaged  Lis 

nue  laim  to  pay  for  the  printing  of  the  "  Gold  Bible."*  b  o  "  "'^ 


Zebulon  Williams,  who  has  been  mentioned  by  Stephen  Durfee, 
as  the  early  merchant,  died  several  years  since,  his  widow  survives, 
a  resident  at  the  old  homestead.  Piatt  Williams,  of  California,  who 
was  early  engaged  in  canal  transportations  at  Albany,  and  Richard 


in-  the  broom  stick  aw)  1  i  ?„  f  ■i^l'ilW<ma floor, snap  and  catcli  'em,  junp. 
sports,  t]K  x°™a  .oanl  cm  V  th*!,";;'';]  '  *"  "Tt^  \^'  ^ast. /  All  joined iu  the'ru.tlc 
ladv,  "the  dan  cs  we  e    w^^^^^^  Canai.daigna "  continued  the  old 

a  h  red  ehl  in   ■imilta    en     '"^'"' n»"^^^ ,f'"t  tliere  was  no  aristocracy  there;  thonjrh 

Ld  1  ,fce  w  th  S'r  1  n''\-  ?"^'":'  ""'/  ^^"•-'''  ^^■■"■'°^'  I  "««fl  to  attend  the  ffi 
Colt  D      \t«.,t  ,        ■      ■  '^"'l  ^^fe'"st"s  I'orter,   Th<,mas  Morris,  Samuel  and  J ud^ 

v-tiitts  ui  inc  past,  one  alter  another,  woiild  flash  upon  her  memory; 


PTTELPS   AND    GORTIAm's   rUUCnASE. 


38r) 


Homer  and  Zebulon  Williams,  are  his  sons  ;  Mrs.  Hiram  P.  Tliayer, 
of  BufTiilo,  is  his  daufjthtor. 

Stephen  Phelps  was  the  early  landlord  in  the  village  ;  afterwards 
the  surrogiite  of  Ontario  county.  Tlie  site  he  occupied,  is  now  that 
of  Nottinifham's  Eagle  Tavern.  He  emigrated  to  Illinois  in  1820. 
Enoch  Lilley  was  another  early  landloni ;  his  wile  was  the  daughter 
of  the  Rev.  Eleazor  Fairbanks.  Preceding  either,  however,  wis 
Dr.  Azel  Ensworth,  who  was  a  brother-in-law  of  William  llodgers, 
and  had  come  into  the  country  in  '92,  and  first  settled  in  his  imme- 
diate neighborhood.  After  keeping  a  public  house  in  early  years, 
in  Palmyra,  in  the  early  start  of  Rochester,  he  was  the  founder  of 
the  Eagle  Tavern,  and  for  a  long  \)er\oA  he  and  his  son  were  its 
landlords.  He  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Bufialo,  with  his  son-in- 
law,  }3enjamin  Campbell.* 

Silas  Stoddard  was  from  Groton,  Conn. ;  had  been  at  sea,  in  the 
merchant  service,  emigrated  to  Palmyra  in  1801,  landing  first  at 
Sodus.  He  died  in  July  last,  at  the  age  of  91  years ;  his  intellect 
and  physical  constitution  but  little  impaired  previous  to  his  last  ill- 
ness. Col.  James  Stoddard,  known  of  late  years  as  an  intelligent 
horticulturist,  is  his  son ;  now  a  resident  of  Palmyra,  aged  66  years. 
He  served  an  apprenticeship  with  Col.  Samuel  Green,  of  the  New 
London  Gazette,  and  emigrated  to  Palmyra  with  his  father.  From 
him  the  author  obtained  many  early  reminiscences.  In  1804,  he 
\vas  in  the  employment  of  Major  Samuel  Colt,  who  had  commenced 
merchandizing  in  Palmyra,  and  had  charge  of  two  Durham  boats, 
which  JNIajor  Colt  owned  at  Palmyra.  Loading  them  with  flour 
and  j)ork,  he  went  down  the  Ganargwa  creek  to  Lyons,  and  from 
thence  to  Schenectady.  Among  his  companions,  were  Gilbert 
Howell,  Cooper  Culver,  John  Phelps,  and  Wm.  Clark.  The  party 
were  one  month  going  and  one  month  returning ;  having  merchan- 
dise for  their  return  freight.  About  the  time  of  the  building  of 
these  boats,  says  Col.  Stoddard,  land  transportation  looked  discour- 
aging; the  merchants  of  Geneva,  Canandaigua,  Palmyra,  Ithica,  in 
fact  all  who  did  not  depend  on  the  Susquehannah  as  an  avenue  to 
market,  held  a  consultation,  and  concluded  that  business  must  be 
done  via  the  Rivers,  Oneida  Lake,  and  the  Mohawk ;  and  to  en- 


*  At  the  Pioneer  Festival  in  Rocliester,  in  1850,  he  was  pie.9cnt,  and  the  medal  was 
awarded  to  him  as  being  the  earliest  Pioneer  present. 


386 


PHELPS  ANB  GOEHAJl's  PURCHASE. 


courage  them,  stone  locks  had  been  built,  at  Rome  and  Little  Falls. 
Many  boats  were  built ;  for  a  few  years  business  was  brisk,  but  it 
proved  too  tedious  and  expensive  ;  too  dependant  upon  high  nnd 
low  water.  Even  land  transportation,  over  bad  roads,  successlully 
competed  with  it. 

"  The  first  trip  we  made,"  says  Col.  Stoddard,  "  in  passing  through 
Oneida  Lake,  we  stopped  at  Vanderkemp's  settlement,  now  Con- 
stantia.  Mr.  Vanderkemp  had  erected  an  expensive  dam,  .a  large 
saw  mill  and  grist  mill,  and  there  were  eight  or  ten  framed  and 
some  log  dwellings ;  but  one  single  family  however,  all  the  rest  hav- 
ing  been  driven  off  by  sickness.*  When  I  landed  with  my  father's 
family  at  Sodus,  Mr.  Williamson's  settlement  had  much  declined, 
and  there  were  many  deserted  tenements  between  Sodus  and  Pal- 
myra ;  sickness  having  driven  off  the  occupants.  I  have  known 
periods  when  a  majority  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Ganargwa 
valley  were  prostrated  by  svers." 

Henry  Jessup  was  the  early  tanner  in  Palmyra,  and  still  survives, 
his  sons  being  his  successors  in  business.  His  partner  for  many 
years  was  George  Palmer,  of  Buffalo. 

William  Rogers  came  in  with  his  brothers,  James  and  Thomas, 
in  1792,  a  widower,  and  his  brother  James  dying  in  early  years,  he 
married  his  widow.  The  family  were  from  Rhode  Island.  William 
was  one  of  the  early  Judges  of  Ontario,  one  of  its  representatives 


in  the  Legislature,  and  a 


magistrate 


prominently  identified  with 


the  history  of  Palmyra  and  Ontario  county.  He  died  in  1836,  aged  83 
years.  Major  William  Rogers,  so  favorably  known  to  the  travel- 
hng  public  in  the  early  years  of  canal  navigation,  as  a  packet  master, 
the  father-in-law  of  Pomoroy  Tucker,  editor  of  the  Wayne  Sen- 
tinel, is  a  surviving  son.  He  is  now  the  occupant  of  a  fine  farm 
near  Pultneyville ;  as  stirring  and  energetic  as  when  he  used  to 
sing  out :  —  "  Hurra,  i",  the  lock  ready  ?  "  —  or  beat  up  the  quarters 
of  the  sleepy  drivers  in  dark  and  rainy  nights.  A  daughter  of  his 
was  the  wife  of  Noah  Porter.  Gen.  Thomas  Rodgers,  and  Denni- 
son  Rodgers  of  Palmyra,  are  surviving  sons  of  James  Rodgers. 
Thomas  Rodgers  preceded  his  brother,  and  assisted  in  the  survey 
of  the  town ;  of  his  family,  only  his  son  David  remains  in  Palmyra. 


*The  loiinder  of  this  settlunicnt  -w.is  tlio  fatliorof  John  J,  Vaiidcrkonip,  of  Pliila- 
doljihiii,  ihe  y:i'iiti;il  jif,'C'iif  of  tlio  Holland  Co.  lie  soon  abandoned  the  entcjprise,  and 
reinu\i;a  lo  Oideubaruuvcidl,"  [Tiuuloii,]  Oueiduco. 


PHELPS  AITD  GOEnAM's  PUECHASE. 


887 


The  first  winter  after  Judge  Rodgers  came  in,  the  neighborhood 
was  without  salt.  Learning  that  some  had  been  brought  up  as  far 
as  Lyons,  with  a  hired  man,  and  an  ox  team,  he  cut  his  own  sled 
path,  and  after  three  days  hard  labor,  returned  with  his  salt. 

Zackariah  Blackman  was  the  early  blacksmith.  John  Hurlburt, 
a  brother  of  Judge  Hurlburt,  who  was  the  Pioneer  of  Arkport,  on 
the  Canisteo,  became  a  resident  of  Palmyra  in  1795.  His  widow 
is  now  living  at  the  age  of  81  years.  He  set  up  a  distillery  as  ear- 
ly as  '96.  He  died  in  1813.  *  William  Jackway,  who  came  in 
with  Gen.  Swift,  died  in  1849,  aged  91  years.  John  Russell,  who 
was  one  of  the  front  rank  of  Pioneers,  upon  whose  original  farm 
a  portion  of  the  village  lias  grown  up,  removed  to  Henrietta  in  1821, 
where  he  died  but  a  few  years  since,  from  the  effects  of  the  kick  of 
a  horse.  John  Russell  was  the  step-father  of  Augustus  Southworth, 
of  Holley ;  Mrs.  Russel  now  resides  in  Rochester. 

Reuben  Town  was  the  earliest  settled  Physician  in  Palmyra. 
He  removed  to  Batavia  iii  early  years.  He  was  followed  by  Dr. 
Gain  Robinson,  as  early  as  1800.  Dr.  Robinson  was  from  Cum- 
mington,  Massachusetts.  He  married  the  daughter  of  Col.  John 
Bradish,  the  father  of  Gov.  Bradish,  who  was  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Palmyra.  He  continued  in  practice  until  his  death,  in  1880, 
enjoying  a  large  share  of  professional  eminence,  and  highly  esteem- 
ed in  the  wide  circle  of  his  practice.  There  have  gone  out  from 
under  his  instruction  a  large  number  who  hare  conferred  credit  up- 
on their  early  mentor ;  among  them  may  be  named  :  —  His  nephew, 
Dr.  Alexander  Mclntyre,  who  for  many  years  practiced  with  him, 
and  is  now  his  local  successor  ;  Drs.  James  and  William  White  ; 
Dr.  West,  of  Cayuga  county ;  Dr.  Isaac  Smith,  of  Lockport, 
(deceased;)  Dr.  Whippo,  (now  an  engineer;)  Dr.  Durfee  Chase, 
of  Palmyra;  Dr.  Gregory  of  Michigan.  The  surviving  sons  of 
Dr.  Robinson,  are  :  —  Clark,  Darwin,  and  Rollin,  of  Buffalo. 
Daughters  :—  Mrs.  Philip  Grandin,  of  New  York ;  her  husband 
was  an  early  merchant  in  Palmyra  ;  and  IMrs.  Judge  Tiffany,  of 
Adrian,  Michigan ;  Mrs.  Hiram  Niles,  of  Buffalo ;  and  Mrs.  Geo. 
Pomeroy.  f 

*  A  toast  of  the  early  Pioneer,  in  one  of  tlio  early  years,  at  a  Fourth  of  .July  oele- 
bratiun,  is  worthy  of  prcsorvalioii.  The  wisli  has' been  fully  realized:  —  "May  wo 
cullivate  the  vino  and  sheaf  in  this  new  world,  and  l'\n-nish  the  old  with  bread." 

t.Tuikri!  TifTany  is  a  son  of  the  early  printer  at  ^'■iaLrara,  C.  W.,  luid  Canandfugutu 
Mr.  Tomeroy  is  one  of  the  founders  ot'  \V  elL-j  &  I'omeroy's  Express. 


388 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 


_  The  first  lawyer  in  Palmyra,  was  John  Comstock,  who  al«o  mar- 
IdHa:.Sr^'^'-^-^^^^-  "^  --  -eside.  Zr 
In  the  year  1789,  Joel  Foster,  Elias  Reeves  and  Luke  Foster  of 
Long  Island,  became  the  agents  of  a  company  that  had  been  form 

d  m  Connecticut  New  Jersey  and  Long  Island,  for  the  purpose  of 
leasing  lands  of  the  Indians  ;  an  organization  similar  to  L  L    see 

JCHned  by  others,  they  traversed  the  wilds  of  Virginia,  and  return- 
mg  to  the  north,  struck  the  Ohio  river,  and  followed  it  down  to  the 
desirable  location  called  Turkey  Bottom,  where  they  purchased  a 
daim  to  a  large  ti-act,  and  left  Luke  Foster  to  keep  possession  for 
th    winter,  Joel  Foster  and  Elias  Reeves  returning  to  take  on  a 
coon3  of  settlers  in  the  spring.     An  act  of  Congress  interfedn^ 
with  their  title  or  possession,  frustrated  the  enterprise.     "Turke^ 
the  west  '"  ^''"'''  ""^  ^''"''  ^'''"''  Cincinnati,  the  queen  city  of 
Thus  disappointed,,  and  Indian  wars  growing  more  threatenincr  at 
the  west,  the  Long  Island  adventurers  turned  their  attention  tolhe 
Genesee  country     Elias  Reeves,  Abraham  Foster,  William  Hop- 
kins, Luther  Sandford  and  Joel  Foster,  in  the  summer  of  1791 
bought  5,500  acres  on  the  Ganargwa  Creek,  in  East  Palmvm' 
spotting  a  tree  and  planting  some  apple  seeds,  an  earnest  of  fheir 
m  ended  occupancy.    In  April,  1792,  they  built  a  sail  boat,  launched 
1   m  Heady  Creek,  embarked  with  their  families,  towing  down  the 
stream  to  South  Bay,  and  sailing  up  to  New  York,  and  from  thence 
to  Albany,  where  they  took  their  boat  out  of  water,  transj.orted  it 
on  wheels  to  Schenectady,  launched  it  in  the  Mohawk,  ami  from 
thence  came  to  Lyons ;  and  obtaining  a  smaller  boat,  ascended  the 
Ganargwa  Creek  to  their  new  wilderness  home.     The  journev  con- 
sumed 28  days.     Most  of  those  named,  became  prominent  founders 
oi  settlement,  and  have  left  numerous  descendants. 


mmmmmmmm 

Me  P;^.!,,,,.',.,  "'■'Ill -I'll.  niiii>  J.  I'o.stei,  fi  (k'sceiidaiit  ol  one  of  1  ho  Pkiijopvh 

tL    ul\  ,""'■  "*  *'f  ^•"^t'"'«"*  t''°  cliok.m  at  Saiulusky,  in  tliosu.n.nor  of   848 

,.i-"„.ii^„Ti(UaiJOxa,  aided  m  laying  tiie  fouudaUoua  of  (society  and  tiwse 


PHELPS   AND    GOEHAM's   PUECHASE. 


389 


It  is  stated  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher,  that  a  Presbyterian  church 
was  organized  in  1793,  i-n  Palmyra.  If  this  is  so,  it  was  the  first  or- 
ganized church  west  of  Seneca  Lake.  Mrs.  Tice,  a  daughter  of  John 
Hurlburt,  says  their  first  religious  meetings  were  conversational  or 
social  meetings,  not  sectarian,  generally  held  at  the  house  of  John 
Swift.  It  is  recorded  that  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Palmyra  was 
organized  in  Sept.,  1797;  the  trustees  elected :  — Jacob  Gannett, 
Stephen  Reeves,  David  Warner,  Jedediah  Foster,  Jonah  Howell! 
The  first  settled  minister  was  the  Rev.  Eleazor  Fairbanks,  who  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Bell. 

Jonah  Howell  erected  the  first  mill,  a  mile  east  of  the  village,  on 
the  Vienna  road ;  this  was  followed  by  one  erected  by  Gen.  Swift, 
on  the  site  occupied  by  Goddard's  mill. 

The  first  death  in  Palmyra  was  that  of  David  White  ;  the  first 
wedding  was  that  of  William  Wilcox  and  Ruth  Durfee ;  the  first 
male  child  born  in  town,  was  Asa  R.  Swift,  a  son  of  John  Swift; 
the  first  female,  the  daughter  of  David  Wilcox,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Alva  Hendee. 


WILLIAM  HOWE  CUTLER. 


His  father,  John  Cuyler,  of  Greenbush.  had  been  (at  what  period 
the  author  is  unable  to  state,)  a  General  in  tiie  British  service. 
He  was  a  resident  of  Greenbush,  opposite  Albany,  an  attorney  at 
law.  It  is  presumed,  that  when  Mr.  Williamson  arrived  in  this 
country,  upon  his  agency,  he  found  in  him  an  old  acquaintance,  as 
he  is  one  of  the  first  with  whom  he  held  correspondence,  and  he 
was  one  of  his  first  legal  advisers.  As  early  as  1793,  his  son,  Rich- 
ard, was  in  the  employment  of  Mr.  Williamson,  as  was  his  son  Wm. 
Howe  Cuyler,  several  years  previous  to  1800. 

Soon  after  1800,  Wm.  Howe  Cuyler  became  a  resident  of  Pal- 
myra, having  become  the  local  agent  of  Mr.  Williamson,  for  the 


bk'SfSi'd  iiis^titutions  wliich  arc  now  tlio  supjiort  and  ornanu'tit  of  ooinnimiitv  Tho 
logciuls  ul  those  tiriiCH  are  adoniLvl  with  tlie  names  of  feiiialfs  tliat  slioiild  diNcoiid  to 
postcnty,  and  ],v  cinlialined  in  tlicir  most  jiTatcful  recollections.  We  oftt'ii  wonder  if 
the  mantle  of  those  veneniteil  matrons  liave  fallen  uiiou  the  wives  of  llie  present  day  • 
With  all  the  improvements  m  modern  edncation,  are  they  better  qnalitied  fo  make 
ha].py  homes  ?  Have  tliey  larKer  hearts,  better  minds,  pun-r  patrioiism,  wrn'm'T  z«al, 
iu  every  jjood  work  '(" 


4 


390 


PHELPS   AND  GOBnAM's   PTTRCHASE. 


sale  of  lands  in  the  north-east  portion  of  what  is  now  Wayne 

county.    Sawyer,  the  brother-in-law  of  John  Swift,  who 

had  an  interest  with  him  in  the  original  purchase  of  the  town,  wish- 
ing to  return  to  Georgia,  where  he  had  formerly  resided,  sold  his 
property  to  Major  Cuyler,  in  1805.  Included  in  this  sale,  was  tlie 
old  Cuyler  farm,  upon:  which  a  considerable  portion  of  the  village 
of  Palmyra  lias  grown  up. 

Upon  ihe  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  1812,  Major  Cuyler  v/as  early 
upon  the  frontier,  as  the  aid  of  General  Swift.*  "  Stationed  at 
Butfalo,  he  was  the  active  co-operator  with  Lieut.  Elliott,  in  the 
preparatio-^s  for  the  gallant  exploit  of  capturing  the  British  vessels, 
from  under  the  walls  of  Fort  Erie,  on  the  8th  of  October,  1812. 
In  anticipation  that  the  expedition  would  return  with  wounded  men, 
he  had  been  engaged  through  the  night  in  making  preparations  for 
their  reception.      Anxious  for  the  fate  of  men  who  had  engaged  in 
so  hazardous  an  enterprise,  before  day  light  in  the  morningrhe  had 
rode  down  upon  the  beach,  towards  Black  Rock,  when  a  chance 
grape  shot,  from  a  British  battery,  at  Fort  Erie,  passed  through  his 
body,  breaking  the  spine,  and  killing  him  instantly.f     It  was  the  first 
sacrifice  of  the  war,  on  the  Niagara  frontier;  the  first  and  one  of 
the  dearest  of  the  many  sacrifices  ot  western  New  York,  in  all  that 
contest.     And  it  may  also  be  added,  that  Gen.  Scott  being  near 
him,  it  was  his  first  introduction  to  the  terrible  realities  of  war,  of 
which  he  wa^  destined  to  see  so  much  through  r  lonj^  and  brilliant 
military  career.J     After  the  war,  his  remains  were  removed  to 
Palmyra,  and  are  now  entombed  in  the  rural  cemetery,  which  the 
citizens  of  that  village,  with  much  of  good  taste  and  public  spirit, 
have  within  a  few  years  added  to  their  flourishing  village. 
In  civil  life.  Major  Cuyler  was  a  man  of  much  energy  and  enter- 


.  ...T^i"  ""tJ^o''  !>«»  «ii  enrly  epdcnce  of  liis  military  spirit  and  ambition.  When  some 
of  the  earliest  military  organizations  were  going  <fn  I'n  Steuben,  he  wa.<,  a  resident  at 
?„  il?^f  r°  •*^';' ^^'"''""'°'\  ■^^'-  Williamson  beingin  Albany,  the  young  a  p  ant 
^military  d.stmctum.  wrote  to  Wrn  ;  -  "  You  arc  the  only  field^officcT  in  the  He"  - 

?ZuT\  "\^°"'  ""irTi  ^'"/l''™lvc  tl'c  duty  of  maki.fg  proper  recommendatioT.k 
L™^^  ^'T"^  '^1*  \  'r*-'  \"''\''  nmavymnn  for  about  twelve  years  past,  and 
o T.v  If     T  "  M™//'"  H^''"^'  '""^  ^^'*t  I  ""^  look  for  promotion.-^  I  should  like 

the  duty  of  Adjutant  Geuerfd  m  the  several  brigades,  now  devolve  on  th»t  olHcer." 

t  The  Rhot  is  now  in  possession  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Smith,  of  Auburn. 

t  He  had  just  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieut  Colonel,  and  had  nnived  at  Black 
Ilock,  m  command  of  two  companies  of  U.  iS,  Artillery. 


PHELPS   AXD   GORHASrS  PTJECnASE. 


391 


prise  ;  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Ontario  Woolen  Manu- 
facturing Company.*  He  married  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Shekell, 
of  Manchester,  who  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Brooklyn,  with  her 
daughter  by  a  second  marriage.  Major  Cuyler  left  two  sons,  George 
\7.  and  William  Howe  Cuyler ;  the  former  a  banker,  and  the  lat- 
ter a  merchant,  in  Palmyra. 


LYONS. 


The  early  advent  of  the  Stansell's  and  Featherly,  the  building  of 
mills,  the  primitive  commencement  generally,  at  Lyons,  have  been 
noticed  in  connection  with  Mr.  Williamson. 

James  Otto  came  in  1796,  was  employed  in  the  erection  of  the 
mills,  and  in  '98,  marrying  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Dunn  who  settled 
where  the  Mead's  now  reside  on  the  Geneva  road,  he  moved  upon 
his  farm  south  of  Lyons  village,  where  he  now  resides,  in  his  81st 
year.  He  has  been  the  father  of  eight  sons  and  eight  daughters, 
thirteen  of  whom  are  now  living  in  Lyons  and  the  western  states. 

The  old  gentleman  says  it  was  so  sickly  about  the  village  of  Lyons 
in  early  years  that  many  who  attempted  to  settle  there  got  discour- 
aged and  left.  Dr.  Prescott  of  Phelps,  was  the  first  physcian.  Dr. 
Willis  settled  where  the  village  of  Lyons  now  b,  but  getting  sick 
himself,  and  sick  of  the  country,  returned  to  "Vermont.  In  the 
winter  of  '99  and  1800,  there  was  an  unusal  deep  snow  ;  there  came 
a  rain  making  a  crust,  and  the  wolves  destroyed  the  deer  to  such  an 
extent  that  their  carcasses  were  strewn  over  the  woods  tainting  the 
whole  atmosphere. 

Judge  Evert  Van  Wickle,  who  has  been  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  early  operations  in  Allegany,  came  to  Lyons  soon  after 
Mr.  Williamson  had  commenced  improvements  there,  and  was  in 
his  employ  as  a  surveyor.f 

Judge   Daniel  Dorsey  from  Frederick  county,  Maryland,  came 


*  He  introduced  the  first  Merino  buck  into  western  New  York,  purchasing  it  of  one 
uf  the  Liv-ingetons,  in  Albiuiy,  paying  $900. 

t  In  one  of  Mr.  Williamson's  letters,  in  1798,  hosays  :— "A  promising  tiettlem^nnt, 
ooniposed  of  p'iip1.\  f'nir.i  Jcvs-.'v  mid  Mary  bind,  is  beiruu  here  tliisJu'ie 
Wickle  from  the  Jerseys,  nioveil  iu  along  with  forty  persons." 


n  Mr  Vau 


i 


392 


PHELPS  ATTO  GORHAm's  PURCnASE. 


to  Lyons  in  1801,  with  his  family.  Two  years  previous  he  had  ex- 
plored  the  country  and  purchased  of  Mr,  Williamson  nearly  one 
thousand  acres,  mostly  on  the  east  side  of  the  outlet,  immediately 
adjoining  the  village  of  Lyons,  on  either  side  of  the  Lyons  and 
Geneva  Plank  Road.  It  included  the  farm  that  had  been  common, 
ced  by  Mr.  Cameron,  as  agent  for  Mr.  Wiliamson,  and  the  improve- 
ments ;  had  been  reserved  in  anticipation  of  what  would  grow  up 
at  the  confluence  of  the  streams— m-^stly  the  head  of  navigation; 
but  was  sold  to  Judge  Dorsey  as  an  inducement  to  emigration. 
He  had  a  large  family—  ten  children  —  and  a  considerable  number 
of  slaves,  that  were  soon  liberated,  p.incipally  for  the  reason  ihat 
in  that  case  as  well  as  in  all  other  similar  experiments  that  were  tried 
in  this  region,  slave  labor  was  unprofitable. 

The  strong  handed  emigrant  immediately  commenced  clearing 
and  improving  his  fine  possessions.  Soon  after  1800  he  commen- 
ced  merchandizing,  bringing  his  goods  from  Baltimore.  A  large 
proportion  of  his  early  trade  was  with  the  Indians,  who  were  en- 
camped  along  the  banks  of  the  outlet  and  at  Sodus.  There  used  to 
be  as  many  as  thirty  Indian  huts  along  where  William  street,  of 
Lyons  village,  crosses  the  canal. 

^  Thomas  Dorsey,  a  son  of  the  early  Pioneer,  now  occupies  a  por- 
tion of  the  old  homestead.  The  author  transcribes  from  memoran- 
dums of  a  conversation  had  with  him,  some  early  reminiscences  of 
that  locality :  — 

Durham  boats  used  to  arrive  frequently  from  Schenectady  with 
emigrants  and  goods,  and  with  salt  from  Salt  Point.  It  was  only 
in  freshets  that  they  could  go  as  high  up  as  Palmyra  and  Manches- 
ter. Salmon  were  very  plenty  in  the  streams ;  at  the  forks  I  have 
known  fifteen  and  twenty  taken  with  one  spear  in  a  night ;  weigh- 
ing from  fifteen  to  twenty  pounds.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  see 
herds  of  deer  grazing  on  the  flats. 

When  the  Dorsey  family  arrived  at  Lyons,  there  was  settled  in 
village  and  immediate  vicinity,  other  than  those  already  named :  — 
John  Biggs,  who  kept  a  tavern  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Bar- 
ton's tavern,  in  a  log  house.  He  was  the  Pioneer  landlord,  and  is 
yet  living  near  the  village.  Richard  Jones,  a  saddler,  had  a  shop 
on  what  is  now  Broad  street,  in  a  log  building.  He  died  in  1833. 
George  Carr,  a  mason  by  trade,  lived  on  Broad  street  in  a  log  house. 
William  Gibbs  lived  a  little  south  of  the  village,  on  the  farm  now 


PHELPS   AKD   G0EHA3IS    PUKCIIASE. 


393 


owned  by  Harvey  Geer.  John  Perrine  lived  on  tlie  Canandaigua 
outlet  one  mile  from  the  village.  He  was  an  early  magistrate  and 
Supervisor  of  the  town ;  removed  to  Michigan,  wher,-  he  died  in 
183G.  The  progress  of  the  village  was  slow  in  all  the  early  years, 
and  in  fact  until  the  location  and  construction  of  the  Erie  Canal. 
In  1818  there  was  but  a  small  cluster  of  buildings  ;  two  taverns,  one 
kept  by  Ezekiel  Price,  and  another  by  Elias  Hull ;  the  store  of 
Leach  &  Demmon  ;  a  few  dwellings ;  a  few  mechanic  shops ; 
a  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  church.  John  Cole,  the  father  of 
Joseph  Cole,  was  the  first  local  minister,  and  organized  the  first 
Methodist  society.  He  died  in  1810.  The  first  religious  meetings 
were  attended  by  Judge  Dorsey,  who  was  a  member  of  the  IMeth- 
odist  church,  and  occasionally  an  exhorter. 

The  village  of  Lyons  had  a  rapid  start  after  the  completion  of 
the  canal ;  many  enterprising  men  were  attracted  there  ;  substantial 
business  establishments  were  started  one  after  another ;  private 
residences,  in  beauty  of  location,  and  in  all  their  appointments  vic- 
ing with  those  of  any  of  its  neighboring  villages  and  cities  in  West- 
ern New  York,  were  founded  one  after  another ;  new  streets  were 
laid  out  with  the  accompaniments  of  fine  walks  and  long  lines  of 
shade  trees;  substantial  and  neat  public  edifices  were  erected; 
until  now,  in  1851,  there  are  few  spots  in  all  this  wide  region,  hold- 
ing out  more  inducements,  either  for  residence,  or  business  pur- 
suits. The  tourist,  in  western  New  York, who  does  not  wander 
from  the  rail  road  route,  misses  at  least  two  beautiful  and  flourishing 
villages  —  Palmyra  and  Lyons.  But  things  as  they  were,  not  as 
they  now  are,   are  the  subjects  in  hand. 

Daniel  Dorsey  died  in  1823,  at  the  age  of  65  years.  His  survi- 
ving children  are: — Upton  Dorsey,  Esq.,  of  Geneva;  Thomas  E. 
Dorsey,  residing  on  the  old  homestead  at  Lyons ;  Nelson  R.  Dorsey, 
residing  in  Calhoun  county,  Michigan ;  Mrs.  Cyrus  Chapin,  of  Gen- 
eva ;  Mrs.  Lawrence  Riley,  in  Ohio  ;  Mrs.  Thomas  Rook,  of  Lyons, 
Mrs.  Wm.  Hudson,  of  Geneva ;  Mrs.  Michael  Miller,  of  Calhoun 
CO.,  Michigan ;  Mrs.  Milton  Barney,  of  Chicago ;  and  two  sons 
have  died  after  arriving  at  adult  age ;  eleven  in  all.  The  early 
Pioneer  had  held  a  Captain's  commission  in  the  Maryland  line  during 
the  Revolution,  and  after  his  advent  to  this  region,  was  an  early 
JnrlfTft  of  thft  courts  of  Ontario. 
25 


394 


PHELP8  AND   GORIIAM's  PtJRCIIASE. 
SODUS. 


After  the  advent  of  Mr.  Williamson  in  that  region,  the  erection 
of  his  mills,  large  tavern  house,  wharf  aad  store  house  — all  the  im- 
provements  under  his  auspices  — there  followed  long  years  of  de- 
chne ;  but  an  occasional  hardy  adventure    dropping  into  the  wil- 
derness, along  on  the  Lyons  and  Palmyra  roads,  encountering  dis- 
ease and  privation— some  of  them  wrestling  with  them  until  dis- 
couraged, leaving  their  log  cabins  untenanted  —  a  forbidding  indi- 
cation to  new  adventurers.     All  that  Mr.  Williamson  had  done  was 
I)remature.     A  fine  public  house,  good  mills,  a  pleasure  boat  upon 
the  beautiful  Bay,  would  have  been  well  conceived  enterprises  in  a 
settled  country,  but  sadly  out  of  place  in  a  wilderness,  with   here 
and  there,  miles  apart,  in  small  openings  of  the  forest,  a  Pioneer 
settler,  half  resolving  to  leave  the  country,  and  give  up  his  enter- 
prise as  a  bad  job.     Of  those  that  were  connected  with  the   im- 
provements,  but  few  remained  long  after  they  were  completed. 

In  1801,  Ami  Elsworthcame  from  East  Windsor,  Conn.,  and  set- 
tled on  the  road  leading  from  the  Ridge  to  the  village  Mr.  William- 
son  had  founded  upon  the  Lake  and  Bay.  There  was  then  on  the 
road  leading  to  Palmyra,  no  settler  nearer  to  where  he  located  than 
Daniel  Russell,  9  miles  distant.  At  the  Point,  (village)  Moses  Sill 
was  in  the  tavern  house  ;  and  there  were  two  or  three  families  be- 
side, most  of  whom  lived  by  fishing  and  hunting.  On  the  Lake 
shore,  seven  miles  above  the  Point,  was  a  solitary  settler  by  the 
name  of  Amos  Richards.  *  Elijah  Brown  was  an  early,  but  not  a 
permanent  settler  on  the  Lake  shore,  four  miles  above  the  Point,  f 


CoTincc  cd  with  lum  or  liis  family,  is  a  talo  of  pioneer  life,  vreU  v^ovthj  of  record. 
Mr.  KicliardH  had  been  .n  but  a  few  years,  and  made  but  a  little  opening  in  the  forest, 
when  he  died,  leaving  a  wife,  and  a  daughter  twenty  years  old  ;  botli  uneonimoidv  en- 
dowed with  health  and  strength.  In  their  solitary  fiome,  far  away  from  neighbors, 
the  mother  and  daughter  took  the  laboring  oars  in  out  of  door  work,  eliopped  and 
Cleared  land  added  a  comfortable  log  barn  upon  their  jiremises,  planted  nn  orchard, 
Harrowed,  plou^died,  sowed,  reaped  and  harvested  ;  dispensing  entii-cly  witli  the  labor 
ot  men.  In  wiiiteis,  they  had  their  own  roads  to  make  to  the  settlements,  their  stock 
to  todder  and  brouso  ;— in  fact,  women  as  they  were,  they  contended  successfully  with 
all  tl.e  endurances  of  jMoiieer  life,  and  in  tlie  end,  with  pretty  good  success.  TJiero 
was  an  eiitno  r.ew  fe.ntuio  in  the  old  lady's  domestic  economy  :  — She  trained  a  cow 
to  cany  burdens,  and  espociallv  lier  grain  to  mill,  upon  her  back.  Mrs.  Richards  died 
in  Iti'U,  aged  93  years.     The  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Jeduthan  Moffatt. 

file  was  a  Pioneer  upon  the  Hcillaiid  Pnrrhase,  at  thn  mmith  of  Q.-iV  Orpjiorr) 
Creek,  as  early  as  IbUt.  In  1805  or  '(i,  he  came  down  the  Lake  from  his  new  loca- 
tion to  null  at  Sudus,  in  a  skiti;    lleturuiug,  he  was  taken  sick,  and  on  going  on  sliorc, 


PHELPS   AND    GOKIIAJi's    PUnCHASE. 


395 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ellsworth  still  survive,  at  an  advanced  age.     They 
have  fifty  living  descendants  in  the  town  of  Sodus. 

The  old  gentleman  says  that  his  neighborhood,  in  an  early  day, 
was  more  than  usually  the  haunt  of  deer,  bears  and  wolves;  wild 
ducks  were  abundant  in  the  Bay,  and  sonit  seasons  of  the  years, 
pigeons  were  so  plenty,  that  it  was  difficult  to  protect  the  crops 
from  their  depredations.  At  one  period,  they  had  their  roosts  on 
the  Lake  shore,  their  nests  occupying  the  trees  upon  hundreds  of 
acres.  Some  trees  would  have  sixty  and  seventy  nests  upon  them. 
The  backwoods  settlers  carried  away  cart  loads  jf  the  young 
squabs.  On  another  occasion,  an  unusual  quantity  of  beach  nuts 
and  mild  weather,  attracted  myriads  of  them  to  the  neighborhood  ; 
the  weather  suddenly  changing  to  severe  cold,  the  woods  were 
strewed  with  those  that  had  been  frozen  to  death. 

Elijah  Gibbs  was  the  first  settled  physician  in  the  neighborhood. 
He  died  in  1829.  Several  of  his  sons  are  masters  of  vessels  upon 
the  Lake.  Elisha  Matthews  was  an  early  physician ;  a  son  of  his 
resides  in  Rochester. 

Mr.  Ellsworth  was  sick  for  five  of  the  first  years  after  settling  at 
Sodus ;  his  then  young  wile,  transferred  to  the  u-ilderness  from  a 
comfortable  New  England  home,  had  her  husband  and  young  chil- 
dren  to  take  care  of,  and  much  of  the  out  door  labor  to  perform. 
A  payment  upon  their  land  became  due :  their  dependence  to  meet 
it  was  a  sum  due  them  in  Connecticut ;  Mrs.  E.  made  the  long 
journey  to  Windsor  upon  horseback,  and  obtained  it.  The  history 
of  their  pioneer  years  has  the  harshest  features  of  backwood's  life ; 
but  with  them,  as  with  others,  the  scene  has  changed ;  the  dense 
forests  have  melted  away ;  in  the  midst  of  their  descendants,  sur- 
rounded by  fruitful  fields,  they  are  spending  the  evening  of  their 
days,  and  calmly  awaiting  the  close  of  the  mission  upon  earth, 
they  have  so  well  performed. 


PEREGRINE  FITZHUGH. 


DCr  See  William  Fitzhugh,  page  364.     He  emigrated  to  this  re- 
gion in  1799.     Residing  three  years  at  Geneva,  he  was  engaged  in 


died  at  Tromlequoil.  John  G.  Brown,  of  Hudson,  Michigan,  and  Paul  Brown,  of  Pal- 
myra, Wayne  county,  are  Iiis  soiia  Daughters  became  the  Avives  of  Edward  Durfee, 
audWilliauA  Wilcos,  of  Palmyra,  oud  Gilfjurt  Howell,  of  Oak  Orchard. 


396 


PHELPS   AND   GORHAM's    PURaiASE. 


i 


improving  a  large  purchase  he  had  made  at  Sodus,  until  his  removal 
there  in  1803.  But  little  had  been  done  there  before  his  advent, 
m  the  way  of  farm  improvements.  Mr.  Williamson's  fine  tavern 
house  loomed  uj)  on  the  Bay,  on  either  hand,  a  few  log  cabins, 
most  of  them  deserted  ;  while  the  background  was  a  thickly  wood- 
ed forest,  upon  the  beautiful  swell  of  land  between  the  Bay  and 
the  Lake;  cut  up  into  "inner"  and  "outer"  town  lots;  the  stakes 
and  blazed  trees  of  the  surveyors  being  the  only  marks  of  improve- 
ment. 

Col.  Fitzhugh  came  into  the  country  strong  bended;  his  was  the 
Pioneer  advent  of  the  "  Marylanders,"  and  was  a  marked  event. 
He  came  over  Mr.  Williamson's  Northumberland  road,  with  a  for- 
midable cavalcade;  large  Pennsylvania  wagons,  drawn  by  27 
horses ;  his  fa.  ily,  including  slaves,  consisting  of  over  forty  per- 
sons. The  cavalcade  was  five  weeks  in  making  the  passage,  the 
whole  camping  in  the  woods  two  nights  on  the  way. 

The  enterprising  .adventurer  from  the  shores  of  the  Chesepeake 
Bay,  chose  ihr  his  home  one  of  the  finest  regions  of  the  Genesee 
country,  as  time  and  improvements  are  now  rapidly  demonstrating, 
but  one  beset  with  many  early  difficulties  and  hindrances  — dis- 
ease, isolation,  in  reference  to  the  directions  that  business  and  the 
progress  of  improvement  took  ;  destined  to  slow  settlement,  and 
long  untoward  years.  He  died  in  the  midst  of  his  enterprises,  in 
1810.  The  owner,  by  inheritance,  of  slaves,  he  introduced  them 
into  a  region  unfitted  for  slave  labor,  and  in  his  case,  as  well  as  with 
all  others  who  made  the  experiment,  it  was  a  failure.  He  had 
made  most  of  them  free  before  his  death. 

Mrs.  Fitzhugh,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Lloyd  Chew,  of 
Ann  Arundel,  Md.,  still  survives,  a  resident  at  the  old  homestead,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  84  years.  She  has  lived  to  see  her  descend- 
ants of  the  fifth  generation.  The  surviving  sons  of  Col.  Peregrine 
lltzhugli,  are:  — Samuel  Fitzhugh,  who  has  been  a  clerk  in  the 


^OTK  —Au  experiment  of  1  )cnl  ooloDizafion,  or  n-parate  settlement  of  free  blacks, 
cnmmcnop  •  m  aii  early  day  ;..t  Sodus.  The  inanniinittcd  slaves  of  most  of  the 
Marylande.-s  —  many  of  tliei/i  those  of  Mr.  Fit  chugh  —  were  allowed  to  go 
upon  tlio  lultrney  lands,  near  the  liav,  the  ten,  fifteen,  and,  twenty  acre 
lots  that  hal  hcen  laid  out  hy  Mr.  Williamson  ujion  liis  towwn  plat.  They 
numbered  at.  one  time,  abort  80  in  all  The  settlement  began  to  disjjorse  after  a 
few  years;  thi.y  provrd  illv  ndapfcd  for  makirig  thoMi^elves  a  home  upon  new  lands' 
those  that  reniahied  wore  i.lle  and  tmthriftv,  and  their  locality  is  now  a  Bad  specimen 
ot  the  self  relianv^e,  or  iudepei.deut  existence,  of  their  race. 


PIIELPS  AND  GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 


397 


General  Post  Office,  at  Washington,  for  nearly  thirty  years ;  and 
Bennett  C.  Fitzhugh,  a  resident  at  Sodus  Point.  Daughters  be- 
came the  wives  of  William  Pulteney  Daiui,*  whose  mother  was  a 
niece  of  Sir  William  Pulteney ;  of  William  Haylartz,  of  Sodus ; 
of  William  Edwards,  of  Sodus ;  an  unmarried  daughter  resides  at 
the  old  homestead. 


WILLIAM  NIXON  LOOillS. 


He  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey.  After  a  collegiate  education, 
he  studied  medicine,  attended  the  lectures  of  Dr.  Rush,  at  Philadel- 
phia. His  ambition  as  a  student,  is  indicated  by  the  fact,  that  he 
took  copious  notes  of  the  whole  course  of  lectures  of  that  eminent 
man,  which  fill  several  ([uarto  volumes,  and  are  the  only  re]:ort  ex- 
tant, of  that  course.  An  acquaintance  thus  formed,  betwe  i  mas- 
ter and  pupil,  they  afterwards  maintained  a  correspondence  of 
intimacy  and  friendship.  Commencing  the  practice  of  medicine 
in  Philadelphia,  he  continued  there  until  a  declining  health,  conse- 
quent upon  an  attack  of  the  yellow  fever,  induced  him  to  seek  a 
change  of  climate. 

He  came  on  a  tour  of  exploration  to  the  Genesee  country  soon  after 
1800.  In  a  trip  by  water,  with  some  friends,  they  were  overtaken 
by  a  storm,  off  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river.  The  party  landed, 
and  went  up  to  view  the  Falls.  Upon  the  present  site  of  Roches- 
ter, they  came  to  a  solitary  log  cabin,  knocked,  and  were  bid 
to  com:  in.  Upon  entering,  they  found  that  in  the  absence  of 
the  family,  a  parrot  had  been  the  hospitable  representative.  The 
family  returned  soon,  however,  and  gave  them  a  supper  of  potatoes 
and  milk  ;  the  best  that  the  site  of  a  now  city  of  40,000  inhabit- 
ants, then  afforded.  Deciding  upon  making  Sodus  Point  his  home, 
he  made  considerable  investments  in  lands  there,  and  soon  removed 
his  family  to  their  new  home.  He  resided  at  the  Point,  until  the 
commencement  of  the  war  of  1812,  when  he  removed  two  miles 
farther  up  the  Lake,  where  he  had  purchased  lands,  and  erected  a 
flouring  jnill.     His  house  at  the  Point  was  burned  when  the  British 


*  He  came  to  this  country  soon  after  his  relative  had  become  a  proprietor  here ;  his 
■wife  (1  yiiij,',  he  returned  to  England  in  early  years.    Mrs.  Daniel  H.  Fitzhugh,  of  Grove- 

lainl  is.  ;i  il;iiR-ht('V  of  Ilia. 


398 


PHELPS  AND    OORHAM's    PURCHASE. 


force  made  their  landing  there.  To  the  flourin«  mill,  in  his  new 
locality,  he  added  a. saw  mill,  an  iron  forge,  and  several  other  branch- 
es of  business;  besides  improving  the  land,  dividing  it  into  farms, 
and  building  several  houses  for  tenants.  The  little  settlement  was 
called  "  Maxwell."  Leaving  Philadel])hia  with  the  design  of  aban- 
doning his  profession,  his  practice  was  only  such  as  the  exigencies 
of  the  new  region  demanded,  and  mostly  gratuitous.  He  be"stowed 
much  of  his  time  and  talents  in  the  cause  of  internal  improvements. 
If  not  the  projector,  he  early  and  zealously  espoused  the  opening 
-f  a  communication  between  Lake  Ontario  ar;i  the  Erie  Canal,  bv 
means  of  a  branch  canal,  terminating  at  Sodus  Bay.* 

To  indefatigable  industry  and  perseverance,  he  added  extraordi- 
nary business  talents ;  and  to  u  vigorous  intellect  he  added  a  thor- 
ough education,  cultivated  literary  tastes  and  pursuits,  in  hours  of 
relaxation  from  the  sterner  duties  of  life,  v/hich  made  him  an  agree- 
able and  instructive  companion.  He  died  in  1833,  at  the  age  of  58 
years.  An  inscription  upon  his  tomb  stone,  in  the  rural  cemetery, 
at  Sodus  village,  pays  the  following  tribute  to  his  memory;  — "He 
was  one  of  the  Pioneer  Border  settlers.  His  enterprising,  vigor- 
ous, and  active  mind,  aided  esssentially  in  the  improvements  of  this 
country,  aiKl  commanded  for  him  universal  esteem." 

The  first  wife  of  Dr.  Lummis  died  in  early  years.  His  second 
wife  was  a  daughter  of  Captain  Jol.n  Maxwell,  and  the  niece  of 
General  William  Maxwell,  both  of  whom  are  honorably  mentioned 
in  Revolutionary  annals.  The  surviving  sons  of  Dr.  Lummis, 
are  :  —  Benjamin  Rush  Lummis,  residing  on  the  east  side  of  Sodus 
Bay ;  William  M.  and  Dayton  Lummis,  merchants,  New  York. 
An  only  surviving  daughter  is  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ellet,  the  wife  of  Dr 
William  H.  Ellet,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  Columbia  College,  N. 
York  ;  The  amiable  and  gifted  authoress  of  "  The  Women  of  the 
American  Revolution,"  and  "Domestic  History  of  the  American 
Revolution." 


Dr.  Thomas  G.  Lawson,  an  Englishman,  leaving  home  on  ac- 
count  ot  some  domestic  difficulties,  came  to  Sodus  Point,  in  early 

«n;',.i^?'""-'f^'r'',''''''^/"  ^''*u'  years.'piidj^diT^  the  auspices  of  another  public 
Gpiuted  ni,livi(h.al-&en.  Wni  H.A.lauis-witli  sloxvand  untoward  progress  a  lirst ; 
but  now,  with  tlie  aid  ot  recent  legislati.m,  likely  to  bo  coMsuniinated. 

JN  OTK  ■—  Mrs.  Lllet  is  now  about  3H  years  of  age.  Her  tint  iniblished  literary-  effort 
^v  as  written  at  the  age  of  thirteen  ;  an  "Oile"  written  on  the  occasion  of  La  Fayetto's 
vxsitatUeneva  where  she  was  attending  school. 


PHELPS  AND   GORIIAM's    PURCHASE. 


399 


years,  purchasing  a  111 rge  number  of  Mr.  tVilliamson's  "out  lots,"  a 
mile  from  the  Point,  fixing  his  residence  there.  Possessed  of  consid- 
erable wealth,  he  practiced  his  profession  only  occasionally,  spending 
his  money  freely  in  improvements  of  his  possessions.  lie  returned 
to  England,  where  he  died  in  1833. 

Elder  Seba  Norton  was  the  the  pioneer  clergyman,  at  Sodus,  set- 
tling there  as  early  as  1805.  After  four  years'  service  in  the 
Revolution,  which  included  a  participation  in  the  battles  of  Mon- 
mouth and  Saratoga,  he  united  with  the  Baptist  church,  an('  loon  took 
upon  himself  the  olfice  of  a  minister,  with  a  limited  education,  but 
with  a  native  strength  of  mind,  and  a  devotion  to  his  profession, 
which  insured  a  long  career  of  usefulness.  He  was  the  founder 
of  th(;  first  meeting  house  in  the  township.  He  died  in  1835,  in 
the  76th  year  of  his  age. 

In  reference  to  the  slow  growth  of  Sodus,  the  early  fluctuations  of  its 
population,  Judge  Byram  Green  remarks :  —  "A  large  ))ortion  of  the 
early  settlers  about  the  Bay,  v^re  but  transient  residents,  fishermen 
and  hunters.  They  would  come  to  the  Bay,  invited  by  the  abun- 
dance of  deer  in  the  forest,  wild  ducks  in  the  Bay,  and  fish  in  the 
Bay  and  Lake,  and  erect  their  huts  on  the  Islands  in  the  Bay,  or  the 
main  land.  There  they  would  hunt  and  fish  for  a  season,  some  a 
few  years,  and  leave  the  place.  Soon  another  set  would  come,  and 
occupy  the  vacant  and  common  ground.  And  thus  a  floating  pop- 
ulation was  coming  and  going,  like  the  rolling  waves  upon  ttic  Lake, 
until  more  enterprising  men  purchased  and  occupied  the  ground, 
subdued  the  forest,  and  cultivated  the  soil." 


RIDGE  ROAD  AND  SODUS  BAY. 


Secluded,  in  referenc  to  the  main  tliorougliferus,  the  northern  portions  of 
Mf>m-of'  and  Wayne  counties  are  loss  known  than  most  of  the  Genesee  coun- 
try. Sodus  ]_iay,  ospeciiiUy,  a  markwl  spot  in  the  topography  of  the  Genesee 
country,  and  in  fact  in  all  our  Lake  region,  luis  never  been  seen  by  many, 
otherwise  faniilim-  with  the  whnle  region.  Tlie.se  considerations  will  excuse  a 
seeming  partiality,  in  making  tliem  an  exception  to  a  general  rule,  in  this  his- 
tory of  i)ior.er  settlement. 

Passing  Irondequoit  Bay,  and  tri'ing  east,  the  Ridge  Road  becomes  as  well 
defined,  as  uniformly  ele\ated,  a-  u]ion  ;iny  ]>ortion  of  it  between  the  Genesee 
and  tlie  Niagara  rivers.     It  psisses  through  the  towns  of  Webster,  in  Monroe, 


400 


PHELrS  AJfD  GOEIIAM's    rUKCKASE. 


„ 


„,_  _,.^  ^ 


Ontnrio,  Willimnwn,  and  So<lus,  in  Wavue,  tomiiiiatini^  at  thn  head  of  the 
Bay,  orrath.T  losing  tla-re  its  regular  and  clistiiietive''cliaracter.  Ktaitino- 
troin  .Ir<mae<[uuit,  pasMiig  tlie  fine  swells  of  uplands  and  broad  plains  — the 
constant  succession  of  magiiificcnt  farms,  of  the  town  of  Wel.ster,  the  flour- 
ishing inral  village,  that  bears  tlie  name  of  the  town  —  there  is  a  great  uni- 
tnriiiity  in  nature's  own  highway,  npon  which  yon  are  tiHveling;  its  gradual 
slope  in  the  direction  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  gentle  swells  and  rolling  lands 
<'n  the  other  hand  — a  sainen?ss  of  landscape  —  nutil  you  arrivi!  at  Wil- 
hainson,  or  Po]>pino's  corners,  whore  the  m/iin  road  passes  from  Pahnvra  to 
1  ultney  vijle.  Hero  the  scene  changes  gradu/ill  v,  the  slope  and  the  Ridge  becom- 
ing more  irregular,  and  at  the  south  knobs  aiufsugar  loaf  hills  bcconKrfrequent, 
to  add  to  the  variety  of  sccneiy,  not  to  form  an  exception  to  the  every  wliero 
desirable  farms,  and  prosperous  agricultural  region.  No  where  in  all  this 
region  of  progress,  has  the  hand'' of  improvement  eftectwl  a  more  rapid 
change,  or  found  a  soil  making  better  returns  for  its  labor.  And  here  it  may 
be  reniarked,  that  with  reference  to  the  stai)le  grain  i)i„Juct,  wheat,  there  is 
no  region  (^t  country  on  earth,  that  contains  in  its  s(^il  more  of  its  elements, 
than  the  slope  from  the  Ridge  Road  to  Lake  Ontario,  in  its  whole  extent. 

I  assmg  from  Poppino's  Corners  to  Sodus  village  —  seven  mil(>s  —  on  either 
liand  are  broad  wheat  fields,  clear  of  stumps,  mHnv  of  them  looking  like  vast 
onion  beds  ;  the  Ridge  gcutly  curving,  and  then  strain-ht  for  miles,  widi  a 
regular  elevation,  you  are  gradually  bearing  towards  the  Lake,  until  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  you  catch  glimpes  of  its  blue  waves,  through  vistas  of  the 
forest,  schoonore  with  Fails  spread,  or  perhaj is  a  magnificent  steamboat— -a 
tloating  palace  —  vnll  cross  the  lino  of  vision. 

Sodus  village  has  gi-ownu])  on  tlie  Ridge  —  hardly  within  a  pioneer  period 
—  a  liounshing,  brisk  countiy  \illage,  having  a  pleasant  rural  aspect  ;  its  site. 
^yhere  the  roail  from  Lyons  to  Sodus  Point,  crosses  the  Ridge.  A  walk,  oi 
ride,  of  four  miles  through  a  fine  farminjx  reo-ion,  of  ridges  and  valleys,  brino-s 
you  to  the  Point,  or  the  old  site  of  Mr.AVilliamson's  magnificently  projected 

If  yo'Kpiestion  his  judgement,  or  say  that  his  plans  were  premature,  yoii 
will  be  obliged  to  pay  homage  to  his  t'.ste  ;  for  no  where  in  all  this  re^rion  is 
tliere  a  finer  site  for  a  village  or  a  city.  The  bold  shore  of  the  Lake'^'fonns 
an  elevated  and  beautiful  terrace  on  the  one  hand,  while  the  ground  <rra,lua]ly 
descends  to  the  waters  of  the  Ray  upon  the  other.  As  the  l>oint  gradually 
wMens   out  in  the  back  ground,  it  rises  slowly,    and  is  interspersed  with 


XoTE.-In  the  years  1818,  ']!),  tlio  nntlinr,  a  vontli,  sorvin- lu's  npiircntishin  in  i 

■  <  blind  iio\\>i,a|or  c  rncT.     ft  was  a  iiidst  iinjiruiiiisin.r  rcijio  i  eC  lo.'  (vibins  «iiiitod 
improven.e,,  s  ol  cImIIs  m,d  fevers.     ']  h.  owls  'hoete,!  fVomlops  c  f  liro  .         .'k  t  Jo 
mui^drli'l'r-    ''?■''  ^""''"''*^"   '.'"^  ''■■""  f'^rcsts;t].c^aucyl,.wk  would  bo 

;^f     Zr  iS      'r'  J"^"'T-''"""  ••••"•'■,  Jki.I  t.kcll.e  pl.rc  of  those  n.gi;e,l  sccnc^ 

nml    c  ,1,  >s  lK>  ,,l,,,,.^,,,l  t„  ]„,,;_. I  ,„,j  ^„     i^  ^.,^.^t  ^.^^^  ,^^^j^    J 

lii'ic,  tiuw  I  aJiiiost  pity  tho-elliat  cnimot."  t.  uvo 


PHELPS    AND    GORHAJi's    PUECHASE. 


401 


swells  of  land,  slopes  and  vallies,  forming  sites  for  residences  overlooking  Lake 
and  Bay,  and  every  way  inviting. 

The  Bay  enters  a  cove  of  the  Lake,  which  is  protected  on  cither  liaud  by 
headlands,  Itis  about  half  a  mile  across  its  neck,  gradually  widening  out  to 
the  extent  of  four  miles.  Li  lenglli  from  north  to  south,  itis  ncaily  seven 
inilt^s.  A  small  Island  in  the  Lake,  l}ing  opposite  the  entrance  to  tlu-Bay,  a 
pier  connects  it  with  the  main  land,  and  another  is  extended  into  the  Lake. 
These  public  impro\'ement'!,  added  to  natund  ad\'antages,  renders  it  the  iinost 
harbor  upon  all  our  Lake  coasts.  It  is  said  of  the  magniticent  li  ay  of  San 
Francisco,  that  "  all  the  navies  of  the  world  might  ride  at  anchor  in  it  at 
one  time,  with  safety."  It  may  bo  said  of  Sodus  IJay,  that  all  the  craft  that 
will  ever  navigate  our  Lakes,  Avould  lind  ample  room  there;  good  anchorage, 
and  protection  from  the  severest  gales.  Its  mostly  deep,  still  waters  might  at 
times,  be  passed  over  safely  in  a  canoe,  when  a  tempest  was  tossing  the  waters 
<)f  the  Lake.  The  scenery,  especially  upon  the  east  siile  of  the  Bay,  is  less 
bold  and  rugged,  but  its  ])roinentories  I'cmind  one  of  the  desciiptions  of  the 
Bay  (jf  Naples.  AVith  an  eye  for  the  pictureapie  and  romantic  —  a  feeling  of 
enthusiiism  in  reference  to  all  this  region,  — Mr.  Williumson  Wivta  to  a  friend 
in  England;  —  "The  town"  (Sodus,)  "stands  on  arising  ground  on  the 
west  point  of  the  Bay,  having  the  Lake  on  the  north,  to  appearance  as  bound- 
less as  the  ocean,  and  the  Bay  to  the  east  romantically  interspersed  with  Islands, 
and  parts  of  the  main  land  stretching  into  it.  The  first  view  of  the  place, 
after  passing  through  a  timbered  country  from  Genev;i,  twenty-eight  miles, 
strikes  the  eye  of  the  beholdei",  as  one  of  the  most  magnificent  landscajjcs 
human  fancy  can  picture ;  and  the  beauty  of  the  scene,  is  not  unfrequeutly 
heightened,  by  the  ai)peartmce  of  largo  vessels  navigating  the  Lake." 


I! 


ii 


The  "  District  of  Sodus,"  was  erected  in  the  primitive  division 
of  Ontario  county  into  Districts,  in  1789.  The  earliest  record  of  a 
town  meeting  is  in  1799.  The  district  then  embraced  all  of  the 
present  town  of  Sodus  and  Lyons.  The  town  or  district  meeting 
was  held  at  the  "  house  of  Evert  Van  Wickle"  in  Lyons  vilhige. 
The  officers  chosen  were  as  follows:  —  Azariah  Willis,  supervisor, 
Joseph  Taylor,  town  clerk  ;  other  town  officers  :  —  Norman  ]\Ierry, 
Samuel  Caldwell,  Chas.  Cameron,  Moses  Sill,  E.  Van  Wickle, 
Timothy  Smith,  Joseph  Wood,  David  Sweezy,  Daniel  Russell, 
Henry  Lovewell,  Wm.  White,  Reuben  Adams,  Samuel  Nelson, 
David  Sweezy,  and  John  Van  Wickle. 

At  a  special  town  meeting  in  1799,  held  "at  the  house  of  Jolm 
Briggs,"  John  Perrine,  Timothy  Smith,  and  Samuel  Caldwell  were 
chosen  school  commissioners. 

There  was  at  this  period  on  the  tax  roll,  the  names  of  50  persons, 
some  of  whom  were  non-residents ;  the  settlers  would  seem  to  have 


402 


PHELPS   ANDGORHAm's  PURCHASE. 


been  located  m  Lyons  village,  on  the  road  from  Lyons  to  Sodus 

IZL  ;  l"T  7^  °"  '^'  ^^'"^^''•^  ^°^^^'  ^^'^^h  the  exception  of 
B  own  and  R.chards,  on  the  Lake  shore  between  the  Point  and 
Pulteneyvdie.  In  1800,  Timothy  Smith  was  supervisor.  In  this 
year  the  first  records  of  roads  were  made.     Two  dollars  bounty 

voted  that  "hog  yokes  be  eight  inches  above  the  neck."    It  was 
also  voted  that  Elias  Dickinson,  who  it  is  presumed  was  a  Justice  of 
he  peace  m  Phelps,  "be  allowed  $3  for  opening  town  meetings 
two  years  past.  ^ 

In  1799,  l^he  District  gave  Charles  Williamson  and  Nathaniel 
Norton  candidates  for  Assembly,  each  23  votes.  In  1800  Thomas 
Moms  had  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  district,  68,  for  representative 
of  the  Western  District  in  Congress. 

_  In  1801  the  district  "neglected  to  hold  town  meeting,"  but  three 
justices  of  the  county,  Wm.  Rogers,  Darius  Comstock  and  Ezra 
Patterson,  met  at  the  house  of  Oliver  Kendall,  and  appointed  John 
1  errine,  supervisor,  and  Richard  Jones  town  clerk 

Pulteneyville  is  upon  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  at  the  mouth  of 
Little  Salmon  creek.     The  waters  of  the  fine  pure  stream  that  have 
been  collecting  upon  the  slope  in   Marion  and  Williamson,  on  ap- 
proaching the  Lake,  seem  to  have  been  coy  and  hesitating  in  fall- 
ing  into  Its  embrace  ;  meandering  along  for  a  considerable  distance, 
nearly  ,  arallel  with  the  Lake  shore,  a  ridge  elevated  from  35  to  40 
teet,  affords  fine  building  ground  overlooking  the  Lake.     Two  prom 
ontories  put  out  above  and  below  the  entrance  of  the  creek  into  the 
Lake,  which,  with  a  bluff  shore,  affords  the  means  of  making  a  very 
good  harbor  with  a   small  comparative  expenditure  of  money     It 
was  a  prominent  locality  in  long  years  of  French  and  English  do- 
rninion-the  frequent  stopping  place  for  the  small  craft  that  coasted 
along  the  Lake  shore.     Although  the  locality  was  marked  by  mT 
Williamson   in  his  plans  of  improvement,  and  is  mentioned  in  his 
c oirespondence  with  his  principals,  no  commencement  was  made 
there  under  his  auspices. 

Previous  to  1806,  William  Waters  was  the  only  resident  there. 
In  that  year.  Capt.  Samuel  Throop,  changed  his  residence  from 
Manchester  to  Pulteneyville,  accompanied  by  his  father-in-law 
Jeremiah  So  by,  who  had  settled  at  Pahnyra  as  early  as  1801. 
rhey  erected  a  saw  mill  and  grist  mill  on  Little  Salmon  creek 


rilELPS  AIST)  GOEHAm's   PURCHASE. 


403 


Capt.  Throop  kept  the  first  public  house  at  Pulteneyville.  Russel 
Whipple,  becoming  a  resident  there  in  early  years,  built  the  schooner 
"  Laura,'  which  was  sailed  by  Capt.  Throop.  The  widow  of  Capt. 
Throop,  is  now  the  wife  of  Major  William  Ilodgers.of  Pulteneyville. 
In  addition  to  the  son  named  in  a  note  attached,  Capt.  Washington 
Throop,  of  Pulteneyville,  is  another  son.  Daughters  becam.c  the 
wives  of  W.  H.  Rodgers  and  Capt.  Andrew  HoUing,  of  Pulteneyville. 
Joseph  Colt,  the  early  merchant  at  Canandaigua  and  Geneva, 
was  the  pioneer  merchant  at  Pulteneyville.  Jacob  W.  Hallett,  late 
of  New  York,  was  an  early  resident  of  Pultneyville,  ar.  was  Samuel 
Ledyard,  who  is  a  resident  there  now ;  of  both  whom,  especially 
of  the  latter,  whose  family  was  early  identified  with  all  the  region 
west  of  Utica,  the  author  is  in  hopes  to  be  able  to  say  something  in 
another  connection. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


PIONEER    EVENTO    IN  WHAT  IS    NOW  MONROE. 


In  December,  1789,  the  Shaefier  family  became  the  pioneer  set- 
tlers in  all  the  region  west  of  the  Genesee  river,  and  in  fact  of  the 
whole  valley  of  the  Genesee,  if  we  except  those  who  had  blended 
themselves  with  the  Indians,  w^ere  Indian  traders,  or  had  become 
squatters  upon  Indian  lands,  in  their  flight  from  the  Mohawk  and 
Sus(iuehannah,  during  the  border  wars.  With  reference  to  pe  ma- 
nent  settlement  and  improvement,  they  must  be  regarded  as  the 
Pioneers  of  the  Genesee  Valley. 

NiiTK.  —  A  Hiiifijular  train  of  Lnkc  ilisiisti'rs  and  deatliH,  is  connected  with  tliis  pio- 
iicui  family  :  —  Capt.  Tlnoop  liinisolf  was  drowned  from  tli  ■  sclioonor  Lark,  of  which 
111'  was  master,  while  attcniptiiiu;  to  i.iter  Sodiw  Bay,  in  a  trale,  in  1819.  Previous  to 
which,  Mrs.  Throop  witli  two  young  diildren,  in  a  sldtf  with  lier  luii-.hand,  Jeremiah 
}!.  Selhy  and  George  Arnistrong',  were  going  a  few  miles  up  the  Lake ;  the  skiff 
filled,  the  children  were  drowned,  and  Mrs.  Throo])  harely  escaped.  At  the  early 
age  of  IS,  the  jiresent  well  known  Ca]it.  Horatio  N.  Throop,  of  the  steam  boat  Onta- 
rio, became  a  navigator  of  the  Lake,  as  the  master  of  a  small  schooner,  which  he  had 
b\iill  liimself  In  lH'2't  on  his  way  to  ()swey:o,  a  carijo  of  corn  with  whicli  ho  was 
laden  became  damp,  swelled,  tlie  ve8,sel  suddenly  Innsting  and  sinking.  Two  lads  on 
l)o!ml  drowned,  and  Capt.  Throoj)  himself  escaped  by  swinimaig  to  the  shore,  four 
Iiiilu.s,  on  it  door  that  had  become  detached. 


404 


PIIELPa    AXD    GOIUIAJU'S   PUECIIASE. 


•  ..^i^fe.'' 


Peter  ShaefTer,  the  elder,  was  a  native  of  Berks  county,  Pa.,  but 
emigrated  from  Lancaster  to  this  region,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
85  years.     His  family  who  became  permanent  residents,  consisted 
of  hi-nseif  and  liis  sons  Peter  and  Jacob.    In  July,  1789,  they  came 
first    )  Geneva,  and  then  to  Ganargwa  creek,  in  B]oomfield,\vhere 
the}    purchased  1200  acres  of  land  of  Gen.  Fellows.     Remaining 
there  until  December,  the  old  gentleman  apportioned  that  tract 
among  his  three  daughters,  and  went  upon  tl.e  river  ^vith  his  sons. 
They  found  Ebenezer  Allan,  the  owner  of  the  fine  tract  of  flats  and 
upland  at  the  mouth  of  Allan's  creek,  adjoining  the  present  village 
of  Scottsville.     He  had  a  comfortable  log  house,  upon  a  gentle 
swell  of  land,  which  may  be  observed   a  short  distance  from  the 
confluence  of  the  creek  and  river.     He  was  living  then  with  a 
young  white  wife,  whose   name  had  been  Lucy  Chapman.     Her 
family  on  their  way  to  Canada,  had  stopped  with  him,  and  by  the 
solicitations  of  Mrs.  Dugan,  (Allan's  sister,)  Lucy  remained  to  keep 
her  company.     A  sham  magistrate  came  along  soon  after  and  made 
her  a  joint  partner  with  some  half  dozen  natives,  in  the  aflections 
of  the  then  lord  of  the  Genesee  Valley.     Mrs.  Dugan,  had  come 
on  some  years  previous,  with  her  husband  and  joined  her  brother, 
and  had  been  his  housekeeper.     Allan  had  acquired  three  hundred 
acres  of  land  by  gift  from  the  Indians,  to  which  he  had  added  one 
hundred  and  seventy  by  purchase,  from  Phelps  and  Gorham.     He 
had  a  stock  of  goods  for  the  Indian  trade.*     He  had  50  or  60  acres 
of  open  flats  under  the  plough.  20  acres  of  wheat  upon  the  ground; 
some  horses  and  cattle.     A  few  years  previous  he  had  wintered 
seventy  head  of  cattle  on  rushes,  f 

The  Shaeffers  became  the  purchasers  of  his  fine  tract  of  land, 
paying  him  the  then  high  price  of  $2,50  per  acre ;  though  it  must 


_    *  And  •;thcrcl)y  lianra  a  talo  : "  -  Tlieso  goods  were  obtained  of  Jolin  Buflor  Brit- 
leh  suponnterxlcnt  of  Indian  affairs  at  Niagara.    Tliey  were  taken  fo.n  Si  Kino" , 
tScon  r'T"?.!  r'''f  «"'^;"%i;'^>''l.«.l  for  Indian  p4ent«  npon  the  Genesee  riv^r 
o  do^^i    !n       f.i  ^'''T'^"  i".  '■"  ^^''''''''  '"*""'^*'^' ''"'»  strengthen  the  British  claim 
an,  s   n  r    l''  T  "^'  li  ^''"  ""r^T  P"''^""  "^  tl"^  State.     But  tlie  agent  ,nis- 

In  V  1  n  H  •  h-  i""^''^  ^"';t  ^'^''  ^H 8"'"'« '"-"^ey  1  ecanie  oftenergif^s  of  gal- 
lat.y  than  tins,  ofdiploniacy.  Butler  made  a  business  matter  of  it;  demanded  pay  for 
t he  gomis ;  Allan  eonH'sted  the  claim,  but  it  was  finally  compromised  by  theinte/ven- 
uon  ot  James  \\  iulsworth,  Esq.  .<         i  j 

1 J  A^^*""  ''"'"'"^,  "P"n  *¥  Geneseo  river,  he  had  become  a  grazer  and  drover.  But- 
ler a  Kiuiwrs  andthe  Indians  would  steal  rattle  froinUio  Mohawk  and  the  Susnuehan- 
n.ui  ami  dnvo  them  to  him.  After  keeping  them  upon  the  river,  until  they  becaineirood 
Doel,  Uicy  would  command  A  ready  sale  at  high  prices,  at  Fort  Niagara  and  in  Cmiada. 


PHELPS   AND  GORHAMS   PURCHASE. 


405 


be  considered  that  sixty  acres  of  improvement  was  tlien  a  valuable 
acquisition.  Allan  included  in  the  sale,  one  acre  of  wheat  upon  the 
ground  and  a  sow  pig.*  The  father  and  sons  added  to  Allan'  house- 
hold for  the  winter,  subsisting  upon  the  milk  of  two  cows  they 
brought  in,  and  Indian  pudding  that  jMrs.  Dugan  cooked  for  them. 

Allan  had  erected  the  saw  mill  at  the  Falls,  (now  Rochester)  in 
the  summer  previous,  and  had  his  timber  out  for  the  grist  mill.  The 
money  that  he  realized  for  his  farm,  enabled  him  to  push  forward  his 
enterprise.  The  grist  mill  was  raised  the  forepart  of  winter.  The 
frame  was  26  by  30,  of  heavy  timber.  All  the  able  bodied  white 
men  in  the  Genesee  valley  were  invited  to  the  raising  —  and  they 
numbered  fourteen,  all  told.  It  took  them  two  days.  A  trading 
boat  happening  to  enter  the  mouth  of  the  river,  while  they  were 
raising,  some  rum  was  procured,  and  the  backwoodsmen  had  a 
dance  in  the  mill,  and  a  rejoicing  at  the  prospect  of  something  better 
to  prepare  meal  for  their  bread  than  the  stump  mortar. 

The  Shaeffers  brought  apple  seeds  with  them  from  Pennsylvania, 
and  planted  them  in  December,  1799.  These  were  the  first  apple 
seeds,  (other  than  the  old  French  orchard  at  Schlosser,)  planted  in 
the  Genesee  country,  west  of  the  river. 

After  Allan  had  sold  his  farm  to  the  Shaeffers,  he  went  back  to 
Mt.  Morris,  purchased  goods  at  Philadelphia,  bringing  them  in  from 
the  back  settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  on  horseback.  In  the  season 
of  '90,  he  sowed  100  acres  of  wheat,  besides  raising  considerable 
Like  Alexander  Selkirk,  he  was  "  lord  of  all  he  surveyed  ;" 


corn. 


commanded  the  services  of  the  Indians  to  work  his  fields  for  rum 
and  trinkets,  occasionally  pressing  into  his  service  the  Butler  Ran- 
gers, who  had  stopped  in  the  valley,  in  their  flight  from  the  Mohawk 
and  the  Susquehannah ;  paying  them  sometimes,  but  often  arbitrarily 
adjusting  their  services  to  suit  himself,  as  there  was  then  no  au- 
thority superior  to  his  own.  His  gallantries,  truthfully  related,  would 
equal  the  tales  of  eastern  romance ;  the  "  turbaned  turk  might  have 
yielded  to  him  supremacy ;  it  extended  even  to  the  employment  of 
a  purveyor,  in  the  person  of  a  Dutchman,  Andrews.  About  this 
time,  alternating  in  his  tastes  between  his  own  and  another  race. 


*  Tluit  same  sow  pis;  cost  a  iiiglit's  loilu;in!^  in  tlio  woods.  She  took  to  tho  -woods 
Cfirly  in  tho  mmuii;,  ami  liiid  U.  liu  Inoktnl  14.  wln;ii  wiutCT  came  afralu.  In  the  Rearch, 
tl  10  preswit  Peter  Shaoflfor  got  beuiglitod  uud'slopl  in  a  koUow  log  through  a  winter 
night 


I, 


40G 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAHl's   PURCHASE. 


he  took  another  white  wife,  the  daughter  of  a  Ranger,  named  Greg- 
cry,  who  hved  upon  the  Canascraga  flats,  near  Dansville.* 

Mr.  Shaeffer  contradicts  the  story  of  Allan's  murder  of  the 
Dutchman,  Andrews.f  but  he  says  that  he  murdered  a  boy  that 
lived  with  him,  and  points  out  the  grave,  near  the  site  of  Allan's 
residence,  on  the  ShaefTer  flats.  The  boy  was  sent  for  a  bucket  of 
water,  and  playing  l)y  the  way,  Allan  met  him,  took  the  bucket 
from  him,  and  beat  him  to  death  with  it. 

He  was,  says  Mr.  Shaefler,  mild  and  conciliating,  when  he  had  a 
selfish  end  to  accomplish ;   but  always  severe  and  harsh  with  his 
dependents.     A  refugee,  a  negro  slave,  had  during  the  Revolution, 
come  from  the  Mohawk  to  the  Genesee  river,  and  domiciled  with 
the  Indians.     He  was  called  «  Captain  Sun  Fish."     He  was  shrewd, 
intelligent,  became  a  trader  in  cattle,  selling  in  Canada,  and  at  Fort 
Niagara,  took  a  squaw  wife,  and  acquired  considerable  money.     At 
one  time  he  was  settled  at  the  mouth  of  Tonawanda  creek.     Cov- 
eting liis  money,  and  wishing,  perhaps,  in  the  way  of  matrimony  to 
try  a  thu'd  race,  Allan  married  one  of  his  daughters.     Getting  pos- 
session of  the  money,  however,  he  aiscarded  the  mixed  negro  and 
Indian  wife ;  but  as  if  there  were  some  redeeming  traits  in  his  char- 
acter, he  pensioned  the  old  negro,  and  allowed  him  a  hut  upon  his 
Allan's  creek  farm.     Sun  Fish  finally  went  to  Tonawanda.  where 
his  descendants  now  reside. 

Jacob  Schoonover  and  his  family  had  preceded  the  Shaeffers  a 
few  months,  and  settled  near  the  mouth  of  Duijan's  creek.  Peter 
Shaefl-er  married  his  daughter,  in  171)0.  He  and  his  wife  died  in 
1838,  '9,  at  the  ages  of  93  and  94.  Mrs.  Shaefler  died  in  1835  aged 
63  years.  ^ 

The  whole  valley  of  the  river  below  Mr.  Shaefler's,  was  slow  in 

T  y'  J''^  ^"''^  '^"'''  '^^'  •'^'^Ph  J^^'^'-S'^"'  Jii«  f'^-m  adjoining 
the  Shaeflbr  farm,  in  '92;  a  daughter  of  his,  Mrs.  Early,  now  occu- 
pies the  place.     His  son,  Joseph  Morgan,  resides  on  the  river,  a  short 


wiZ\rin,,w!rrH'^  to  Canada,  l.e  u.ulcrfook  to  le.sen  the  number  of  hi,  white 
Pun'o«7tr,k  n  f  .flrowninf?  of  thm  hist  one.  Two  men  that  were  hire.l  for  the 
puqx.sc,  took  lier  down  in  a  canoe,  and  ixu-imKelv  ran  over  the  falls  near  tlie  nr.Nenf 

sHe  W  ;;"li""""'^r'r  ^^'"'"^■'^•^'  ''"^  l-vin^h^^lIl^ooSj'^he  ta^  hK 
Ser  ^i        :         V'"'?  f*  them   saving?   Iierself,  and  8„on  appearing  in  the  preseneo 

^1  tdn,  P  .  '  *1V'"  '"""'•'  'f  ^^''  '''-'''-  --^  '''M'Pi-'S  «•■■"'■'•  "y'V  Shi  follow" 
(Kl  hm  to  uanada,  and  became  one  of  his  now  household  there. 

mm"  rirbir"' .*'•"'  «''"<«^'e  Falls  when  takin^r  mill  ii-ous  dowa  for  the  old  AUaii 
null ,  the  boat  and  irons  were  found  below  the  Falls. 


PHELPS  AND   GORIIAJI S   PURCHASE. 


'c. 


.reg- 


distance  below.    In  some  of  the  earliest  years, 


407 

—  Peabody 

erected  a  dis,  :iery,  first  at  Handford's  Landing,  and  afterwards,  on 
the  Joseph  Morgan  place;  Win.  Peabody,  of  Scottsville,  is  a  son  of 
his.  Andrew  Wortnian  was  a  settler  upon  the  river,  as  early  as 
'94  or  '5,  occupying  the  farm  that  belonged  to  Samuel  Street,  of 
Chippewa,  who  was  his  brother-in-law.  Caleb  Aspinwall,  Peter 
Conlde,  T^rederick  and  Nicholas  Hetzteller,  were  early  in  the  Shaef- 
fer  neighborhood.  Reuben  Heth,  a  Vermonter,  stopping  first  at 
Bloomfield,  came  upon  the  river,  in  early  years,  worked  for  Mr. 
Shafter,  without  a  change  of  his  buckskin  breeches  and  buckskin 
coat,  until  he  had  earned  enough  to  pay  for  a  farm.  He  died  about 
twenty  years  since,  a  man  of  wealth,  and  the  founder  of  a  highly 
respectable  family.  Eldridge  Heth,  of  Wheatland,  is  a  son  ;  Mrs. 
Hyde,  Mrs.  Nettleton,  and  Mrs.  Halsted,  are  his  daughters. 

The  two  story,  venerable  looking  farm  house,  near  which  is  the 
old  apple  orchard,  on  the  Genesee  Valley  canal,  a  short  distance 
below  Scottsville,  is  the  residence  of  Peter  Shaeffer.  The  fine  flats 
spread  out  before  it,  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  with  long  lines 
of  wire  fence,  are  those  he  purchased  from  "  Indian  Allan."  In  a 
romantic  spot,  at  the  end  of  the  ridge,  that  will  be  observed  rising 
upon  the  flats,  and  terminating  near  the  river  and  creek,  stood  the 
log  dwelling,  which  served  the  purposes  of  a  farm  house,  a  store,  and 
a  harem,  for  this  singular  man,  who  fled  from  civilization,  first  to 
become  the  scourge  of  his  own  race  and  kindred,  and  afterwards  to 
repay  the  confidence  and  hospitality  of  another  race,  by  a  career 
among  them,  marked  throughout  by  selfishness  and  sensuality. 

It  will  hardly  do  to  talk  of  antiquity,  in  a  country  where  our  race 
have  been  occupants  but  sixty  years,  in  allusion  to  any  relic  of 
their  advent.  But  the  old  Shaeffer  home,  with  all  its  historical  as- 
sociations, may  be  said  to  look  antiquated.  It  was  built  in  1789,  be- 
fore the  new  discovery,  the  cut  nail,  was  in  use,  and  all  the  doors  had 
to  be  made  consequently  with  wrought  nails.  Its  strap  door  hinges, 
its  locks,  handles  and  latches  were  made  by  a  blacksmith,  who  had 
come  into  the  country ;  none  other  could  then  be  procured.  It  was 
the  first  framed  farm  dwelling,  in  all  the  region  between  Genesee  river 
and  Lake  Erie.  When  it  was  building,  the  surveyors  were  making 
the  preliminary  surveys  of  most  of  all  the  territory  now  comprised  in 
the  counties  of  Orleans,  Niagara,  Erie,  Genesee,  Wyoming,  Allega- 
ny, Cattaraugus,  and  Chautauque ;   Buffalo  contained  three  log 


408 


PHELPS  AWD   GOEHAM's  PUBCHASE. 


dwellings,  and  Mr.  Ellicot  was  making  an  opening  to  erect  the  first 
log  dwelling  at  Batavia.  For  ten  years  after  that  house  was  com- 
pleted, and  twenty  years  after  its  venerable  surviving  occupant  was 
cultivating  large  fields;  when  those  apple  trees  had  become  bear- 
ers, from  the  seeds  he  had  planted,  the  site  of  a  city  of  40,000  in- 
habitants, was  a  rugged  and  forbidding  wilderness!  The  orchard 
was  planted  six  years  before  the  British  gave  up  all  claim  to  W.  N. 
York,  and  surrendered  Fort  Niagara,  and  the  house  built  but  two 
years  afterwards. 

The  father  and  brother  of  Peter  Sh^efl^er  died  in  early  years. 
The  fine  start  which  the  improvements  gave  him  — the  ready  mar- 
ket he  found  for  his  early  large  crops  of  corn  —  the  facilities  he  en- 
joyed  for  exchanging  provisions  for  labor,  with  the  new  comers 
that  dropped  in  around  him,  were  advantages  he  well  improved ;  and 
to  which  he  soon  added  grazing  and  droving ;  his  market.  Fort  Niag- 
ara and  Canada.    He  added  to  his  original  land  purchase,  by  degrees, 
until  lie  had  a  large  possession ;   and  a  competence  of  wealth  has 
rewarded  his  early  enterprise.     He  is  now  in  his  88th  year ;    his 
faculties  not  materially  impaired,  his  memory  of  early  events  reten- 
tive and  intelligent ;  and  with  the  exception  of  a  diseased  ankle,  his 
physical  constitution  holds  out  remarkably  for  one  of  his  age.     In 
his  younger  days,  he  used  spirituous  liquors  moderatelv;  none  for 
i'u?  last  twenty  years ;  and  as  an  example  to  old  tobacco"  chewers,  it 
may  be  added,  that  he  was  one  of  them  for  iialf  a  century,  but  is  not  of 
them  now.     He  has  been  the  occupant  of  difl'erent  town  offices,  and 
has  always  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens.     The  Scotch 
settlers  who  became  his  neighbors,  in  indigent  circumstances,  and 
the  pioneers  of  different  neighborhoods,  in   the  western   part  of 
Monroe  county,  many  of  them  speak  of  his  kindness  in  early  years, 
in  furnishing  them  with  grain  and  pork,  upon  credit;  and  in  return 
the  old  gentleman  pays  a  high  compliment  to  the  honesty  of  the 
primitive  settlers,  by  saying  that  of  the  numerous  debts  thus  con- 
tracted, lie  recollects  no  instance  where  he  ultimately  failed  to  re- 
ceive his  pay.     He  speaks  of  the  gratification  it  used  to  give  him,  to 
suppx^   vith  a  few  bushels  of  grain,  some  potatoes,  or  pork,  i)erhap.s, 
settlers  in  the  backwoods,  (to  be  carried  off",  generally,  upon  their 
backs,)  who  he  has  lived  to  see  become  the  owner  of  broad  fields  and 
crowded  granaries.     The  surviving  sons  of  Peter  Shaeffer,  are :  — 
Peter,  Levi,  Daniel,  George ;  the  last  of  whom  is  the  owner  and 


riELPS  AND  GORHAJI  8   rURCHASE. 


409 


occupant  ox"  the  old  homestead,  and  one  of  the  best  farmers  and  stock 
breeders  in  the  Genesee  valley.  Mrs.  Philip  Garbut  and  Mrs. 
Caleb  Allen,  are  his  daughters.  His  children  all  reside  in  Wheat- 
land and  Chili. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  PETER  SHAEFFER. 


It  was  several  years  after  settlement  commenced  upon  the  river,  before  the 
Ridge  Road  was  known ;  an  Indian  tiail  wont  from  the  in(nith  of  the  River 
to  Foit  Niagara,  keeping  near  the  Lake  shtire;  and  an(.)ther  trail  was  alung 
the  west  bank  of  the  river  fi'Dia  Canawagus  to  mouth  of  river.  Peter  and 
Jacob  Shaetfer  laid  out  a  road  from  vVilan's  creek  to  the  Fails,  in '92;  had 
no  compass;  took  ranges  from  trees;  but  the  road  as  it  now  exists,  is  mainly 
on  the  okl  route.  It  wiis  improved,  the  streams  bridged  with  logs,  so  that 
tc.".ms  could  pass  in  the  winter  of  '9;3,  '4. 

Deer  were  plenty ;  bears  and  wolves  made  it  troublesome  to  keep  sheep  or 
hogs;  but  the  raccoon  was  the  most  troublesome  animal  we  had  to  contend 
with.  To  save  their  corn,  the  new  settlers  were  obliged  to  Inmt  them,  but 
their  fur  sold  readily,  and  paiil  for  the  hunting.  At  some  seasons  the  pigeons 
•were  very  abundant;  they  could  be  taken  in  large  numbers,  by  the  use  of  nets; 
the  brciists  were  cut  out,  salted,  and  they  made  \ery  good  eating.  Trout 
were  so  plenty  in  Allan's  creek,  that  a  string  of  an  hundred  and  an  lumdrod 
and  titty,  could  be  taken  without  changing  ground.  At  Dumplin  Hill,  on 
one  occasitm,  a  jjanther  vv;us  a  victim  to  liis  voracious  appetite.  Killing  a  Ueer, 
lie  gorged  himself,  became  stupid,  an  Indian  found  him  hol}>less,  avd  shot  him. 

Uj>  to  1V94,  there  was  a  constant  intercourse  kept  up  between  the  British 
at  Fort  Niagara,  and  in  Canjida,  and  th  ^  Indians  upon  the  river.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  Indians  inclined  to  the  British  interests,  and  by  means  of 
runnei-s,  and  speeches  sent  from  Gov.  Simcoe  and  Lord  Dorchester,  the  idea 
was  constantly  inculcated  that  the  British  would  soon  want  their  aid  against 
the  United  States.  Just  before  the  victory  of  Gen.  Waj'ne,  belie\ing  as  they 
were  made  to  believe,  from  some  source,  that  be  Avould  be  defeated,  they 
were  menacing  and  insolent.  AVhen  a  large  ]iarty  of  them  were  encami)ed 
on  the  Hats  of  Allan's  creek,  on  their  way  to  become  allies  against  Wayne, 
some  (if  the  ])ainted  wariiore  gave  out  that  they  Avould  return  with  help  enough 
to  drive  otf  tlie  whites.  The  victory  created  a  better  state  of  things,  but  th  re 
was  not  a  feeling  of  perfect  security  until  the  surrender  of  Fort  Niagarii,  in 
1790. 

"  I  lia\  e  been  the  commissary  of  an  army,"  said  Mr.  Shaeffer,  and  he  ex- 
plained :  —  "When  the  American  troops  were  on  their  way  up  the  Lake  to  take 
possession  of  Fort  Niagara,  in  battcaux,  they  met  with  head  winds,  ])ut  back 
into  the  (ienesee  ri\er,  where  their  [irovisions  failed.  Hearing  of  Mr.  Shaeffer, 
they  came  up  the  river,  quaitered  in  his  barn,  and  ho  supplied  them  with 
pork  and  Indian  meal,  taking  the  ollicer's  note.  When  they  broke  up  their 
quarters,  Mr,  Shnefter  piloted  them  to  Caledonia  Springs,  put  them  upon  the 
26 


410 


PHELPS   AXD  GORnAM'H    PURCnASE. 


trail,  nn.l  arrivin-  at  To„,iwan.la,  Voudry  pilot..!  thorn  to  Fort  Nia<rarn,  whoro 

drovo  cat  K,  to  (;anac^^  Ms,t..,l  [-'...t  Nia-a^^  an,l  n-...iv.Ml  hi.,  pay. 

Mary  J-nnson  oiuv,  stai,!  at  Mr.  Hha-'-tK-r's  over  ni-ht,  on  her  way  with  a 
htintn,^.  party  to  tho  m.,„lh  ,.f  tlu,  river.  Sho  ,vlat..,l  tlu,  story  of  l.or  cap- 
tivity, au.l  said  sh„  was  haj-py  in  her  Indian  relations,  and  preferred  to  remain 
rather  than  to  rejoni  her  friends. 


William  ITencher  was  a  native  of  Brookfield,  Mass.,  a  soldier  of 
the  Revolution,  he  afterwards   hccame  a  parti/.an   of  Shay,  in  the 
Massachusetts  rebellion.     While  transportinir  some  i)rovisions  to 
the  insurgents,  he  was  overtaken  by  some  of  the  oi)posing  military, 
fled,  leaving  his  teams,  and  sought  refuge  in  the  then  wild  region:* 
of  western  New  York.     He  came  finst  to  Newtown  Point,  remained 
there  one  year,  was  joined  by  his  family,  and  located  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Col.  Sterrett,  on  Big  Flats.     In  August,  1791,  he   and 
his  son  William,  then  eleven  years  of  age,  went  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Genesee  river,  where  they  found  Walker,  the  Ranger,  located  in  a 
log  hut  on  the  east  pide  of  the  river,  near  its  mouth,  the  solitary  oc- 
cupant,  short  of    Irondequoit   Bay,   Orange   Stones,   and   Peter 
Shaefi'ers.     Determining  upon  a  settlement,  Mr.  Hencher,  with  the 
help  of  his  son,  went  up  to  Long  Pond,  cut  wild  grass  for  the  stock 
fhey  intended  to  bring  on,  erected  a  hut  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  and  returned  to  Big  Flats;  carrying  with  them,  however,  a 
sufficient  amount  of  the  fever  and  ague  to  last  them  nearly  through 
the  winter. 

^  In  February,  '92,  he  moved  in  by  the  way  of  Seneca  Lake  and 
Catherine's  Town,  upon  ox-sleds.  At  Irondequoit,  was  the  end  of 
any  road.  Mr.  Hencher  cut  his  road  before  liis  teams,  striking  the 
river  above  the  Falls,  and  then  down  on  the  east  side  to  Walker's, 
where  the  family  remained  until  the  last  of  March,  when  they 
crossed  the  river  and  occupied  the  hut  they  had  erected  in  the  fall, 
the  rocf  of  which  was  dry  wild  grass.  This  was  the  first  hut  of  a 
white  man  erected  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  between  the 
Genesee  river  and  Fort  Niagara.  The  family  consisted  of  the 
father,  mother,  one  son,  and  seven  daughters.  Clearing  a  few  acres 
the  first  season,  and  i)lanting  a  few  acres  that  Walker  had  cleared, 
they  got  some  summer  crops  ;  and  also  erected  a  comfortable  log 
house.  The  place  was  much  frecjuented  by  emigrants  and  boat- 
men, who  came  to  camp  on  shore.     Mr.  Hencher  soon  commenced 


T'lIKLPS  AND  GOUIIAM's  PUllOIIASE. 


411 


traffic  with  boatmen,  emifrrantji  and  Indians,  to  which  business  he 

soon  added  a  brisk  trade  in  fi.sh.     lie  and  his  son,  havinti;  |)i.,oured 

a  boat,  would  cross  Lake  Ontario  to  the  river  Credit,  and  purchase 

fresh  sahnon,  and  aometimes  catch  ihcni  in  the  Oal;  Orchard  and 

the  Irondo([uoit.     These  he  would  cirry  back  into  the  settlements, 

and  exchanife  for  butter  and  cheese,  which  he  would  market  in 

Canada,  makinjj;  large  profits.     Purchasing  six  liunured  acres  of 

land,  li(!  su[)]iort,ed  a  large  family,  and  paid  for  the  land  twice,  the 

first  title  proving  defective.     The  old  gentlinrian  died  soon  after  the 

war  of  1812,  his  wife  surviving  until  1813,  when  she  died  at  the 

age  of  93  years.     The  eldest  daughter  married  Thomas  Lee  ;  she 

survives,  and  is  a  resident  at  I'ittsford.     Hers  wa.s  the  first  marriage 

that  took  place  upon  the  west  side  of  the  river,  except  that  of  Peter 

Shaefler.     Another  sister  married  Bartholomew  Maybee,  and  is 

yet  living  in  Ohio ;  another,  Stephen  Lusk,  of  Pittsford,  and  is  yet 

living;  another,  Jonathan  Leonard,  of  Parma,  and  is  yet  living; 

another,  Donald  M'Kenzie,  of  Caledonia,  and  is  yet  living.     Two 

others,  Mrs.  Clement,  of  Cleveland,  and  Mrs.  Abel  Rovve,  of  Parma, 

are  dead.     Seven  Pioneer  wives  and  mothers  came  from  under  one 

roof  I     Of  the  eight  children,  six  are  living ;  and  yet,  they  have 

passed  through  the   most   rugged   scenes  of  pioneer  life,  and  their 

location  was,  in  early  years,  deemed  the  most  unhealthy  of  all  the 

new  settlements  !     The  eldest  is  80,  and  the  youngest  (55.     The  old 

gentleman  lived  to  see  all  of  his  children  married  and  settled.     The 

only  son,  William  Hencher,  is  71  years  of  age  ;  resides  in  Andover, 

Allegany  county,   with  faculties  unimpaired,  his  memory  enabling 

him  to  relate  early  events  with  minuteness  and  accuracy. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  \VM.  HENCHER,  2d. 


For  two  years  after  we  came  to  the  moiitli  of  tlie  Genesee  river,  many  of 
tlio  Tmlians  were  ugly,  tlireatcning  and  (jiianvlsome.  Ponding  the  victory 
of  Wayne,  my  father  had  made  uj)  his  mind  to  leave  the  country,  if  the  re- 
sult had  been  adverse;  but  his  courage  was  renewed  when  the  Senecas  came 
])aek  from  tlic  tight,  tamo  and  spintloss,  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  tlioir 
ISritish  allies  in  shutting  themselves  up  in  a  fort,  and  not  comint;'  to  their  res- 
cue, as  they  had  lieen  made;  to  he]ie\-e  they  would.  We  all  expected  that  if 
"Wayne  was  tlefeated,  the  western  Indians  would  come  down  and  aid  tlie 
Senecas  in  a  war  upon  the  whites  in  diis  region.  The  mouth  of  the  Genesee 
River,  Braddock's  Bay,  and  Irondequoit  i3ay,  were  huntings,  trapping,  aud 


412 


I'llKLVS   AND   GOUnAM's    I'URCIIASE. 


:    ( 


:o 


°™;;f  iH"*  ;!;t  Ss  :i:,:;.  txjr  «^"'-«- ""-  ^"-j« 

!i?™i°; :;;:;""""''  '"■""«'  "■■  '"■''»"•  »"•■  ^^rt  >-•.  ..,."..,.11  ,,„ .,;;;;. 

™„ll'l"'.°  ,i^""'l   """".  .''""■"    '""'   ■■"^''''    "ill'   "   l"i-  *»-.T,.l  ,h,v,   wl,,.n  1,0 

between  fl......  I,v  u-..  ,.  ;         ^^'''o'"'' ■'"  •  U.^u.m,,,  a  |„a,l  u.so.l  to  lie  eiinW. 

iW Vl     ■      ''''■^"■V^^'"^'^'^'''  ^^  '*•  ^'^'"l  "l  I'-"n,l,.,,„,.ir,  was  ,.n,ssin.-  th.lky 
m  a  canoe  — saw  a  bear  swiinmn.r  —  . struck  atliim       ...i  -  i   .1    "  ■ 

Parks,  tl,3  lu,nt..r,  n,a,|,.  ,„y  father's  honso  i.is  head  m,a  te^    '  Ni  ^  I.^uhT 

cocJnston'u,'''l  .;;'"' T"  ^"S">  ^^^'^  "^''^'l  '^^  I'''^»^1<^'!>'oit,  .ere  out  after 
dark    T,    1  '  i'"!"'-      ^'""'  ''"-'  ^'■'■'"' '""'-  "'^  ^l'*'y  ^"l'l"«t.d.     It  was 

dark,  ]Ju,  ,arelnnl„.d  the  tree,  until  he  diseov.nd  ,,  .mi  ofiyes  laro^er  tlnn 
coons  usually  hav.,  and  backed  .lown.     Thcv  built  n>  ti,  .,  mnaS  lr25 

loJ  ^fS:    *,■;;  ;-^'^  !-"''!<- ---'l''l<;n^i..  the  bank.of  tlio  river  be- 
Slie    ^n^u  'T    "•'■'r'"-''^'^^^^  ^'"'3'  ^vould  come  out, 

li^  r  nT    '' '^^''^'.r^^  ^^■'^''  ^''^'•'  J'^^'l^^tiekiuixout;  .0 

ZseUel  Im  I     ''^r''-  /^'"'^  r."'^'  ^■""^■■»"«  "»'i'   the  weather 

to  tliui  den,  unti   cold  weather  came  ao'ain.     I  have  killed  ll^rtv  in  a  dav 

w^t  1  d^^Sr  •; '•''' ''''''  'iV!r  n  '-^^  ^-^  ^•'^^■*'-' ""  --'■•'  -^^ 

the    J-A  ,  '","'"''■""'  ^'"'''  '^^^  '"  ""■-''  '•''•>••     i  '"'V.'  no  doubt  of 

La  I     i  .    uTi  "^  ^'':""""«-A-,  ^■■^■t''";     ^  ^'''^'^  ^^'"'^^1  ••'•»"1«  -snakes  tJmt 
bl    k    5^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^""'''  ""^'  '''^^■^^^'■^^■"  --'  l-i'-lstlutterin,.  over 

snake,  when  they  woidd  quickly  take  thewino-, 
terof'D'.''\T'"'"'I-'p""'''  '■''""-'  "''  •^"''"  ^^^■^^'  ^^''"^  I>'>'1  "'^"■i^^l"  <^'«'^h. 

M-^Jt  n  v'''V.  \^''^''''rr''  "*  ^^''-  ^^'il"i"n,son.  My  father  and  Love 
Mcnt  up  t.;.  Ls,,.  >Shae rters  and  bought  some  corn,  took  it  down  to  the  Allan 

TvlZ  ,ur"ir  T  ?  "^'^f^^^'  l;"^k«.l  n  over  the  portage  d.nvn  to  a  point 
a  1  ttie  ab(.e  Handtord  s  Landing,  where  they  made  ropes  of  bark  and  et  it 
Clow  n  in  a  canoe. 

Deer  we,-.,  abundant.     I  have  killed  six  in  one  hour.     Braddock'.s  Bay  was 
aiamouspiace  tor  trai.ping  otters,   muskrats  and  minks.     Geese  and  ducks 


f  fiimt'd 


I'iiise, 


PTTELPS  AND   OORnAM'3  PURCHASE.  413 

bro<l  in  tlio  Bay,  in  tl.o  pond,  in  Ironaefjuoit  ]}ay.    Wo  ooiil.l  nroonre  their 
ejrf,'s  in  any  (lcMr,.,l  (juMntity. 

Our  early  route  u|.  ti.e  rivor  wasanold  Indian  trail  that  hore  off  from  the 
river  to  a\oi(l  D,.,.])  Hollow,  and  came  upon  it  again  at  Seuttsville;  and  it 
was  m;iuy  yars  before  we  had  auv  thing  but  a  wood's  road  tinou'di  the  nre- 
sent  city  of  Kochcster.  ^ 

A  very  likely  [ndian  — Tusearora  Charles  — and  his  S,,uaw,  were  almost 
constantly  eneami)ed  at  the  mouth  of  tlie  river  and  iJradtloek's  Bay.  When 
Uadierwent  to  Canada  in '93,  Charles  went  with  mo  to  drive  his  cattle. 
On  our  return,  arriving  at  a  camping  ground,  where  the  viliaoe  of  Cary- 
ville,  (lenesee  comity,  now  i.s,  we  found  Joseph  Brant,  with  a  white  waiter, 
en  his  way  t(.  Canada.  He  was  well  dressed,  after  the  fcwhion  of  white  men; 
but  before  we  parted,  he  changed  his  dr.'ss  (Mitirely,  putting  on  an  Indian 
dress,  and  getting  Charles  to  paint  him  like  an  Indian  warrior.  This  was  be- 
fore reachuig  Tonawanda,  and  I  fancied  that  he  preferred  appearing  among 
his  own  people  like  one  of  them. 

There  was  a  great  change  when  tlie  British  gave  up  Oswego  and  Niagara: 
navigation  of  the  Lake  was  brisk;  surveyors  and  emigrants 'on  their  way  to 
JNew  Connecticut,  often  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

We  had  but  little  sickness  in  our  family;  calletl  Dr.  Ilosmer  on  one  or  two 
occiLsions.  He  used  but  little  medicine;  he  recommended  to  my  mother  the 
use  ot  the  extract  of  bntteinut  root,  iw  an  ordinary  cathartic, 'and  she  was 
well  Convinced  of  its  etliacy. 

During  the  Revolution,  Butler's  Rangers  that  did  not  go  to  Canada,  were 
.scattered  along  among  the  Indians,  on  the  Susrpiehannali  and  Tioga  rivers, 
beneca  Lake,  and  Genesee  river.  To  arrest  the  march  of  Sullivan,  Butler 
and  Brant  came  from  Canad.•^  Butler  to  head  the  Rangers,  and  Br;mt  to 
head  the  Indians.  When  they  were  defeated  and  driven"  before  Sullivan's 
army.  Brant  with  his  Indian  allies,  took  the  Niagara  trail  for  Canada;  and 
Butler  and  Ins  Rangers  went  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river,  after 
sending  AValker  as  a  runner  to  Niagara  to  have  boats  sent  down.  They  en- 
camped, nmde  no  Hres  for  fear  the  "smoke  would  betray  them,  fired  no  guns, 
kept  as  (piiet  as  possible,  fearing  that  Sullivan's  scouts  would  discover  dieir 
retrofit.  There  were  several  days  delay  of  the  boats,  and  when  Walker  ar- 
rived with  them,  Butler  and  his  men  were  nearly  famished  for  the  wjint  of 
food. 

.^^''- I^""ti  ^ij«3  Pioneer  at  Johnson's  Creek,  Niagara  county,  was  a 

prisoner  at  Fort  Niagara  during  the  Boi'der  Wars.  Walker  was  then  on  the 
other  side,  and  one  day  was  sent  by  Col.  Butler  over  to  enquire  of  the  com- 
manding ofHcer  of  the  Fort  if  he  had  any  news?  "Tell  Col.  Butler,"  said 
the  British  commandant,  "that  there  is  bad  news;  the  d— d  rebels  have 
carried  the  day,  and  there  will  be  no  place  left  for  us  but  Nova  Scotia  where 
It  IS  colder  than is  hot."  * 


This  was  jtist  after  the  battle  of  Yorktown.  The  reader  may  fill  the  blank  with 
the  name  of  the  wainiest  Ideality  he  can  think  of.  The  Walker  alluded  to  by  Messrs. 
bliaettor  and  Heiicher.  was  from  Minisink.  Beconiini,'  a  Butler  Ranijer,  in  the  flio'ht 
of  tliat  corps  to  0:111  ;!.i:i  iiftrr  tlir  ,!,i«i!<Te~ful  attemi.t  !u  arrest  the  march  of  Sullivan, 
he  stojiped  at  tlie  nioutii  ot  the  Genesee  rirer,  on  the  east  side,  erected  a  lo"  cabin,  and 
Lvcd  there  until  his  removal  to  Canada.    He  will  have  to  be  considered  tho  first  of 


414 


rimLPs  AND  gorham's  purchase. 


Isaac  Scott  wns  the  first  owner  and  occupant  of  tiie  present  vil- 
lage of  Scottsville.  He  emigrated  from  Vermont,  in  company 
with  Aaron  and  .lessee  Beach,*  in  1T!)(),  to  Avon,  and  they  located 
at  the  mouth  of  Allan's  creek  soon  after,  if  not  in  the  same  year. 
Scott  (lied  in  1818;  many  of  his  descendants  reside  at  Whitewater, 
Indiana.  Other  early  settlers  there  not  named  in  otiier  coi  iiections  : 
—  Hinds  Chamherlin,  Samuel  Cox,  Israel  Hall,  William  Frazier, 
.Tames  Woods,  D.  S.  Winter,  .John  Smith,  who  was  an  early  sur- 
veyor employed  hy  Messi-s.  Phelps,  Williamson  and  Wadsworth, 
Robert  and  Thomas  Smiih,  of  Chili,  are  his  sons. 

Samuel  Street  of  Niagara  Falls,  C.  W.,  purchased  soon  after 
1790,  (of  Ebenezer  Allan  it  is  presumed,)  what  has  long  been  known 
as  the  Street  farm,  at  Dugan's  creek  on  the  river.  In  earliest  the 
years  of  settlement,  Jeremiah  Olmsted,  his  brother-in-law,  came  from 
Fairfield,  Conn.,  with  his  family,  and  occupied  it.  Considerable 
improvements  had  been  mad.'  upon  the  farm  by  Allan  and  Dugan, 
and  Mr.  Street  had  stocked  it  largely  lor  that  early  period.  Ofthe 
family,  and  those  en^ployed  upon  the  tarm,  ten  persons  died  the  first 
year  of  the  "  Genesee  fever,"  among  whom  was  Mrs.  Olmsted.  In 
'98  or  '9,  Mr.  Olmsted  moved  down  the  river  and  occupied  a  hut,  on 
the  [)rescnt  site  of  Rochester,  south  of  the  House  of  Refuge,  near 
where  M'Kerchney's  brewery  now  stands,  where  he  cleared  a  small 
spot.  This  was  the  first  blow  struck  in  the  way  of  impr(jvement, 
other  than  at  the  Allan  mill,  on  all  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Roch- 
ester.  "  Tho  shantee,"  says  the  author's  informant,  "  had  been  put 
up  by  one  Farwell ; "  one  of  the  brothers  it  is  presumed,  who  are 
named  in  another  connection.  Mr.  Olmsted  remained  upon  the 
spot  but  one  year ;  long  enough,  however,  to  produce  tlie  first  crops 


A  (Imio:liter  ot  Is;iiic  Sedtt,  ivlio  was  llic  v,-ilo  (if  .Tosso  Bench,  now  rcsidos  with 
herson.Cvnis  Hcncli,  ;it  Cimiliriii,  Niii-iirii  tomitv;  jiavd  t<2  viTirs.  Sliosavshcrfnlhw 
ami  tho  lioai'hos  jiaul  .')0  oeiit.s  pcraoio  lor  lainl  in  aiulal)ou'l  iSciltsvillr.  "  'J'hfaullKir 
fjivc'sa  nMniiiHi'dic"  in  licr  own  words  :—  "'rhcrt'  wiis  a  innii  thcv  railed  Alli.ui  ahowt 
there  when  we  eaiiie  ;  lie  kept  a  nuniher  of  eatth^  on  the  llats,  aiid  jiad  two  or  tlireo 
squaws  that  staid  with  him  ;  they  browsed  and  took  care  of  tho  cuttle." 

oirr  rare  who  iiihahit.'d  all  the  ])resent  county  of  Monroe.  He  h;id  with  him  either  two 
Rtel)-(laui:h(<'rs,  or  women  hving  in  a  more  (['uestionahle  capacil  v.  He  1  imted,  fished, 
and  trailiek.'d  with  halteinixmen.  An  early  ma])  of  all  this  rejrii'ii,  en.ii'raved  in  J.ondon, 
has  upon  it  no  sii^n  of  civilization  or  hahitation.  on  all  the  J.ake  shore  between  Us- 
■Wego  and  Niau'ar.-i,  excpt  t!ie  picture  (if  a  lo^'  cabin  at  the  moulli  ut  the  (ienesoe 
nvejvuid  uiiderne.ah  it  the  word  "Walker's." 


PHELPS  AND  GOKIIAM's  PUKCilASE.  415 

ever  grown  upon  the  site  of  Rochester,  lie  went  upon  the  Ridge 
becoming  the  neighbor  ol'  Daniel  Rowe.  He  was  the  collector  of 
taxes  for  Northanipton,  in  1799,  and  like  his  predecessor,  «imon 
Kuig,  and  his  successor,  Peter  Shaeller,  his  tax  roll  embraced  the 
whole  region  between  the  Genesee  and  Niagara  rivers.  He  changed 
his  residence  to  Ilandford's  Landing  in  1810,  where  he  died  °he 
same  year.  Harry  Olmsted,  of  Greece,  his  son  ard  successor,  still 
survives;  has  been  long  known  as  a  tavern  keeper,  on  River  road, 
near  Handford's  Landing;  another  son  resides  in  Canada,  and  Mrs.' 
Billington  of  Allegany  county,  is  a  daughter.  Harry  Olmsted,  was 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  upon  Niagara  frontier  in  the  war  of 
1812,  at  one  period  a  irember  of  Capt.  Rovve's  company,  at  another 
enrolled  in  the  cavalry  of  Major  Stone.  He  was  in  the  battle  at 
Lundy's  Lane,  and  was  at  Fort  Erie  in  the  aHliir  of  fhe  luth  of 
August. 

As  early  as  April,  1797,  ail  the  region  between  the  Genesee  river 
and  Lake  Erie,  was  made  a  separate  town  of  Ontario  county,  called 
Northampton.  The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  ol" 
Peter  Shaeller.  "The  vote  was  taken  by  Gad  Wadsworth,  Esq.. 
of  the  town  of  Hartford."  Josiah  Fish  was  chosen  supervisor,  Eli 
Granger,  town  clerk.  Other  town  ollicers  :  — .Joseph  Morgan'  Jo- 
siah Fish,  Peter  Shaeffer,  Elijah  Kent,  Jeremiah  Olmsted^Gideon 
King,  Christopher  Dugan,  Isaac  Scott,  Hinds  Chamberlin,  Simon 
King, 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  were  but  three  road  districts.  They 
were  on  the  river,  from  Canawagus  to  Lake  Ontario ;  no  road  then 
leading  into  the  interior.  The  inhabitants  were  so  few,  that  one 
man  held  no  less  than  three  town  offices.  Filty  dollars  was  raised 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  town.  In  that  year  18d.,  was  au- 
thorized to  be  expended  for  "election  boxes." 

In  1799,  most  of  the  same  officers  were  re-elected,  and  Jesse 
Beach  who  had  settled  on  the  road  west  of  Caledonia,  was  made  a 
path  master,  the  first  west  of  Caledonia  Fifty  dollars  was  raised 
for  town  expenses,  and  the  like  sum,  "  payable  in  labor  or  produce," 
for  the  erection  of  bridges. 

In  1800,  the  town  ofiicers  chosen  v,-ere  distributed  along  on  west 
bank  of  the  river  and  along  the  main  road  to  the  village  of  Buffido. 
For  instance: — iwo  path-masters  resided  upon  the  river  one  at 
Le  Roy,  another  at  Statlbrd,  another  at  Durham's  Grove,  another 


i 

1 

---1 

I  lit  .lili 

MM 

4  i  I 
-4  I  i 

•i; 


'Mi  t 


i: 


416 


PirELTO   AISD    OORHAm's   rURCITASE. 


at  Clarence  ITollnw,  and  another  in  liufllilo.  Tn  this  j'oar,  il'iOO 
was  raised  lor  huildiiiy;  a  hridgo  over  the  creek  at  "  Buttermilk  Falls." 
In  an  accouni  current  between  the  tt)vvn,  and  Josiah  Fish,  su])(>rvisor. 
lor  tlie  years '97,  '8,  '0, '<.>0,  lie  is  credited  for  money  expended  on 
"  Bridge  over  Deep  Hollow,"  (llochester)  $17^).  In  this  year,  Peter 
ShaeH'er  was  collector  of  the  town.  The  number  of  names  upon 
his  tax  roll  was  less  than  ir)0,  and  a  lar^e  number  of  them  were 
those  of  non-residents.  Althougli  the  whole  fax  was  over  S?,000, 
the  sum  paid  by  resident  landholders  was  less  than  6i2,00.  In  the 
collection  of  it  Mr.  Shaefler  found  it  much  cheaper  to  pay  himself 
many  of  the  small  amounts,  than  to  look  up  those  to  whom  they 
were  assessed,  scattered  as  they  were  in  the  forest.  To  reach  the 
town  of  Lewiston,  from  Buffalo,  he  had  to  cross  the  Niagara  river 
and  go  down  on  the  Canada  side. 

In  1801,  $100  were  raised  "for  destroying  wolves,  and  payinfr 
other  contingent  charges  of  tb.e  town."  It  was  voted  that  the 
"wolfs  head  must  have  the  entire  skin  thereon."  A  resolution  was 
passed,  that  "from  the  extensive  boundaries  of  the  town,  it  is  neces- 
sary it  should  be  divided.  " 

A  glance  at  the  records  of  1802,  shew  the  progress  of  settlement 
westward  ;  although  the  town  meetings  were  still  continued  at  the 
house  of  Peter  Shaeller,  and  Col.  Fisfi  was  continued  supervisor,  the 
path-masters  began  to  occupy  a  wide  range  :  —  Abel  Howe  was  a 
a  i)ath-master  in  the  now  town  of  Greece;  Asa  Utley,  near  Scotts- 
ville  ;  Daniel  Buell,  at  Lo  Roy  ;  Jas.  M'Naughton,  Caledorda ; 
Ezekiel  Lane,  Buffalo ;  Joseph  Howell  and  Lemuel  Cooke  at  Niag- 
ara Falls  and  Lewiston  ;  Richard  M.  Stoddard  of  Le  Roy  was  one 
of  the  commissioners  of  highways  ;  and  Isaac  Sutherland  of  Batavia 
was  a  constable. 

In  1803,  the  towns  of  Leicester,  Batavia,  and  Southhampton,  were 
erected  from  Northampton  by  a  resolution  adopted  at  a  special  town 
meeting.  The  commissioners  appointed  to  fix  the  boundaries  of  the 
four  towns,  were:  — Elijah  Kent,  R.  M.  Stoddard,  Samuel  Tupjier, 
John  Thompson. 

The  first  general  election  for  all  the  region  west  of  Genesee  River, 
was  in  April,  1800.  For  Congress,  Thomas  Morris  had  37  votes. 
For  members  of  Assembly,  Nathaniel  Norton  had  37,  Lemuel  Chip- 
man  25,  William  Dunn  10.  In  1801,  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  had 
78  votes  fur  Governor,  George  Clinton  10.     For  delegates  to  state 


* 


nmLI'S    AND    CiOKIIA.M's    TT^RCirASE. 


417 


convention  ;  —  Moses  Atwatcr  52,  John  Knox  77,  Israel  Cliapin  yi, 
Amos  ITnll  0.  In  1803,  for  (V,n<ri-ess,  Oliver  rhoIi)s  117,  N.W. 
Howell  1(5;  lor  metubers  of  Assenihly,  .Tose])li  Ellicotf.  117,  Aug. 
Porter  117,  Daniel  Chapin  121,  TliaJdeus  Cliapin  5,  Eheiie/.er  Merry 
2,  I'ollydore  B.  Wisner  12.  'J'liis  was  the  last  election  previous  to 
the  erection  of  Genesee  county. 

First  road  recorded  i;-  from  Braddock's  Ray  to  distillery  of 
St<'[)hen  Peahody,  on  River,  a  short  distance  below  Mr.  ShaeOer's. 
This,  it  is  presumed,  was  what  had  been  called  the  "  Williamson 
road,"  —  tlie  first  avenue  opened  to  reach  the  Bay  fiom  the  BufTalo 
road.  The  2d:  —  "From  Landing;  |)lace  below  the  Falls,  to  Land- 
in<^  place  above  the  Allan  mill."  3d:  —  Across  the  fiats  of  the 
River  near  Cuylerville.  'Ith:  —  From  "mouth  of  River  to  Canawa- 
gus,  and  from  thence  to  east  ])Oun(is  of  Peter  (JampbcH's  lot,  at  the 
up])er  end  of  Scotch  settlement."  In  lh02  the  road  was  recorded 
from  Le  Roy  to  liatavia;  from  "Batavia  to  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek 
near  John  Paltner's  house;"  from  "Niagara  Falls  to  Lewiston  and 
Fort  Niagara."  In  1707,  there  were  three  path-masters  west  of  Gen- 
esee River: — Christo[)her  Dugan,  Joseph  Morijan,  and  Jo;iiah 
Fish.  In  170!),  there  w(n-e  five  :  —  Jessce  Beach,  Asa  Baker,  Peter 
Shaefier,  Elijah  Kent,  Sanuiel  Hicks.  In  1800,  there  were  seven : — 
Jotham  Curtis,  Garrett  Davis,  Asa  Ransom,  Joshua  ('hamberlin, 
Stephen  Peabody,  Timothy  Madden,  Jr.,  Daniel  (Jurtis.  In  1801, 
eleven:  —  Nehemiah  Weston,  Simon  King,  Solomon  Blood,  Joseph 
Cunnnings,  Vvycy.  Brown,  John  M'  Vean,  Daniel  Davis.  John  Pal- 
mer, John  M'  Naughton,  Salmon  Scott,  Asa  Ransom. 

Col.  Jo.siah  Fish,  the  early  Supervisor  of  the  wide  region  of 
Northampton,  was  from  Windham,  Vermont.  Having  in  a  pre- 
vious visit  to  the  country,  jiurchased  a  farm  at  the  mouth  of  Black 
Creek,  on  the  Genesee  river,  in  171)5,  with  his  son  Libbeus,  he  came 
on  to  commence  upon  it.  Hiring  his  team  work  of  Mr.  Shaeller, 
he  broke  up  a  few  acres  of  the  open  flats,  planted  it,  put  up  a  log 
hut  which  h(>  \'ot  the  Indians  to  cover  with  bark;  after  which,  the 
father  and  son  went  down  to  board  with  Sprague,  who  was  then  in 
charge  of  the  Allan  mill,  at  the  Falls;  "and  pretty  hard  board  it 
was,"  says  the  son:  —  "  We  had  raccoon  fur  breakfast,  dinner  and 
supper,  witli  no  vegetables ;  and  upon  extra  occasions,  we  had 
cakes  fried  in  raccoon  oil."  This,  with  the  fever  and  ague  added, 
was  a  specimen  ol  pioneer  life  in  what  is  now  Rochester.     Taking 


il 


418 


PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAm's  PUECIIASE. 


I 


the  son  up  to  Mr.  Berry's  at  Canawaugus,  where  he  had  a  winter's 
sickness,  the  father  returned  to  Vermont  for  the  family;  and  in 
April,  the  whole  were  in  their  new  solitary  home  at  Black  Creek 
hvmg  without  doors,  floor,  window  or  chimney.    Over  half  of  the 
family  were  soon  prostrated  by  disease,  whicii  continued  the  crreat- 
er  part  of  the  season.     In  November,  Mr.  Williamson  havin-^lnred 
Coi.   .<ish  to  fake  charge  of  the  Allan  mill,  the  family  moved°down 
to  the  Falls,  and  occupied  a  board  shantee  for  cookinrr,  sleepincr  in 
rooms  partitioned  off  in  the  mill,  where  was  not  even  the  lu.xury 
of  glass  windows.     In  this   way  they    wintered   and   summered. 
1  he  next  fall,  they  put  up  a  three  walled  log  house,  against  a  ledge 
of  rocks  on  the  river  hank,  the  site  being  that  now  occupied  bv  the 
old  red  m-.il,  near  Child's  basin  ;  the  ledge  of  rocks  serving  fo;  one 
wal  of  the  house  ;  a  fire  place  and  chimney  being  excavated  in  the 
rock.     They  found  for  their  neighbors,  Messrs.  Hencher  and  Hos- 
mer,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river;  and  soon  after  they  had  located  at 
the  Falls,  they  ;vere  much  gratified  in  the  accession  of  some  new 
neighbors  — the  Atchinsons  — at  Braddock's  Bay.     In  1798    Col 
Fish,  being  a  magistrate  for  Ontario  county,  held  a  court  at  Lewis- 
ton  for  the  trial  of  a  person  who  had  sold  li.juor  to  the  soldiers  of 
t  ort  A  K.gara.     He  remained  in  charge  of  the  mill  until  1804,  when 
he  moved  back  to  his  farm.    In  1807,  he  sold  his  farm,  and  moved 
upon   the  Ridge,  near  Parma,  where  he  died  in  1811.     Libbeus 
Fish,  lormerly  of  Batavia,  now  residing  at  Jackson,   Michigan; 
John  P.,  Chicago,  are  his  sons. 

The  Afchinson  family  were  from  Tolland  county.  Conn.    It  con- 
sisted  of  Bezaleel  Atchinson,  his  brothers,  Asa,  Jacob,  Sylvester 
Stephen  and  John,  his  two  sons,  and  two  daughters.     Sylvester 
Atchinson  surveyed  the  town  of  Naples  for  Phelps  &  Gorham      In 
1794,  they  purchased  lands  there,  some  of  the  brothers  remained 
and  mad.  impn.vements,  and  in  1790  were  joined  by  Bezaleel  and 
his  family,  who  remained  there  but  a  short  time,  and  in  March    of 
that  year,  went  to  Braddock's  Bay,  two  brothers  accompanying  him. 
Although  all  the  Atchinson  brothers,  six  in  number,  were  at  the 
Bay  as  eariy  as  1802,    Bezaleel  with  his  family,  and  two  brothers, 
Stephen  and  John,  were  the  Pioneers.     Mr.  Williamson  having  just 
opened  the  town  of  Parma  for  sale,  held  out  some  inducements  for 
them  to  commence  the  settlement  at  the  Bay.     They  came  in  by  the 
way  of  Canawagus,  crossing  the  river  on  the  ice,  and  on  urnving 


PHELPS   AND   GORHAM'b   PURCHASE. 


419 


at  the  Allan  mill,  found  a  hunter  by  the  name  of  Parks,  a  wanderer, 
with  his  dog,  gun,  and  blanket  —  the  Leather  Stocking  of  the  Gen- 
esee Valley —  who  they  hired  as  a  pilot, —  not  having  even  the  bene- 
fit of  marked  trees  after  they  left  the  river.  They  were  three  days 
making  the  journey  from  where  Rochester  now  is,  to  Braddock's 
Bay,  making  their  own  road  as  they  went  along.  With  tlie  boards 
from  their  sled,  and  some  blankets,  they  made  a  shelter,  in  which 
they  lived  six  weeks;  in  which  time  they  built  a  log  house  without 
nails,  boards  or  glass.  Starting  from  Naples  with  four  oxen  they 
lost  one  on  the  road,  and  two,  soon  after  they  arrived  at  the  Bay, 
leaving  them  but  one  ox  for  their  team  work ;  but  with  this  one  ox, 
they  logged  eight  acres  and  prepared  it  for  summer  crops.  They 
used  him  with  a  crooked  yoke  and  traces. 

Michael  Beach,  had  the  summer  previous,  come  in  and  made  a 
small  improvement,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Judge  Castle. 
Within  one,  two  and  three  years,  the  Atchinsons  were  joined  in 
their  new  settlement  by  George  Goodhue,  Silas  Leonard,  Timothy 
Madden  and  their  families.  Leonard  was  from  Stockbridge,  Mass- 
achusetts; there  came  in  with  him  his  sons  Jonathan  and  Silas. 
The  next  year  after  they  emigrated,  the  father  went  to  the  salt 
works  at  Onondaga  to  chop  cord  wood,  and  was  killed  by  the  fall- 
ing of  a  limb  of  a  tree.  Capt.  Jonathan  Leonard,  upon  whom  the 
care  of  the  family  devolved,  who  married  a  daughter  of  Wm.  Hench- 
er,  is  yet  living  at  the  Bay.  He  says :  —  "  We  suffered  much  from 
sickness.  After  being  in  three  years  we  lost  all  our  household  ef- 
fects by  fire ;  we  could  raise  no  money  for  anything  except  cattle, 
with  which  we  paid  for  our  land ;  with  a  crop  of  three  hundred 
bushels  of  wheat,  we  could  not  raise  one  shilling  in  money.  We 
experienced  the  utmost  kindness  from  Mr.  Williamson,  and  his  suc- 
cessors." Silas  Madden,  of  Parma,  is  a  son  of  the  early  Pioneer ; 
another  son,  Alpheus,  sickened  upon  the  frontier  in  the  war  of  1S12, 
and  died  soon  after  reaching  home. 

Roswell  Atchinson,  Esq.,  of  Parma,  is  a  surviving  son  of  the 
early  Pioneer,  Bezaleel  Atchinson.  He  says ;  —  "I  have  heard  my 
mother  say  that  she  lived  eight  months  without  seeing  a  white 
woman.  The  Indians  often  come  to  the  Bay  to  hunt,  trap,  and  pick 
cranberries.  Salmon  were  abundant  in  Salmon  creek;  I  have 
known  my  father  to  take  three  barrels  in  a  short  time.  We  had  for 
neighbors,  tlie  first  v/inter,  a  colony  of  beavers.     Their  dam  was  on 


420 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAir's  PUECHASE. 


Salmon  creek  ;  we  did  not  molest  them  ;  used  to  often  see  them  at 
work  ;  thounrht  we  would  protect  them,  and  let  them  breed  a  large 
colony  ;  hut  the  spring  freshet  came,  swept  away  their  dam,  they 
went  into  the  Bay  where  they  were  caught  by  a  trapper.  These 
were  all  the  beavers  we  saw  ;  their  dams  on  all  the  small  streams 
however,  looked  as  if  they  bad  not  been  long  deserted."  "  We  had 
no  schools  until  we  had  been  in  eight  years ;  we  then  built  a  locr 
school  house,  in  whicli  Alpheus  Madden  taught  for  two  monthj 
when  the  house  burned  down.  I  went  to  Victoi-,  the  nearest  school. 
Two  Metho.list  circuit  preachers  —  Messrs.  Hill  and  Woodworth 
found  our  new  settlement  after  many  years;  not  until  settlement 
had  commenced  upon  tlie  Ridge.  They  would  preach  at  the  house 
of  some  new  settler ;  and  it  was  not  uncommon  for  women  to  cro 
on  foot  five  or  six  miles  to  hear  them."  ^ 

The  surviving  sons  of  Bezaleel  Atchinson,  are:  — Roswell  of 
Parma,  Austin,  of  Greece,  Fuller,  a  Methodist  clergyman  at  the  west 
Daughters:  — Mrs.  Willard  Cranson,  and  Mrs.  Buel,  of  Michicran 
Mrs.  Samuel  Wyman,  of  Parma,  and  Mrs.  Sylvanus  Willey,  of  Oo-.' 
den.     The  father  died  in  1828,  aged  06  years.     The  brothers  who 
came  into  the  country  with  him  :- Sylvester,  resides  in  Oakland 
county,  Michigan  ;  Stephen  died  a  few  years  since  in  Illinois,  Mrs 
George  Patterson  of  Parma,  is  his  daughter ;  John  resides  in  Parma 
overSOyearsof  age;  — he  commanded  a  volunteer  corps  in  the 
war  of  1812,  serving  upon  the  frontier,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Genesee  river.     Asa.  resides  in  Coldwater,  Michigan,  and  Jacob  in 
Illinois ;  makmg  four  of  the  six  brothers,  who  came  to  the  Genesee 
country  in  1794,  still  alive;  an  instance  of  longevity,  that  has  few 
parallels^   Jacob  Atchinson  buried  a  wife  and  nine  children,  before 
leaving  Parma,  and  has  now  a  second  wife,  and  a  large  family 

In  1790  Phelps  and  Gorham  sold  to  a  company  of  men  in  Spring- 
field and  Northampton,  Mass.,  20,000  acres  of  T.  7,  1.  short  ran4 
upon  the  "Mill  Tract."  This  embraced  all  of  the  present  site  of 
the  city  of  Rochester,  west  of  the  river.*    Among  the  purchasers, 

were  Quartus  Pomeroy,  Justin  Ely,   Ebenezer  Hunt,  and 

Breck.     By  re-sales,  previous  to  1796,  Augustus  and  Peter  B.  Por- 
ter,  Zadock  Granger  and  Gideon  King,  had  become  part  owners 


or  "Il^!n  ^11  t"^»^  V-  ?";  'V"'  of  conveyance,  the  "One  Hundred  Acre  TiacV 
or    Allan  MiU  1  ract,"  vhich  had  previously  been  granted  to  Ebei-ezer  ATan. 


PIIELPS  ANB  GORHAm's  PURCIIASE. 


421 


igan, 


The  tract  was  surveyed  in  1790,  by  Frederick  Saxton,  aad  sub- 
divided in  '97,  by  Aug.  Porter. 

In  the  winter  of  1796,  '7,  the  settlement  of  the  tract  commenced, 
by  the  advent  of  four  families :  — Eli  Granger,  Thomas  King,  Si- 
mon  King,  and  Elijah  Kent.  They  came  in  via  Canawaugus,  and 
down  the  river,  locating  a  short  distance  above  what  was  afterwards 
King's,  now  Handford's  Landing.  They  had  no  shelter  but  their 
covered  sleighs,  until  they  erected  log  huts.  The  next  year  they 
were  joined  by  Bradford  and  Moses  King,  Dr.  Stone  and Gra- 
ham ;  and  in  1798,  four  brothers,  Ebenezer,  Daniel,  Abel  and  Asa 
Rowe,  settled  in  the  neighborhood.  These  new  settlers  began  to 
make  farms,  but  encountered  sickness  and  death  enough  to  have  dis- 
couraged the  less  resolute.  Several  of  the  hea«ls  of  families  died 
in  the  first  few  years. 

Asa  Rowe  died  soon  after  coming  in,  as  did Graham,  and 

the  father  of  the  brothers  Kings,  and  Elijah  Kent.  When  Mr. 
Rowe  died,  the  other  brothers  were  sick  and  unable  to  go  for  help 
to  lay  him  out  and  bury  him,  until  he  had  lain  24  hours.  Recover- 
ing from  their  sickness,  the  surviving  brothers  left  the  country,  and 
returned  to  Oneida  county.  In  a  few  years  however,  Daniel  and 
Abel  returned,  bringing  with  them  another  brother,  Frederick,  and 
setded  on  the  Ridge  Road. 

The  first  boards  that  the  new  settlers  obtained,  was  by  repairinrr 
the  old  Allan  saw  mill  at  the  Falls,  and  in  a  few  years  Nathaniel 
Jones,  built  a  rude  saw  mill  on  the  small  stream,  that  puts  in  near 
Hanford's  Landinji. 

Dr.  Zacheus  Colby,  and  Dr.  Sylvester  Atchinson,  were  early 
physicians,  practicing  in  the  Kings' settlement. 

In  1799,  Eli  Granger  and  Abner  Migells,  built  a  schooner  at 
King's  Landing,  the  first  merchant  vessel  built  by  Americans  on 
Lake  Ontario,  and  none  had  been  previously  built  by  Americans  on 
the  LIpptr  Lakes. 


Township  13,  range  7,  was  the  fifth  sale  made  by  Phelps  &  Gor- 
hnm.  In  Mr.  Pheli)'s  memorandum,  it  is  entered  as  sold  to  "  Gen. 
Hyde  and  others."  The  associates  of  Gen.  Hyde,  who  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Lenox,  Mass.,  were  his  townsmen,  Prosper  Polly,  Enos 
Sto.v,'.  Job  Gilbert,  Joseph  Chaplin,  and  it  is  presumed,  John  Lusk, 


i 


422 


PHELPS   AND  OORIIAm's   PUKCIIASE. 


of  Berkshire,  as  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  tlie  township  near  the  head 
of  Irondequoit  Bay,  was  set  ofi"  to  him,  while  the  survey  of  the 
township  into  farm  lots  was  progressing.  Mr.  Lusk  was  the  pio- 
neer in  improvement  and  settlement,  and  in  fact  bore  that  relation 
to  all  of  what  is  now  Monroe  county,  having  even  jireceded  the 
Shaelfers  several  months.  With  his  son  Stephen,  then  fifteen  years 
old,  and  Seely  Peet,  a  hired  man,  he  came  to  the  new  region  early 
in  the  summer  of  1789.  Arriving  at  Schenectady,  he  embarked 
with  a  small  stock  of  provisions,  in  a  batteau,  the  son  and  hired 
man  coming  by  land,  and  driving  some  cattle.  The  son,  Stephen 
Lusk,  of  Pittsford,  who  still  survives,  says  he  remembers  very  well, 
that  upon  the  present  site  of  Utica,  there  was  only  an  opening  of 
about  half  an  acre  in  the  forest  —  and  that  the  ])ioneer  there,  John 
Post,  was  just  finishing  his  log  cabin.  They  came  upon  the  Indian 
trail,  via  Skaneatelas,  Onondaga  Hollow,  and  from  there  to  Cayuga 
Lake  had  little  more  than  spotted  trees  as  a  guide.  They  crossed 
Cayuga  Lake  on  a  raft,  swimming  their  cattle.  The  father,  son  and 
hired  man,  re-united  at  Canandaigua,  and  constructing  an  ox-sled, 
made  their  own  road  to  their  location  in  Brighton.  Erecting  a  loo- 
cabin,  they  cleared  twelve  acres  and  sowed  it  to  wheat,  procuring 
their  wheat  of  Ebenezer  Allan,  upon  the  ShaefTer  farm,  by  cutting 
a  woods  road  to  the  mouth  of  Red  creek,  to  which  point  they  trans- 
ported it  in  a  canoe.  While  they  were  clearing  the  land  and  so\\ing 
their  wheat,  they  saw  none  of  their  own  race,  but  the  surveyors  of 
the  township.  Indians  often  came  from  Canada  in  canoes  to  the 
Bay,  on  their  way  to  Canandaigua.  The  whole  three  had  the  ague 
and  fever,  which  obliged  them  to  suspend  labor  for  a  considerable 
period.     They  returned  to  Massachusetts  in  the  fall. 

In  the  spring  of  1790,  Mr.  Lusk  brought  out  his  family,  coming 
all  the  way  from  Schenectady  to  the  head  of  Irondequoit  Bay  by 
water,  the  sons  Stephen  and  Erastus  coming  by  land  with  stock  in 
company  with  Enos  Stone  and  others.  Mr.  ShaefTer  and  his  brother, 
being  bachelors,  the  family  of  John  Lusk  may  be  said  to  be  the  first 
family  located  upon  all  the  territory  now  embraced  in  Monroe  county, 
other  than  the  temporary  residents,  refugees  from  the  border  wars, 
Allan  and  Walker.  The  first  few  years  they  had  to  contend  v/ith  all 
the  usual  privations  of  extreme  l)ackwoods  life,  and  to  which  was 
added  disease  and  harrassing  Indian  alarms.  The  refugee  Walker 
of  whom  Mr.  Hencher  speaks,  living  in  his  solitary  hut  at  the  mouth 


PltELPS  AND   GORTIAM's   PURCnASE. 


423 


of  the  River,  was  stilhn  the  British  ami  Indian  interests -made 
frequent_ visits  to  Niagara;  and  returning  would  ahirm  the  lew 
settlers  in  the  backwoods  by  representing  that  thev  were  to  be 
attacke  '  by  the  Indians.  He  was  not  jileased  with  his  new  nei-rh- 
bors  ;  and  when  they  crowded  upon  him,  he  sought  more  concrenial 
associations,  in  Canada.*  .        ° 

Mr.  Lusk  died  in  1814,  aged  GO  years.  Besides  the  present 
Stephen  Lusk,  his  sons  were  Erastus,  Norman,  John  and  Aaron. 
Stephen  Lusk,  whose  wife  as  will  have  been  observed,  is  the  dauc^hter 
of  Willinm  ITencher,  is  76  years  of  age.  Heman  and  Dennis  Lusk 
of  Bittsford,  Henry  Lusk  of  Laporto,  Indiana,  are  his  sons;  Mrs. 
Thomas  Wilcox  of  Mendon,  is  his  daughter. 

Orange  Stone,  a  son  of  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the 
township,  with  his  fiimily,  Joel  Scudder  and  family,  and  Chauncey 
and  Calvin  Hyde,  followed  Mr.  Lmk  in  a  few  weeks;  and  about 
the  same  time  Timothy  Allyn,  came  on  and  occupied  ahne,  a  log 
cabin  he  erected  on  a  tract  of  500  acres  on  the  stream  that  took  his 
name,  near  the  termination  of  the  Brighton  plank  road.  Spending  a 
summer  in  the  wilderness  he  got  discouraged,  sold  out  and  went°to 
Geneva,  where  he  wcs  a  prominent  and  useful  citizen  in  earlv  years. 
He  had  borne  the  commission  of  Captain  in  the  war  of  ihe  Revolution. 
He  finally  returned  to  Massachusetts,  where  ho  died  at  the  advanced 
age  of  90  years.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Robert  .Ulvn,  who 
with  Robert  Winthrop  and  James  Averv,  was  a  pioneer  emio-rant 
at  New  Lo-.don,Conn.;  F.  U.  Sheffield,  of  Palmyra,  is  a  nephevv  of 
the  early  Pioneer  of  the  Genesee  country. 

Orange  Stone  located  on  the  now  Pittsford  road,  a  little  east  of 
Brighton  village,  near  the  "  rock  and  tree."  Messrs.  Bacon,  Adams, 
and  Fellows,  of  Bloomfield,  Enos  Stone,  Stephen  Lusk  and  others, 
who  had  emigrated,  or  intended  to  do  so,  in  1790,  clubbed  together, 
and  started  for  the  new  region  a  drove  of  oxen,  cows,  and  hogs. 
Enos  Stone,  Jr.  the  son  of  one  of  the  proprietors  named  above, 
Stephen  Lusk.  Jacob  Lobdell,  one  of  the  Adams,  were  of  the  drivers. 
After  leaving  Utica,  they  travelled  about  25  miles  per  dav,  camping 


424 


PlIELPS   AND  GORIIAm's   rURCIIASE. 


each  night ;  arriving  at  Cayuga  Lake  they  crossed  their  stock  in 
two  Durham  Boats  —  the  work  of  crossing  consuming  four  days. 
The  provisions  of  the  party  failed  thcMn,  and  they  were  from  Thurs- 
day morning  until  Sunday  night  without  food.  Arriving  at  Geneva, 
nearly  famished,  their  wants  were  supplied. 

Unless  this  party  had  been  preceded  a  few  days  by  the  Wads- 
worths,  their  stock  was  the  first  brought  west  of  the  Seneca  Lake. 
They  had  among  the  rest,  a  few  sheep  that  went  to  Bloomfield.  In 
addition  to  Orange  Stone,  Chauncey  Hyde,  a  son  of  another  of  the 
proprietors  came  on  in  1790,  locating  upon  the  farm  now  occupied 
by  Col.  Gould.  He  remained  but  one  season  ;  sickness  discouraged 
him.  He  went  upon  some  lands  of  his  father,  in  Broome  county. 
The  elder  Enos  Stone  did  not  emigrate  to  Brighton  until  181G, 
where  he  died  a  few  months  after  his  arrival.  Orange  Stone,  who 
for  many  years  occupied  one  of  the  western  outposts  of  civilization, 
keeping  almost  from  his  first  arrival,  a  house  of  entertainment ;  a 
home  for  the  young  men  who  were  settling  about  him,  and  a  stop- 
ping place  for  the  occasional  hunter,  Indian  trader,  and  traveler, 
died  in  1842,  aged  73  years.  His  eldest  son.  Orange,  was  drowned 
at  Connraut,  Ohio,  by  stepping  from  the  plank  of  a  steamboat  in  the 
night.  The  only  surviving  son,  Enos  Stone,  is  now  in  California; 
several  daughters  reside  in  Michigan. 

Col.  Enos  Stone  continued  to  reside  in  Lenox,  making  frequent 
visits  to  the  new  purchase,  and  residing  occasionally  with  his  bro- 
ther. Orange,  until  1810,  when  he  became  a  pioneer  settler  of  the 
city  of  Rochester,  his  original  farm  embracing  all  of  the  most  densely 
populated  portion  of  the  city  east  of  the  river.  He  still  survives, 
at  the  age  of  76  years.  His  wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Bryant 
Stoddard,  of  Litchfield,  Conn.,  died  in  1850,  aged  73  years.  James 
S.  Stone,  (horn  in  May,  1810,  the  first  born  on  the  site  of  the  city 
of  Rochester,)  of  Greece,  is  the  only  survivor  of  five  sons ;  Mrs. 
Wm.  C.  Storrs,  of  Rochester,  and  Mrs.  George  Wales,  are  sur- 
viving daughters ;  and  a  third,  unmarried  daughter,  resides  with  her 
father.  With  a  memory  of  early  events  unimpaired.  Col.  Stone  has 
furnished  the  author  with  many  interesting  reminiscences,  the  ear- 
liest of  which,  are  inserted  here,  and  the  later  ones  reserved  for 
that  portion  of  the  work,  having  more  especial  reference  to  Monroe 
county. 


PHELPS  AND  QORlIAJi's  PURCHASE. 


425 


REMINISCENCES  OF  EXOS  STONE. 


In  an  early  year,  I  was  stopping  with  my  brother  Orange.  Chauncoy 
Hyde  and  myself  were  out  liunting  cattle.  We  saw  a  sinuke  risini^  at  the 
Irondcqiioit  Landing,  and  went  down  to  it.  AVe  found  that  it  prucfckvl  from 
an  Indian  camp;  as  we  approached  it,  two  Indians  rase  up  from  a  coucli,  one 
of  wliich,  especially,  attracted  our  attention.  His  camp  otjuijipage  we  thought, 
rather  extraordinary  fi)r  an  Indian;  he  was  well  dressed  —  partly  as  a  white 
man,  and  partly  as  an  Indi;m;  bid  us  good  morning  with  great  civility,  and 
displaying  a  gold  watch  and  trimmings,  observd  that  being  wearied  lie  had 
over  slej't.  He  soon  announced  himself  f,.,  Josei)h  Brant,  on  hLs  way  from 
Burliiigl(>n  Bay  to  Canandaigua.  Having  ariived  in  a  boat  he  had  sent  In- 
dian runners  to  Canandaigua  for  horses,  and  was  awaiting  their  return.  He 
accepted  our  invitation  and  came  up  with  us  to  my  brother's  house.  His 
familiar  conversation,  and  gentlemanly  manners,  soon  convinced  us  that  he 
was  nut  the  savage  we  had  conceived  him  to  be,  from  accounts  we  had  heard 
and  read  of  him,  in  connection  Avith  the  Border  Wars.  He  (piieted  our  ap- 
prehensions of  any  farther  Indian  troubles,  by  assuring  us,  that  as  the  Seneciis 
had  sdld  their  lands  to  the  whites,  the  bargain  should  be  cairieci  out  in  good 
faith,  and  the  new  settlements  should  not  be  molested.  He  manifested  I'nuch 
interest  in  all  that  was  going  on  in  tlrs  region,  and  inquired  when  new  settle- 
ments were  commencing.  The  visit  gave  us  great  pleasure,  and  (piieted  our 
fears.  In  iiereon,  Jaseph  Brant  bore  a  close  resemblance  to  Gen.  Braily,  of 
the  U.  S.  aimy. 

I  knew  an  early  settler  of  Irondequoit,  who  used  to  kill,  dress,  and  eat 
skunks  ;  ho  said  their  meat  was  fine  flavored,  free  from  any  ofl;ensive  odor.* 

The  principal  colony  of  the  rattle  snakes  was  in  bank  of  river,  below  the 
Lower  Falls,  at  a  place  Ave  used  to  call  "  Rattle  Snake  Point;"  and  there  wjis 
also  a  large  colony  at  Allan's  creek,  near  the  end  of  the  Brighton  plank  road. 
I  think  they  grow  blind  about  the  time  of  returning  to  their  dens,  in  August 


region  tor  the  oil  and  the  gall  of  the  rattle-snake.  The  oil  was  used  for  stitf 
joints  and  bruises;  the  gall  for  fevers,  in  the  form  of  a  pill,  made  up  with 
chalk. 

Fish  were  abundant,  and  a  great  help  to  the  early  settlers.  A  structure 
similar  to  an  eel  wire  was  placed  in  the  Irondequoit,  below  the  Falls.  The 
rack  was  made  of  tamarack  poles.  I  have  known  ten  barrels  of  fine  fat 
salmon  taken  there  in  one  night.  The  river  atibrded  a  plenty  of  black  and 
st)ii)ed  biiss,  and  the  Bay  pickerel  and  pike.  I  never  knew  of  the  salmon 
ascending  the  Genesee  river,  but  one  season.  Allan's  creek  in  Brighton, 
aftbrded  abundance  of  trout.  The  geese  and  ducks  were  so  plenty  in  Brad- 
dock's  Bay,  that  bushels  of  their  eggs  could  sometimes  be  picked  up  in  the 
marshes. 

*  Somo  of  the  early  surveyors  of  Wiaconain  confirm  this  good  opinion  of  the  flesh 
of  the  skunk. 

27 


Ill 


lie 


m 


IS" 


i2G 


PHELPS    ANB   OORIIAMS    PURCHASE. 


In  one  of  tlie  early  ycnrs,  I  carried  sonip  jfrain  to  the  Allan  mill,  to  jvot 
pround  for  my  brotlier  Oranj^o,  and  had  to  remain  over  niylit.  Allan  was 
there,  iu  a  spree  or  carousal.  To  mnke  a  fea-<t,  he  had  sent  Indians  into  tho 
woods,  to  Hli(K)t  ho^s  that  had  gone  wild,  and  he  furnished  the  whiskey. 
There  were  many  Indians  collected.  It  was  a  high  time,  and  the  chief  of 
tlie  entertainment  wiuseiij'ving  it  in  great  glee.  Tired  of  the  carousal,  ho  re- 
tired to  a  couch,  where  a  sijuaiv  and  a  white  wife  awaited  his  coming. 

The  hogs  that  we  brought  here  in  1790  strayed  oh',  and  they  and  their  pro- 
geny became  wild,  we  hail  to  either  shoot  or  hunt  them  with  dogs.  The 
boars  and  old  sows  have  been  seen  often,  victoi-s  in  a  conflict  with  beai-s.  A 
boar  was  caught  and  penned.  He  refused  footl,  and  woulil  not  tame.  When 
pei'sons  ap[)roached  the  pen  he  would  froth  at  the  moutii;  occasionally  strike 
his  long  tushes  into  the  logs  of  his  pen,  tearing  out  and  champing  the  splinters. 


OLIVER  CULVER. 


He  is  a  native  of  Orwell,  Vermont.  In  March,  1796,  when  he 
was  19  years  old  he  left  home  in  company  with  Samuel  SpafTord, 
and  came  on  foot  to  the  Genesee  country,  first  stoppinj^  a  short  time 
at  Jonathan  Smith's  in  Farmington,  where  they  hired  out  to  make 
sap  troughs.  Going  to  Irondcciuoit  Landing,  he  found  tlie  only 
occupant  there,  Asa  Dunbar,  a  mahitto,  witia  a  family.  Remaining 
at  the  Landing  about  six  weeks,  a  large  company,  consisting  of  the 
proprietors  of  the  then  newly  purchased  Connecticut  lands  in  Ohio, 
their  surveyors,  and  two  families,  in  five  boats,  came  up  the  Lake 
on  their  way  to  commence  survey  and  settlement.  In  pursuance  of 
a  previous  agreement,  the  young  men,  Culver  and  SpalFord,  joined 
the  expedition.  Landing  at  Queenston,  taking  their  butteaux  over 
the  portage,  the  expedition  went  up  Niagara  River  and  coasted  along 
the  south  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  finding  no  wliite  inliabitant  after  they 
lef*  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek — where  there  was  one  solitary 
family  until  they  reached  Er.':,  where  they  found  Col.  Seth  Reed, 
Gunn,  who  had  his  family  with  him,  stopped  at  Conneaut,  be- 
coming the  first  settlers  there.  Proceeding  to  the  moftth  of  the 
Cuyahoga,  the  party  landed,  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Cleve- 
land, and  erected  a  log  dwelling  house  and  store  house.  Stiles,  one 
of  the  party  who  had  taken  his  wife  along,  built  for  inmself  a  house, 
and  became  the  Pioneer  settler  at  that  point.* 

*  A  son  of  his  born  tlie  next  winter  -vwis  the  first  born  of  white  parents,  on  the  Re- 
serve. Mrs.  Stiles  <it  the  period  of  parturition  bad  none  other  of  her  sex  than  native 
Bquaws,  to  attend  her. 


PIIELPa    AND    (JOUHAM's     PUUCIIA8E. 


427 


The  party  all  returned  to  New  Eii<rl;H)(l  in  the  fall.     In  the  follow- 
ing spriiiir,  Messrs.  (Culver  ami  S|>air<'r(l  came  on    again  to  Ironde- 
quoit,  himted,  trapped,  bought  furs,  until  the  surveyors  again  arrived> 
and  they  again  embarked  in  their  service.     The  principal   of  the 
party  on  this  second  expedition,  was  Seth  Pea  o,  a    brother-in-law 
of  Gideon  Granger.     The  expedition  consisted  of  a Dout  (50  persons. 
In  the  .summer —  1707  —  they  cleared  and  planted  six  acres,  which 
are  now  in  the    centre   of  the  city   of  Cleveland.     In   1798,  Mr. 
Culver  was  in  the  employ  of  the  contractors  who  had  taken  the  job 
of  the  New  Connecticut  com[)any  to  cut  out  the  road  from  the  Penn- 
sylvania line,  across  their  purchase.     Remaining  the  next  year   in 
Vermont,  in  1800   Mr.  Culver  came   out  and  purcliased  the    farm 
where  he  now  resides;  making  his  home  at  Major  Orange  Stone's, 
and  going  to  his  place  through  the  woods  by  marked  trees,  he  cleared 
seven  acres   and    sowed  it    to  wheat  the  first   season ;  realizing  a 
good  crop.     Fearing  a  defective  title,  he  abandoned  his  farm,   and 
•was  employed  by  Augustus  Griswold  for   the  next    three   years,  at 
Ironde(|uoit  Landing,  in  superintending  an   Ashery,  the   first  estab- 
lished in  all  this  region.     It  worked  up  the  ashes  and  black  salts  of 
the  new  settlers  I'or  a  great   distance   around   it  ;  shipping  at   the 
early  period,  in  180;i,  108  barrels  of  pearl  ash  to  Montreal.     Ashes 
being  a  shilling  per   bushel,  enabled  the  settlers,  generally  destitute 
of  money,  to  get  some  store  trade.     In  1804,  obtaining  a  small  stock 
of  goods  at  the  east,  by  purchase,  and  a  much  larger  stock  of  Tryon 
and  Adams,  at  Iron(ief[uoit  upon  conunission,  Mr.   Culver  went  to 
Cleveland   and   opened  a  store,  principally  for  Indian  trade,  where 
he  had  been  preceded  only  by  one  trader,  with  a  small  stock.     He 
bought  furs  of  the  Indians,  and  opening  a  barter  trade  with   the 
settlements  in  Pennsylvania,  his  customers  brought  him  upon  pack 
horses,  whiskey  and  cider  brandy,  in  keg,s,  butter,  cheese  and  honey- 
He  sold  them  salt  at  83,00  per  bushel.     Extending  a  barter  trade  to 
Detroit,  he  obtained  there,  a|)ples  and  white  fish.     Disposing  of  his 
goods,  he  returned,  had  title  to  his   farm  made  good,  married  the 
daughter  of  John  Ray  of  Pittsford,  and  became  a  permanent  resi- 
dent of  Brighton,  as  early  as  1805. 

In  1811,  Mr.  Culver  built  the  schooner  Clarissa,  on  the  Roswell 
Hart  farm  in  Brighton,  and  drew  it  to  the  Bay,  with  twenty  six 
yoke  of  oxen  ;  and  after  tliat  he  built  three  other  schooners,  and  put 
them  upon  the  Lake.     He  was  one  of  tlie  contractors  for  building 


m 


428 


PHELPS   AND  GOEHAm's  PUECIIASE. 


the  ombifted  locks  at  Lockport,  on  the  original  construction  of 
the  canal.  In  1822,  he  built  at  Brighton,  a  packet  boat,  the  first 
boat  built  as  far  west  as  there,  and  the  fourth  packet  that  was  built  on 
the  canal.  These  are  but  a  part  of  the  enterprises  of  his  active 
and  useful  life.  He  is  now  72  years  old,  moving  about  and  super- 
intending a  large  estate,  neither  his  physical  or  mental  constitution 
but  little  impaired.  He  has  buried  two  sons ;  his  only  daughter  is 
Mrs.  L.  D.  Ely  of  Brighton. 


EEMINISCENCES  OF  OLIVEE  CULVER. 


lis 


On  the  .shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  on  a  liigli  bhilf  near  Irondequoit  Bay,  in 
1796,  tlie  bank  caved  otf,  and  untoiiibed  a  large  (quantity  of  Imnum  bones, 
of  a  large  size.  The  arm  and  leg  bones,  upon  comparison,  were  much 
larger  than  those  of  our  own  race. 

In  1797  I  trapjied  two  young  beaver,  at  Brush  creek,  above  Braddock's 
Bay.  I  saw  one  of  their  kjdges.  It  was  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  liay 
cock;  carried  up  with  brush,  as  aground  work,  co\ered  with  nislies,  and  pks- 
tered  with  clay.  I  have  seen  the  stumps  of  trees  they  had  gnawed  down,  that 
measured  one  foot  across.  They  select  the  sites  of  their  dams  with  something 
like  human  intelligence. 

At  one  pei'iod,  jJivtty  much  all  the  Lake  business  of  this  region,  was  ens- 
acted  at  Irondequoit  Landing.  Tlie  first  flour  wasshijiped  there  that  v  4  to 
Montreal.  It  wa.s  not  untib  along  about  1813,  that  we  abandoned  the  idea 
that  it  would  be  the  great  commercial  point  of  this  region. 

In  1805,  'G,  myself.  Orange  8tone,  George  Dailoyryiwnuel  Spafford,  and 
Miles  Nortlui]),  with  tlie  hulp'of  $50  a]iproi)riated  from  the  town  of  North- 
field,  cut  out  the  road,  two  rods  wide,  from  Orange  Stone's  to  the  river,  four 
miles. 

Wlien  I  first  came  to  Irondequoit,  in  excavating  the  earth  to  build  a  store 
house,  we  found  a  large  quantity  of  lead  bails  and  flints.  On  a  knoll,  on  the 
bank  of  tht'  <  reek,  there  were  the  remains  of  a  battery.* 

In  1802  there  was  no  school  nearer  than  Pittsfoitl.  We  clubbed  to- 
gether, built  a  log  school  house,  and  hired  a  young  man  by  the  name  of 
Turner,  who  was  clerk  in  Tryon  &  Adams'  store,"  to  ojjen  a  school.  I  wanted 
to  go  to  school,  and  foi-  my  part,  I  got  logs  to  a  saw  mill,  and  furnished  the 
roof  boartls.  Our  first  iih\sician  was  Jol'in  Ray,  of  Pittsford;  our  first  mer- 
chant at  Bi'ightnn,  Ira  West,  who  removed  to  Rochester. 

Amos  Sparti)rd,  of  Orwell,  Vermont,  the  father  of  Samuel  Spaftbrd,  who 
came  to  the  Genesee  country  with  me,  was  one  of  the  early  surveyors  of  the 
Reserve,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  settlement  at  Cleveland.     The  U.  S. 


hg. 


*  The  battery,  undoublutUj,  that  La  liontan  sayb  De  Nonville  erected  at  the  LaiiJ- 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAil's   PURCHASE. 


429 


government  granted  him  a  mile  and  a  half  square  of  land,  at  Mauraee,  to 
•nliich  jilace  he  removed,  and  where  his  descendants  now  reside.  Samuel 
Spart'ord  setded  at  Brighton,  and  made  first  improvements  on  the  Blossom 
farm,  emigrating  to  Maumee. 

AniosSpatford  being  the  first  mail  contractor  at  Cleveland,  in  1805,  his 
carrier  being  taken  sick,  I  took  the  mai)  on  my  back,  and  carried  it  to  Huron, 
in  four  hours,  traveling  on  the  ice  with  skates. 

Timothy  Allen  sold  his  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  in  Brighton,  to  John 
and  Solomon  Hatch.  In  company  with  them,  I  built  a  saw  mill  on  Allan's 
Creek,  in  180G.     They  removed  to  Genesee  county.* 


In  1798,  Judge  John  Tryon,  of  Lebanon  Springs,  became  through 
a  brother  who  had  failed  to  make  the  payments,  the  owner  of  a 
tract  of  land  on  the  Irondequoit,  in  Brighton,  three  miles  above  the 
Bay.  His  brother  had  previously  laid  out  a  village,  but  had  made 
no  progress  with  it.  Judge  Tryon  built  a  store  and  store  house, 
and  in  the  spring  of  '99,  opened  a  store  in  the  name  of  Tryon  & 
Adams.  The  locality  assumed  the  name  of  "  Tryon's  Town."  The 
agent  of  the  proprietors,  Augustus  Griswold,  first  came  on  with 
five  sleigh  loads  of  goods,  and  after  that,  in  the  fall,  Capt.  Oliver 
Grace  came  with  a  boat  load  from  Schenectady,  the  freight  costing 
$3  00  per.  112  lbs.  Asa  Dayton  soon  opened  a  tavern,  Stephen 
Lusk  started  the  tanning  and  shoe  making  business,  and  besides 
these  was  Asa  Dunbar,  a  mulatto,  and  John  Boyd,  —  four  families 
in  all.  In  1800,  Henry  Ward,  the  present  worthy  citizen  and  Post 
Master,  of  Penfield,  then  18  years  of  age,  came  on  and  became  a 
clerk  in  the  Tryon  &  Adams  store.  At  that  period,  much  of  the 
business  of  this  pioneer  store,  the  first  west  of  Canandaigua,  con- 
sisted of  barter,  for  furs,  bear  and  deer  skins,  with  the  Seneca  In- 
dians, and  such  white  men  as  were  hunters  and  trappers.  In  1801, 
Silas  Losea  settled  in  the  place,  and  enabled  "  Tr/on  Town,"  alias 
the  "city  of  Tryon,"  to  glory  in  the  addition  of  a  blacksmith's 
shop.  An  ashery  and  distillery  was  added  to  the  store,  soon  after. 
In  the  earliest  years,  the  store  commanded  a  wide  range  of  custom- 
ers. There  are  names  upon  its  old  books,  of  the  early  settlers  of 
all  the  western  towns  of  Ontario  and  Wayne,  northern  towns  of 


I 


1     ! 


1 

irMi 

1": 
1 

:    f 

i 

¥ 

i 

p 

I 

1 

*  Jarvis  M.  and  Hiram  F.  Ilatcli,  attorneys  in  Rochester,  are  the  sons  of  the  early 
pioneer,  Jolm  Hateh.  Tlie  i'atlier  and  bruthor  were  from  Madison  county.  John  Hatcxi 
rernoveil  froiii  Hri^tlion  t"  B.irrc.Orlo" us  count j,  and  subscnuentlj  to  Elba,  near  Bata* 
via,  where  his  widow  now  roaidea 


mi 


430 


PHELPS  AND   GORIIAM's  PUUCi'IASE, 


liiii 


Livincrston,  and  even  a  solitary  settler  of  Orleans  county,  at  the 
mouth  of  Oak  Orchard  creek,  was  a  regular  customer.  The  '•  city" 
was  governed  by  civil  laws  of  its  own  enacting.  What  has  since 
been  called  a  "  Lynch  Court "  was  established,  and  several  trials 
and  convictions  were  had. 

The  business  of  the  place  declining,  shipping  business  going  to  the 
mouth  of  Genesee  river,  and  rival  stores  springing  up  in  other  local- 
ities, in  1810  Mr.  Grisvvold  broke  up  the  store,  and  went  to  Tren- 
ton, Oneida  county.  In  1818  the  old  store  house  was  demolished, 
and  there  now  remains  scarcely  a  vestige  of  the  once"citvot 
Tryon." 

Gen.  Jonathan  Fassett,  of  Vermont  was  the  original  purchaser 
from  Phelps  and  Gorham,  of  T.  13,  R.  4,  now  Penfield,  and  south 
part  of  Webster;    he  attempted  its  settlement  in  '91  or  '2.     He 

was  accompanied  by  Caleb  Hopkins,  his  son  Jonathan  Fassett, 

Maybee,  and  some  others.  Discouraged  by  sickness,  and  other 
endurances  of  the  wilderness.  Gen.  Fassett  abandoned  the  enterprise, 
and  returned  to  Vermont;  though  Messrs.  Hopkins  and  Maybee 
remained  in  the  country.  Mr.  Hopkins  was  the  afterwards  Col. 
Hopkins,  of  Pittsford,  and  Mr.  Maybee  was  the  father  of  John  and 
James  Maybee,  who  were  pioneer  settlers  of  Royalton,  Niagara 
county,  and  of  Suflrenus  Maybee,  a  pioneer  settler  at  Bulfalo,  and 
the  mouth  ui  Cattaraugus  creek  ;  a  daughter  was  the  wife  of  Orange 

Stone,  another  of  Caleb  Hopkin.s,  another  of Griffin,  of  Pitrs- 

ford.  Dr.  Fassett,  of  Lock[jort,  and  a  brother  of  his  in  Rochester, 
are  grand-sons  of  Gen.  Fassett. 

Mr.  ]\Iaybee  was  from  the  Mohawk!  He  came  by  water  to 
Swift's  Landing  at  Palmyra,  there  mounted  his  batteaux  upon 
wheels,  and  cut  his  own  road  from  a  short  distance  west  of  Palmyra 
to  Penfield. 

Gen.  Fassett  located  at  the  old  Indian  Landing,  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Bay,  about  two  miles  below  the  present  village  of  Penfield. 
He  had  a  plat  surveyed  there  for  a  town,  but  nothing  farther  was 
done.  He  soon  sold  his  interest  in  Penfield  to  Gen.  Silas  Pepoon, 
who  sold  it  to  Samuel  P.  Lloyd,  from  whom,  in  consequence  of  some 
liabilities  incurred,  it  went  into  the  hands  of  Daniel  Penfield. 

iCr'  Farther  reminiscences  of  Penfield  will  be  added  in  another 
connection. 

What  is  now  Pittsford,  being  a  portion  of  a  township  at  the 


PHELPS  AND    GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 


431 


northern  termination  of  the  5th  range,  13,296  acres  was  purchased 
by  an  association,  who  were  represented  in  the  transaction  by  "Stone 
and  Dodge."  Settlement  commenced  there  before  the  close  of 
1789.  Tlie  pioneers  were,  Israel  Stone  and  Simon  Stone,  Silas 
Nye,  .Joseph  Farr,  and  at  the  same  time,  or  soon  after,  other  heads 
of  families  came  in:  — Thomas  Cleland,  Josiah  Giminson,  Alex- 
ander Dunn,  and  David  Davis. 

William  Walker,  the  local  agent  of  Phelps  &■  Gorham,  purchased 
T.  12,  R.  4,  now  the  town  of  Perinton.  In  the  sutnmer  of  1799  his 
brother  Caleb  erected  a  log  cabin,  and  moved  into  the  township, 
taking  with  him  Glover  Perrin,  with  his  wife.  Perrin  went  fust  in 
the  capacity  of  a  hired  man,  but  after  the  death  of  Caleb  Walker, 
had  some  interest  in  the  purchase.  The  pioneers  had  no  children,' 
and  lived  alone  in  the  woods  for  several  years,  after  which  they 
moved  to  Pittsford.     lEP  For  Mendon,  see  Monroe  county. 


VICTOR. 


[Omitted  in  its  appio]iriate  place.] 

Enos  Boughton,  of  Stockbridge,  Mass,,  and  his  brother  Jared, 
had  visited  this  region  in  1788.  Enos  had  engaged  as  a  clerk  of 
William  Walker,  the  agent  of  Mr.  Phelps,  and  as  soon  as  sales  com- 
menced, purchased  the  town  of  Victor,  for  twenty  cents  per  acre. 
In  the  spring  of  1799,  the  two  brothers,  Horatio  Jones,  a  brother- 
in-law,  who  was  a  surveyor,  and  several  hired  hands,  went  upon 
what  was  afterwards  called  Boughton  Hill,  erected  a  log  cabin, 
sowed  a  patch  of  buckwheat,  (the  first  of  that  crop  in  the  Genesee 
country,)  surveyed  the  township,  and  after  sowing  three  acres  of 
wheat,  the  whole  party  returned  to  Massachusetts,  except  Jacob 
Lobdell,  who  remained  "solitary  and  alone,"  to  take  care  of  the 
premises,  and  winter  fourteen  head  of  cattle  upon  wild  grass,  that 
had  been  cut  upon  the  Indian  Meadow,  on  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Griswold  place.  In  February,  1790,  Jared  Boughton  started  from 
Stockbridge,  with  his  wife  and  iiifanl  daughter,  and  made  the  long 

NoTK. —  Mr.  Lobdell  loinained  in  the  town,  and  became  an  enterprising  and  promi- 
nent citizcii  ;  was  well  known  as  iin  curly  ciuilraotor  iipMii  tlic  Eric  Canal!  His  many 
kind  acts  in  jiioneer  times,  are  well  remembered.  He  died  in  IrtlH,  as^ed  7H  years. 
His  sons  are  :  —  Levi  and  Jan.b  L.,  of  Victor,  UeorKe,  of  Hennepin,  Illinois,  Wallace] 
of  Cidlioun  CO,,  Micliiu-an  :  his  dantditers,  Mrs.  Abraham  and.  Mrss.  Ilufus  lluihjihrey' 
of  Victor,  and  Mrs.  Ulcveland,  of  atouben  llliuois.  i  ■    J' 


t 
t- 


432 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's    PUECHASE. 


I 


winter,  and  wood's  journey  to  their  now  home ;  a  pretty  full  ac- 
count of  which  is  given  in  History  of  Holland  Purchase.     Their 
travelling  companions  were  the  family  of  Col.  Seth  Reed,  who  were 
coming  on  to  join  him  at  Geneva.     Between  Col.  Danforth's  at 
Onondaga  Hollow,  and  Cayuga  Lake,  the  whole  party,  fourteen  in 
number,  cleared  away  the  snow,  and  made  a  night  camp  of  hem- 
lock boughs.     They  were  ferried  across  the  outlet  of  Seneca  Lake, 
by  Solomon  Earle ;  after  parting  with  the  Reed  family,  they  arrived 
at  Flint  creek  — there  was  no  bridge  — had  to  fall  trees  to  get  their 
goods  over,  and  afterwards  tow  the  horses  and  sleigh  across  with 
ropes.     Between  Flint  creek   and  Canandaigua,  they  found  one 
small  opening,  and  an  unoccupied  cabin.     They  arrived  in  Victor, 
March  7th,  one  week  after  the  Adams  family  had  arrived  in  Bloom- 
field.     The  stock  of  provisions  they  brought  in,  lasted  with  the  help 
of  the  buckwheat  that  had  been  harvested  the  previous  fall,  until 
their  wheat  harvest.     The  early  wheat  crop  was  thrashed  upon  a 
floor  made  of  split  bass  wood,  and  cleaned  with  an  old  fashioned 
corn  fan,  the  rim  of  which  was  fabricated  from  an  oak  tree,  and 
the  bottom  from  a  pine  board,  which  had  been  a  part  of  their  sleigh 
box. 

After  Enos  Boughton  had  purchased  Victor,  his  father  took  an 
intercot  with  him,  selling  his  farm  in  Stockbridge,  and  coming  into 
the  new  region.     He  died  in  Aug.  1798.     His  four  sons  were  Enos, 
Jared,  Seymour  and  Hezekiah.     Enos,  who  was  introduced  to  Mr. 
Clinton  in  1825,  as  the  man  who  built  the  first  stick  chimney,  first 
framed  barn,  and  planted  the  first  orchard  west  of  Seneca' Lake, 
he  died  in  Lockport,  in  1826,  where  he  had  made  an  early  pur- 
chase of  a  large  portion  of  the  present  village  site.     Jared  is  yet 
living,  at  the  age  of  84  years.     In  1848,  the  author  saw  him  in  the 
full  possession  of  his  faculties,  and  he  was  afterwards  indebted  to 
him  for  .pioneer  reminiscences,  in  a  hand  writing  that  showed  little 
of  the  tremor  of  age,  and  exhibited  a  distinct  and  intelligent  recol- 
lection of  early  events.     The  young  wife,  who  with  a  child  four 
months  old,  had  cooked  frugal  meals  by  winter  camp  fires,  and  en- 
dured the  most  rugged  features  of  pioneer  life,  was  also  alive  in 
1848  ;  "  hale  and  hearty,"  the  mother  of  12  children.     She  died  in 
1849.     The  living  sons,  in  1848,  were  :  — Selleck,  an  Attorney  in 
Rochester,  Frederick,  of  Pittsford,  [the  first   white  child  born  in 
Victor.]    Jared  K.,  on  old  homestead  in  Victor ;  EuoS:  of  E.  Bloom- 


PHELPS   AND    GOmiAM's   PUECHASE. 


433 


field ;  daughters,  Mrs.  Dr.  A.  G.  Smith,  New  York,  Mrs.  Bennett 
Lewis,  of  Green  county,  Ohio,  Mrs.  Mortimer  Buel,  of  Geneseo. 
Hezekiah  died  as  early  as  1793 ;  was  the  ftuher  of  the  late  Col. 
Claudius  Victor  Boughton,  after  whom  the  town  was  named  in 
1813,  as  a  mark  of  esteem  for  his  gallant  services  upon  the  Niagara 
frontier,  to  which  the  legislature  of  this  State  added  the  presenta- 
tion of  a  sword.  Reuben  H.  Boughton,  of  Lewiston,  is  a  son  of  his. 
Another  son  of  Hezekiah,  is  George  H.  Boughton,  Esq.,  of  Lock- 
port.  Col.  Seymour  Boughton  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Black 
Rock,  in  the  war  of  1812. 

Jared  Boughton  took  the  buckwheat  and  got  it  ground  at  Capt. 
Ganson's  rude  mill  at  Avon.  His  next  milling  expedition,  (after 
wheat  harvest,)  was  with  a  double  ox  team,  to  the  Allan  mill  at 
Genesee  Falls.  Arriving  within  four  miles  of  the  River,  (at  Orange 
Stone's,)  he  came  to  the  end  of  the  road  ;  any  direct  route'  to  the 
River  was  through  a  dense  forest,  and  low  wet  grounds ;  which 
obliged  him  to  go  around,  and  work  his  way  over  the  range  of  hills 
east  of  Mount  Hope.  Arrived  at  the  River,  he  belled  his  oxen  and 
turned  them  into  the  woods,  carrying  his  grain  across  and  down 
the  river  to  the  mill.  As  winter  approached,  the  infant  settlement 
was  without  salt.  It  was  decided  to  send  a  boat  to  Salt  Point.  In 
November,  Jared  and  Seymour  Boughton.  aud  John  Barnes,  went 
to  Swift's  Landing,  (Palmyra,)  took  a  Schenectady  boat,  and  pro- 
ceeded on  their  voyage.  The  Stansells,  at  Lyons,  were  the  only 
white  inhabitants  on  the  whole  route.  Below  the  junction  of  the 
Ganargwa  creek,  and  Canandaigua  out-let,  they  came  to  a  raft  of 
flood-wood,  16  rods  in  extent.  To  pass  it  they  were  obliged  to  haul 
their  boat  out  of  the  water,  up  a  steep  ascent,  and  move  it  on  rollers 
to  a  point  below  the  raft.  Procuring  twelve  barrels  of  salt,  the 
party  starting  on  their  homeward  voyage,  encountered  a  snow 
storm  and  ice  when  they  got  into  the  Seneca  river.  They  made 
slow  progress,  on  one  occasion  being  obliged  to  wade  into  the  ice 
and  water  to  lift  their  boc.t  from  stones  upon  which  it  had  struck. 
At  the  raft  on  Clyde  River,  they  had  again  to  transport  their  boat 
overland,  with  the  addition  of  their  twelve  barrels  of  salt.  On 
account  of  low  water,  they  were  obliged  to  leave  their  boat  and 
cargo  at  the  Lyon's  Landing.  Going  through  the  woods  to  Farna- 
inston,  followinsr  township  lines,  they  returned  with  six  yoke  of 
oxen  via.  Palmyra,  and  partly  upon  Wagons,  and  partly  upon  sleds, 


434 


PHELPS    Am)    GORHAjfs   PURCHASE. 


making  their  roads  mostly  as  they  went  along,  they  succeeded  in 
getting  the  first  cargo  of  salt  to  Victor. 

Levi  Boughton,  an  uncle  of  .Tared  and  Enos.  accompanied  Jared 
and  Jacoi)  Lobdell  in  their  primitive  advent  — moved  his  family  in 
the  next  year.  He  died  in  18-28,  aged  78  years.  His  sons  were, 
Nathaniel,  of  Bloomfield,  Joim  B.,  of  Ohio,  Thomas  Morris,  of 
Rochester,  Horace  B.  of  Victor.  Thomas  M.  is  tiie  only  surviving 
son.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Jacob  Lobdell,  Aaron  Tay- 
lor, an  early  settler  on  the  Ridge  Road,  near  Molyneux's  Corners, 
Niagara  county,  Zera  Brooks,  John  Brace,  and  Philemus  Smith,  of 
Victor. 

Rufus  Dryer  from  Stock])ridge,  Mass.,  came  to  Victor  with  some 
portion  of  the  Boughton  family,  and  in  1799,  accompanied  Enos 
and  .Tared  m  their  lumbering  expedition  to  Georgia,  where  he  re- 
mamed  with  them  for  several  years.  Residing  after  that  in  Madi- 
son  county,  he  became  a  permanent  resident  of  Victor  in  1806. 
He  was  the  founder  of  the  well  known  Dryer  stand  in  Victor,  and 
had  opened  it  and  kept  it  a  year  before  his  death  in  1820.  His  son, 
Wm.  C.  Dryer,  succeeded  him,  kept  the  stand  for  many  years,  and 
retired  to  a  fine  farm,  upon  which  he  and  his  brother  Truman  now 
reside. 

DCf=  For  additional  reminiscences  of  Victor,  see  "  Phelps  and 
Gorham's  Purchase  —  Ontario." 


[The  Allowing  omissions  in  reminiscoucos  of  West  Bloomfield,  page  198  •  and  in 
reminiscences  of  Bristol,  page  208,  are  supplied.]  ^  ' 

Ezra  Marvin  was  one  of  the  associates  in  the  purchase  of  town- 
ship  now  West  Bloomfield;  he  never  emigrated;  his  son.  Jasper 
1 .  Marvin,  became  a  resident  and  died  there,  in  early  years  The 
surviving  sons  of  llobert  Taft,  are  Jessee,  Robert,  Bezaleel,  and 
Chapin  raft,  al  of  Bloomfield;  daughters,  Mrs.  Peck,  of  Bloomfield, 
Mrs.  Lea-:h,  of  Lima.  Ebenezer  Curtiss  died  in  1812  ;  Mrs  P  .r 
ker,  of  Luna,  is  his  daughter.  Jasper  P.  Sears  died  in  early  years. 
O  her  pronunent  early  settlers  :  _  Marvin  Gates,  a  brother  of  Dan- 
jei,  mentioned  in  connection  with  East  Bloomfield;  Jacob  Smith 

rJ/l,'',":  '""'""''  ^''''^  '"ill- i»  early  years,  on  the  Honeoye,- 

^miths  Mills  -died  many  years  since;  Deacon  Samuel  Handy, 

aied  10  or  15  years  smce,  was  the  father  of  Russel  Handy,  of  Alle- 


"\  m 


PHELPS  AND   GOEKAm's    PUKCIIASE.  435 

gany;  Peter  W.  Handy,  of  Rochester.  Mrs.  Stephen  Bates,  and 
Mrs.  Charles  Wilbur,  (the  early  pioneer  in  Le  Roy  and  Lockport  ) 
Bayze  Baker,  still  surviving,  at  the  a;  e  of  80  years  ;  Nathaniel  Err- 
gleston,  an  early  landlord,  father  of  Mrs.  William  Parsons,  of  Lock- 
port;  Palmer  and  Clark  Peck,  came  in  as  early  as  1790  Clark 
was  an  early  Supervisor  of  the  old  town  of  Bloomfield,  died  in  1825  • 
Jasper  Peck,  of  Bloomfield,  is  a  son  of  his,  Mrs.  Page,  of  Blnomfield' 
a  daughter;  his  sons,  Joseph  and  Abel,  resiae  in  Michi-ran-  the' 
mother  is  still  livinjr.  °     ' 

John  Dixon,  was  a  native  of  Kcene,  N.  H.,  a  graduate  of  Mid- 
dlebury  College,  studied  law  in  Milton,  near  Ballston,  Saratoga 
county  ;  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1812,  and  in  1813  located  in 
West  bloomfield,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and  now  resides 
mingling  professional  duties  with  the  successful  pursuits  of  agricul- 
ture, a  useful  citizen,  and  a  much  respected  member  cf  the  bm-  of 
Ontario.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature,  in  J  821),  '30 
and  of  Congres.s,  for  two  terms,  at  a  later  period ;  is  now  67 
years  of  age. 

The  sons  of  Gamaliel   Wilder,   the   earliest  Pioneer  of  Bristol 
were  :  -  Daniel,  David,  Joseph,  Asa,  Jonas  ;  daughters  became  the 
wives   of  Elisha   Parrish,   Theophilus  Allen,  Nathan  Hatch,  and 
—  IToag.     Daniel   became  the  owner  of  the  Indian  orchard  in 
Bristol,  that  had  escaped  the  devastation  of  Sullivan.  * 

Ephraim  Wilder,  coming  in  soon  after  Gamaliel,  settled  at  first 
m  South  Bristol,  but  afterwards  removed  to  T.  9,  4th  Range.  He 
died  in  18^2.  His  surviving  sons  are,  Timothy,  John,  and  Russell 
Wilder,  of  Bristol ;  daughters  became  the  wives  of  George  Goodinjr 
Henry  Pitts  and  John  Hatch. 

In  Gen.  Hall's  census  of  1790,  Aaron  Rice  (other  than  the  early 
settler  at  Avon,  as  the  author  concludes,)  is  named  as  the  head  of  a 
family  in  South  Bristol.  He  removed  to  Genesee  county,  and 
from  thence  to  the  west  in  early  years.     His  daughters  became  the 


It  contained  both  apples  and  jioaolie^,  both  in  greator  nunntity  than  in  any  other 
of  tin.  I.uhnn  orchanls  that  ^y^^v.  p.vsorvcl.  A  rid.  to  "  ixMnk"  apple  nuIvS 
eatn,«-.  and  ouler  dnnkinjr.  „n  horseback,  o„  ox  slo.lsand  horse  .le,>hs  k.n.  \hetcT- 
teied  new  settlements,  was  no  uncommon  occurrence.  Tlie  possession  of  an  old  Indian 
orchmd  near  Geneva,  am   some  c  eared  hu.ds  anmnd  it,  w!,s  deeme.l  of  s    „    c    co,^ 

V^P  '''''  '/'VT,'' r  n'"""'  '['"'I'''  pre-empUon  line  was  varied  in  order  to  c^n- 
bi.ice  It.  South  Hns „l,  hillv  and  broken  as  it  is  known  to  be,  conld  once  have  been 
exchanqfed  for  Eiist  R  nnn.H,.l,1  b"Mhe!>-ii-o"iin  irim,l-^l-       '  .    '    ,  '      t    i • 

orchard  "  '     '     "'  '"S'"" ^\ ^^ dtehijva  uii  accountoi  the  "  ludiau 


436 


PHELPS  Am)  OORHAm's   PURCHASE. 


wives  of  David  Wilder,  Simeon  Crosby,  and  Randall  Chapman. 
Aaron  Spencer  was  also  the  head  of  a  family  in  South  Bristol,  in 
1790,  but  of  him  the  author  has  no  account. 

The  Coddings,  whose  advent  is  named,  incidentally,  in  connection 
with  the  Pitts  family,  were  three  brothers : -^  John,  George,  and 
Faunce,  [called  erroneously  "Fauner,"   in    another  [connection.] 
The  surviving  sons  of  John  Codding  are,  John,  George,  Benjamin, 
Warren,  of  Coddingsville,  Medina  county,  Ohio :  and  Robert  F., 
of  Summit  county,  Ohio.     Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Timo- 
thy  Wilder,  Isaac  Van  Fossen,  and  John  Wilder.     The  sons  of 
Faunce  Codding  are,  Faunce  and  Stephen  A.,  of  Bristol ;  George 
T.  and  Ichabod,  of  Lockport,  Illinois,  where  their  mother  and  sister, 
Mrs.  Hale  S.  Mason,  reside.    George  Codding  died  childless.   Geo. 
Coddmg,  sen.,  the  father  of  the   three  brothers,  joined  his  sons  in 
early  years.     His  other  children  were,  Burt  Codding,  Mrs.  Benj. 
Goss,  Mrs.  Zenas  Briggs,  Mrs.  Elizur  Hills,  and  Mrs.  Wm.  T.  Codd- 
ing, who  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Bristol.    M.  O.  Wilder,  Esq., 
of  Canandaigua,  is  one  of  the  numerous  descendants  of  this  early 
and  orominent  Pioneer  family. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE    MORRIS  TREATY  AT   "  BIO   TREE."  —  CESSION    OP    THE  TERRITORY 
WEST  OF  PHELPS    AND   GORHAm's  PURCHASE,  WHICH  BECAME 
MORRIS'  REBERVB  AND  HOLLAND  PURCHASE, 


Although  Mr.  Morris  had  acquired  the  pre-emptive  right  of 
Massachusetts  to  all  the  territory  in  this  State  west  of  Phelps  and 
Gorham's  Purchase  —  what  was  afterwards  designated  as  Morris' 
Reserve  and  the  Holland  Purchase  — as  early  as  May,  1791,  the 
native  right  to  the  soil  was  not  extinguished  until  1797.'  Soon  af- 
ter he  purchased  of  Massachusetts,  in  1792  and  '3,  he  sold  to  the 
Holland  Company  all  the  land  west  of  the  transit  line,  over  three 
millions  of  acres,  which  is  now  embraced  in  the  countietj  of  Niagara, 
Erie,  Cimutauque,  Cattaraugus,  and  all  of  Allegany,  Wyoming, 


PHELPS   AND  GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 


437 


Genesee  and  Orleans,  except  their  tiers  of  eastern  townships,  leaving 
to  himself  a  tract  of  about  500,000  acres,  between  the  lands  of 
Phelps  and  Gorham,  and  those  he  had  conveyed  to  the  Holland 
Company.  In  his  conveyance  to  the  Holland  Company,  he  had 
stipulated  to  extinguish  the  native  title,  and  had  left  in  their  hands 
thirty-five  thousand  pounds  sterling,  of  purchase  money,  as  a 
guarantee. 

Various  untoward  circumstances  —  the  withholding  of  the  mili- 
tary posts  by  the  British,  or  in  fact,  their  refusal  to  surrender  their 
dominion  over  this  region,  the  prospects  of  a  renewal 'of  British 
and  Indian  wars ;  and  more  than  all,  j)erhaps,  the  indisposition  of 
the  Senecas  to  part  with  any  more  of  their  lands  —  delayed  the 
fulfilment  of  this  stipulation.  It  had  been  the  firm  determination 
of  the  Senecas,  adhered  to  strenuously  during  all  the  preliminary 
negotiations  of  Mr.  Phelps  at  Buffalo  Creek,  to  make  the  Genesee 
river  below  Mount  Morris,  their  eastern  boundary  line,  and  they 
yielded  the  "Mill  Tract"  with  great  reluctance  and  subsequent  regret. 

Fort  Niagara  was  surrendered  by  the  British,  and  taken  posses- 
sion of  by  a  company  of  United  States  troops,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  J.  Bruff,  toward  the  end  of  the  summer  of  1796.  In  a 
few  weeks  after  American  possession  of  that  ancient  strong-hold 
of  French  and  British  power  —  the  spot  where  the  Senecas  had  so 
often  assembled  to  renew  French  and  British  alliance  —  had  been 
established,  a  numerous  delegation  appeared  before  the  garrison, 
made  a  salute  after  the  Indian  fashion,  which  was  returned  by  the 
discharge  of  artillery.  It  seemed  an  overture  to  establish  the  rela- 
tions of  good  neighborhood,  and  was  met  by  the  commandant  in 
a  spirit  which  evinced  that  he  did  not  mean  to  fall  behind  his  prede- 
cessors in  acts  of  friendship  and  hospitality.  He  made  a  friendly 
speech  to  them,  presented  them  with  the  American  flag  and  a  bar- 
rel of  rum,  and  apologised  for  not  furnishing  them  with  a  supply  of 
provisions,  alleging  that  they  vi^ere  scarce  at  that  "  distant  post." 
In  the  answer  to  this  speech,  the  Indians  alluded  to  Mr.  Morris' 
pre-emptive  right,  and  begged  of  Captain  Bruff  to  protect  them 
from  the  "  big  eater  with  the  big  belly,"  who  wanted  to  come  and 
"  devour  their  lands."  Mr.  Morris  was  then  about  to  make  his  appli- 
cation to  President  Washington  for  the  appointment  of  a  commis- 
sioner, but  concluded  to  delay  it  on  account  of  this  manifestation  at 
Fort  Niagara. 


438 


PHELP3  AND   GORirA:*l's  PURCHASE. 


The  next  year,  1797,  President  Washington,  at  the  solicitation 
of  Mr.  Morns,  consented  to  nomiimte  a  commissioner,  with  the 
condition  that  Captain  Bruir's  speech  and  the  Indians'  reply  of  the 
precednig  year,  should  accompany  the  nominati.ni  to  the  Senate 
and  observed  that  "such  was  the  desire  to  conciliate  the  Six  Na- 
tions, that  lie  did  not  believe  that  the  Senate  would  confirm  any 
nommation  contrary  to  their  wishes."  The  Senate  confi.  ned  the 
appointment  of  a  commissioner,  but  with  the  proviso  that  he  should 
not  act  until  the  Indians  themselves  reciuested  a  treaty.  The  com- 
missioner  first  appointed  was  Judge  Isaac  Smith,  of  New  Jersev 
but  his  official  duties  interfering.  Col.  Jeremiah  Wadsworth  was 
substituted. 

The  task  of  getting  the  consent  of  the  Indians  to  hold  a  treatydevolv- 
ed  ui.on  Thomas  Morris,  and  he  ob.serves  that  it  "was  not  an  easv  one 
to  accomplish."  It  required  journeys  on  foot  and  on  horseback,' con- 
ferences  with  the  Indians  in  their  villages,  and  all  the  persuasive 
arts  of  one  who  was  not  unfited  for  diplomatic  missions  to  red  or 
white  men.  The  Indians  objected  that  if  thev  asked  for  the  treaty. 
It  would  be  construed  as  the  expression  of  a  wish  to  sell  their  lands' 
Their  consent  was  finally,  however,  obtained,  the  time  of  hoJdirKr 
the  treaty  agreed  upon,  and  "Big  Tree,"  now  Gencseo,  designated 
as  the  treaty  ground. 

All  concerned  were  principally  congregated  during  the  last  davs 
of  August.  Thomas  Morris  and  Charles  Williamson,  and  .lan.'es 
Reese,  as  Secretary,  were  the  representatives  of  Mr  Morris- 
though  Mr.  Williamson  being  called  away  in  an  early  sta<rc  of  the 
treaty,  the  principal  labor  of  negotiation  devolved  upon°  Thomas 
Morns.  Col.  Wadsworth  was  in  attendance  as  the  commissioner 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  William  Shepherd  as  the 
commissioner  of  Massachusetts.  Theophilus  Cazenove,  wh..  was 
then  the  representative  of  the  Holland  Company  in  the  irnited 
States,  procured  in  their  behalf  the  attendance  of  William  Baynrd 
of  New  York,  Joseph  Ellicott  and  Col.  Linklaen,who  were  acconi- 
panie.I  by  two  young  men  by  the  name  of  Vanstai)horst,  neailv  re- 
lated  to  one  of  the  Dutch  proprietors.  Beside  these,  Israel  Chapin 
was  present,  and  a  large  representation  of  Indian  interpreters  and 
traders,  whde  many,  ^vere  drawn  to  the  treaty  ground  from  motives 
of  curiosity. 

James  Wadsworth  was  then  in  Europe  ;  Mr.  Morris  obtained  of 


5olicitation 
with  the 
ply  of  the 
10  Senate ; 
ifi  Six  Na- 
nfli'in  any 
fii  110(1  the 
'  he  sliould 
The  com- 
\v  Jersey ; 
vorth  was 

itydevolv- 
n  easy  one 
back,  con- 
persuasive 
to  red  or 
he  treaty, 
loir  lands. 
)!"  iiokh'nfr 
lesignated 

last  days 
id  James 
.  Morris ; 
ge  of  the 
Thomas 
missioner 
•d  as  the 

who  was 
c  United 
I  Bayard, 
e  accoin- 
learly  re- 
i  Chapin 
3ters  and 
.  motives 

tained  of 


ritELPS   AND    GORirA:M's   PURCIIASE.  439 

William  Wadsvvorth  the  use  of  the  tmnnishod  residence  of  the 
brothers,  to  accommodate  those  directly  connected  with  the  treaty; 
and  for  a  council  house  he  provided  a  large  tent  covered  with  green 
boughs,  and  furnished  wilh  a  platform  and  rows  of  scats,  after  the 
manner  of  preparations  for  a  camp  meeting. 
^  Days,  and  in  fact,  nearly  two  weeks,  of  lardy  and  fruitless  nego- 
tiations succeeded.  With  few  exceptions,  the  Indians  were  entirely 
averse  to  parting  with  their  lands.  Red  Jacket  took  the  laboring 
oar  for  his  jieople,  though  Cornplanter,  Farmers  Brother,  Littl« 
Beard,  and  Little  Billy,  were  occasional  speakers. 

The  first  business  of  the  treaty  was  to  deliver  a  speech  addresf?- 
ed  to  the  Indians,  by  Thomas  Morris,  containing  generally  his  pro- 
posals. Then  followed  a  long  consultation  among  the  Indians  to 
frame  an  answer;  which,  when  it  came,  was  adverse  to  any  land 
ce^sions.  Meetings  and  speeches  succeeded,  Mr.  Morris  urging 
his  proposals  and  Red  Jacket  resisting  his  importunities  with  ol^lity 
and  ingenuity.  After  some  ten  or  twelve  days  had  been  spent,  and 
nothing  accomplished.  Col.  Wadsworth  became  indisposed,  impa- 
tientof  further  delay,  and  insisted  on  the  business  being  brought  to 
a  close:  and  about  the  same  time  Mr.  IMorris  discovered  thrU  the 
influence  of  white  sciuatters,  upon  the  Indian  lands,  and  some  inter- 
preters, whose  oflers  of  assistance  he  had  rejected,  stood  in  the  way 
of  success.  The  interpreters  especially  had  inculcated  among  the 
Indians  that  by  standing  out  they  could  get  a  much  larger  price'than 
had  been  offered. 

Learning  that  a  council  of  the  Indians  had  decided  upon  otTering 
him  a  single  township,  and  that  only,  his  friends  persuaded  him 
against  his  better  judgement,  to  promptly  and  indignantly  reject  the 
ofthr,  which  he  did  on  the  assembling  of  the  general  council,  and 
the  offer  being  made.  This  was  thougiit  to  be  the  best  expedient  to 
bring  the  Indians  to  terms,  but  as  it  proved,  was  ill  advised.  The 
offer  was  a  township  on  the  Penn.sylvania  line,  at  one  dollar  per 
acre,  which  Red  Jacket  accompanied   with  the  very  com.ortable 

NV,'H;._Tnii  spoMi  ,.f  U«l  Jacket's  he  nssun,<..l  thiiliftlio  SiMuras  ,«,t,-d  with 
what  was  h'it  oi  \hnv  wide  domain,  th(  y  would  bo  shorn  of  th.-ir  iuhwncc  with 
u'li- n..|ohl.nnn,u-  liatio.jH  To  liiis  Mr.  Morris  ••c.j)lied,  rathw  tauntinirlv  aUudin.r  to 
th(.  trcat,Mi'iit  that  Red  Jarlcot  and  otiicrs  of  a(h.h.<ration  of  St.n<'Cis  liad  rwc^ivcd 
ronilhe  western  ndians  wl,eu  they  went  as  ])ea(>ene<rotiators  to  the  Miainu  with 
Uil  liekornif,r  and  Beverly  liandolnh;  treatment  that  amounted  to  contempt  Red 
Jacket  parried  the  assault  l,,y  shrewdly  o!>Hervin<r  fhnt  it  was  all  owiuL^  to  Ihclr  mnnu 
tliere  in  bad  eoinpany.  tliat  the  ciieunistance  alluded  to  Lad  admonished  them  not  to 
go  in  bad  company  when  they  visited  their  friends. 


440 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's  PURCHASE. 


i! 

li 
11 


assurance,  that  over  and  above  the  purchase  money,  the  land  could 
be  sold  for  enough  to  pay  all  the  trouble  and  expense  of  the  treaty. 
Mr  Morris  told  them  if  they  had  nothing  better  to  offer,  the  sooner 
the  conference  terminated  the  better,  that  all  might  return  to  their 
homes. 

Red  Jacket  immediately  sprung  upon  his  feet,  and  said  :— "  We 
have  now  reached  the  point  to  which  I  wanted  to  bring  you  You 
told  us  when  we  first  met,  that  we  were  free  either  to  sell  or  retain 
our  lands,  and  that  our  refusal  to  sell  would  not  disturb  the  friend- 
ship  that  has  existed  between  us.  I  now  tell  you  that  we  will  not 
part  with  them.  Here  is  my  hand."  Mr.  Morris  taking  his  hand, 
he  ended  by  saying :  —  "  I  now  cover  up  this  council  fire."  A  ter- 
rible whooping  and  yelling  followed,  and  menaces  made  somewhat 
alarming  to  those  present,  who  were  unacquainted  with  Indian  man- 
ners. To  all  present,  but  Mr.  Morris,  affairs  looked  hopeless,  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  he  persuaded  Col.  Wadsworth  and  others,  to 
remain  and  let  him  make  another  trial. 

The  next  day,  Farmers  Brother  called  upon  Mr.  Morris,  and  told 
him  that  he  hoped  the  failure  of  the  treaty  would  not  diminish  the 
triendship  that  had  existed  between  him,  (Mr.  Morris)  and  his  peo- 
ple     Mr.  Morris  replied  that  he  had  no  right  to  complain  of  their 
refusal  to  sell  iheir  lands,  but  he  did  complain  of  their  behavior 
towards  him;  that  they  had  permitted  one  of  their  drunken  warriors 
to  menace  and  insult  him,  whooping  and  yelling  in  approbation  of  his 
conduct.     He  said  he  had  noi  deserved  such  conduct  from  them  ; 
that  for  years  he  had  not  refused  them  food,  or  as  much  liquor  as 
was  good  for  them,  when  they  had  been  at  Canandaigua;  and  that 
his  father  had  treated  such  of  them  as  had  been  to  Philadelphia 
with  equal  hospitality.     Farmers  Brother  admitted  that  all  this  was 
true,  and  regretted  that  the  council  fire  had  been  covered  up  oth- 
erwise  they  could  meet  and  "smooth  over,  and  heal  these' diffi- 
culties^      Mr.  Morris  replied :-"  The  council  fire  is  not  extin- 
guished  ;  and  of  this  I  also  complain,  that  Red  Jacket  had  declared 
the  council  fire  to  be  covered  up,  when  according  to  your  own 
usages,  he  alone  who  kindles  the  council  fire,  has  a  right  to  extin- 
gmsh  It.     It  is  still  burning."    After  a  few  moments'  reflection, 
farmers  Brother  assented  to  the  correctness  of  the  conclusion, and 
agreed  that  the  council  should  be  again  convened ;  Mr.  Morris  pro- 
posing that  It  should  be  delayed  a  few  days,  which  time  he  would 


PHELPS    AND    GORUAM's    PURCHASE. 


441 


jiil 


occupy  in  examining  his  accounts,  and  paying  for  the  provisions 
which  had  been  consumed,  collecting  the  cattle  tii.it  were  not 
shiughtered,  and  attending  to  other  matters  preparatory  to  leaving 
the  treaty  ground. 

"  The  Indians,"  says  Mr.  Morris,  "  are  very  tenacious  of  a  strict  ad- 
herence to  their  ancient  rules  and  customs  ;  according  to  their  usages 
the  sachems  liave  a  right  to  transact  all  the  business  of  the  nation, 
whether  it  relates  to  their  lands  or  any  other  of  their  concerns,  but 
where  it  relates  to  their  lands,  and  they  are  dissatisfied  with  the 
management  of  their  sachems,  the  women  and  warriors  have  a 
right  to  divest  them  of  this  power,  and  take  it  into  their  own  hands; 
the  maxim  among  them  being  that  the  lands  belong  to  the  warriors, 
because  they  Ibrm  the  strength  of  the  nation ;  and  to  the  women 
as  the  mothers  of  the  warriors.  There  are  therefore  in  every  na- 
tion, head  or  chief  women,  who,  when  in  council,  select  some 
warrior  to  yieak  for  them. 

With  a  knowledge  of  this  fact,  Mr.  Morris  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  try  his  luck  with  this  mixed  council,  as  a  last  resort.     He 
brought  about  a  meeting  with  the  chief  women  and  warriors.     He 
told  them  of  the  offers  that  had  been  made  to  the  sachems ;    and 
urged  upon  the  women  the  consideration,  that  the   money  that 
they  would  receive  for  their  lands,  would  relieve  them  from  all  the 
hardships  they  then  endured.     "  Now,"  says  he,  "  you  have  to  till 
the   earth,  and  provide   by  your  labor,  food   for  'yourselves  and 
children.     When  those  children  are  without  clothing,  and  shivering 
with  cold,  you  alone  are  witnesses  to  their  sufferings ;   your  sachems 
will  always  supply  their  own  wants.     They  feed  on  the  game  they 
kill,  and  sell  the  skins  to  buy  them  clothing ;  therefore,  they  are  in- 
different about  exchanging  their  lands  for  money,  enough  every  year 
to  lessen  your  labor,  and  enable  you  to  procure  for  yourselves  and 
children,  the  food  and  clothing  necessary  for  your  comfort."     He 
concluded  by  telling  them  that  he  had  brought  a  number  of  presents 
from  Philadelphia,  which  he  intended  to  have  given  them,  only  in 
the  event  of  p.  sale  of  their  land.s,  but  as  he  had  no  cause  of  com- 
plaint agains'  the  v,omen,  he  would  cause  their  portion  of  the  pres- 
ents to  be  distributed. 

The  "  women's  rights,"  and  well  considered  diplomatic  speech, 
WMth  the  presents  added,  gave  a  ftivorable  turn  to  affairs.     For  sev- 
eral days,  the  chiefs,  women  and  warriors,  were  scattered  about  in 
28 


a 


44: 


PHELPS  AND    GORIIAM'S    PURCHASE. 


1. 

i 


small  parties,  in  earnest  consultation  ;  the  finale  of  which  was,  an 
invitation  to  Mr.  Morris  toa,c;aiii  open  the  council. 
^  They  convened,  and  speeches  were  made  by  Mr.  Morris,  by 
Col.  Wadsworth,  explaining  to  the  Indians  their  rights,  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  pre-emptive  claim;  and  by  the  Indians,  Red  Jacket 
and  Cornplanter,  principally.  But  the  women  and  warriors  had 
become  the  real  negotiators,  and  with  them,  in  fact,  the  bargain 
was  made.  * 

The  purchase  money  agreed  upon  was  orle  hundred  thousand 
dollars.     The  President  had  directed  that  it  should  be   invested  in 
the  stock  of  the  Bank  of  the    United   States,   in  the  name  of  the 
President  and  his  successors  in  office,  as  the  trustees  of  the  Indians. 
When  the  sum  was  agreed  upon,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that 
the  Indians  were  made  to  understand  how  much  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  was  ;  the  sum  far  exceeding  any  rules  of  their  simple 
arithmetic.     This  difficulty  was  obviated  by  computing  how  many 
kegs  of  a  given  size  it  would  take  to  hold  it,  and  how  many  horses 
to  draw  it.     Another  difficulty  of  still  greater  intricacy  with  thorn 
occurred  :  —  a  stock  investment  would  of  course  givp  fluctuating 
per  annum  returns,  or  dividends  ;  and  this  was  quite  beyond  their 
comprehension.     They  conjectured,  however,  that  the  bank  was  a 
large  place  in  Philadelphia,  where  a  large  sum  of  money  was  plant- 
ed :  and  that  like  other  things  that   were  planted,  some  years  there 
would  be  a  good  crop,  and  some  years  a  poor  one.     With  this  con- 
jecture,  they  were  content ;  and  in  years  that  followed,  whenever 
Mr.  Morris  returned  from  Philadelphia  or  New  York,  they  would 
enquire  of  him  what  kind  of  a  crop  they  might  anticipate  ? 

The  Reservations  was  the  next  business  to  be  arranged  :  — Mr. 
Morris  had  stipulated  that  he  would  make  no  deduction  from  the 
purchase  money,  it  they  were  reasonable  in  their  demands  in  this 
respect.  The  Indians  insisted  upon  itural  boundaries,  such  as  the 
course  of  streams,  &c.  To  this  i^Ir.  Morris  objected,  inasmuch  as 
I'.e  could  be  no  judge  of  the  quantity  of  land  within  such  bounda- 
nes.  He  brought  them  to  his  terms,  the  naming  of  S(iuare  miles, 
in  the  aggregate  about  three  hundred  and  fifty.  Viien  this  came 
to  be  apportioned   among  the  diflerent  villages,  a  great  deal  of 


This  may  liave  been  the  natural  eourse  in  tlie  vst^^mcj  tliat  cxistrd,  or  it  may 
have  hcfii  a  (■•(.nvcnifut  cxpi'dicnt  of  lied  Jai'k.'l  .■m.l  nihor  .-hi,  f<  to  havo  th,.  (rc-itv 
foiiBUiuuiatcd  ami  ilifir  diguity  unsulUed  by  an  appearance  of  a  cliaugoof  piupose. 


bargain 


PIIELPS  AND   GOKIIAm's   PURCHASE. 


443 


jealousy  and  rivalry  was  manifested  amono;  the  chiefs,  as  to  the  re- 
spective  allotments.  Before  it  was  agreed  how  much  the  agfr.  tr/ate 
of  the  Reservation  should  he,  Red  Jacket  was  exhorbitant  in  his 
deniands,  claiiimig  for  the  reservation  of  his  immediate  people  at 
BuHmIo  Creek,  nearly  one-lburth  of  all  the  territory  purchased;  and 
Cornplanter  was  scarcely  less  exorbitant  in  his  deuiands.  They 
were  rival  chiefs,  nnd  tlieir  relative  importance  depended  upon  the 
respective  possessions  of  their  people.  Mr.  Morris  had  to  assume 
the  office  of  arbitrator,  and  decide  the  respective  allotments.  * 

After  all  tluisc  matters  had  been  adjusted  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all  parties,  a  young  Indian,  then  about  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
who  had  not  before  been  to  the  treaty  ground,  mad'       ;  appearance. 
It  was  Young  King.     He  was,  by  the  female  line,  :)    neal  descen- 
dant of  "Old  Smoke,"  whose  memory  was  revered  as  onei  of  the 
greatest  men  that  had  ever  ruled  over  die  Six  Nations.    In  liis  lile- 
time,  his  power  had  been  unbounded.     Young  King  was  a  heavy, 
dull,  unambitious,  but  ai>parently  an  honest  young  man.     Seldom 
meddled  with  the  business  of  the  nation;  but  when  he  did  so,  he  ex- 
excised  a  great  hereditary  influence.     On  his  arrival,  all  business 
was  suspended,  until  what  had  been  done  was  fully  explained  to 
him.     He  expressed  his  disapprobation  of  the  course  that  had  been 
pursued.     Farmer's  Brother  and  other  chiefs  informed  Mv.  Morris 
that  the  treaty  could  not  be  completed  contrary  to  the  wishes  of 
Young  King  ;  that  however  unreasonable  it  might  appear  to  him 
that  one  man  should  defeat  the  will  of  a  whole  nation,  it  was  a 
power  which  he  had  derived  from  his  birth,  and  one  which  he  could 
not  be  deprived  of.     Young  King  at  last,  though  not  reconciled  to 
their  parting  witli  their  lands,  acquiesced,  saying  he  would  no  long- 
er oppose  the  will  of  the  nation. 


1  \wy  were  :  —  At  bq.uiky  Hill,  two  sqiiaip  iiiil(>s :  at  Little  Roanl's  Town  and  Biff 
Iroc     our;  at  Gank'iui,  t\vonty-eifj;ht ;   at  Cana-dca.  Kixtccn ;   Oil  Spri.ifr,  one;  on 
U.c  Alk.-any  Riwr,  f,,vty-tw,.  ;  on  the  Catiara.i-K-sCroek,  tortv-two ;  on  the  BuiR.lo 
l.rivk  (.lie  liiin.lici  and  thirty;  on  the  'i'oiiawuuda  Creek,  soventy ;  .it  Tuscarora 
one  ;  iit  Cauawaugus,  two.  ' 

i\„TK.  — Yoiinijf  Kin-  n.si(l(>«  upon  tho  Bnftalo  ResoiTation,  wliiw  he  diei!  but  a  few 
vearK  .since,  boon  atlerthewar  of  1H1!2,  he  met  with  an  .^^•cid..nt,  wliich  for  a  few 
•lays,  seemed  likely  to  orea-iion  an  outlvreak  anien;;  the  Senecaw  :  —  .\n  altercation  oc- 
curred between  hmi  and  David  Reese,  the  tierson  ernnloyed  to  do  black.stuith  work  for 
tlie  iiidiauM,  by  the  U.  S.  Indian  aufent  at  iiuthlo.  \\  j^rew  out  of  an  aUeired  failure 
to  niiike  or  repair  a  !i-h  spear  !WrY.>.in,.I\i„j..  Ju.,.ir.„h.|;.„c..,  Reese  dealt  a  trenien- 
(lous  hlow  wiiha  scyihe,  whicli  nearly  severed  one  of  Yoniu^  lCiie''s  arms;  so  nearin 
lact,  IhatamputnUoii  had  to  hv  iiniiiudiately  resorted  to.     The  Indiaus  became  inucli 


1,1,  '■ 


444 


PHELPS   AND    GORnA]M's   PURCHASE. 


i  I  II 


Red  Jacket,  who  had  ably  defended  the  interests  of  his  people 
and  acquitted  himself  with  much  credit  during  the  tedious  negotia- 
tion, played  Red  Jacket,  and  not  the  great  orator,  at  its  close  The 
night  previous  to  the  signing  of  the  treaty,  he  sought  a  private  in- 
terview with  Mr.  Morris,  and  told  him  that  he  had  pretended  to  the 
other  chiefs  that  he  was  opposed  to  it;  but  that  after  its  execution 
uy  the  other  chief:,,  he  would  come  to  him  and  have  his  name  alTix- 
ed  privately ;  and  for  that  purpcjse,  wanted  a  space  reserved.  He 
added  that  it  would  not  do  for  the  treaty  to  go  to  Philadelphia  with- 
out his  signature,  as  Gen.  Washington  would  observe  the  omission, 
and  conclude  that  he  had  been  degraded,  and  lost  his  rank  and  in- 
fluence among  the  Senecas.  The  blank  was  left,  and  his  signature 
thus  privately  added.  UJ^  For  unpublished  reminiscences  of  Red 
Jackeli  see  Appendix,  No.  10. 

Thus  concluded  a  treaty  which  gave  title  to  all  of  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Holland  Purchase  and  Morris'  Reserve  ;  the  account 
of  which  has  been  given  in  a  detail  that  may  seem  to  some  unne- 
cessary for  historical  purposes  ;  but  as  there  had  been  many  garbled 
and  imperfect  relations  of  it,  the  author  has  availed  himself  of  the 
authentic  documents  in  his  possession,  to  give  a  pretty  full,  and 
what  may  be  regarded  as  a  correct  history  of\he  whole  transaction. 
The  surveys  of  the  Holland  Company  commenced  in  1788,  un- 
der  the  general  supervision  of  Josei)h  Ellicott ;  surveying  parties 
were  soon  traversing  the  wilderness  in  all  directions  ;  a  mere  woods 
road  was  made  upon  the  main  east  and  west  route ;  and  before  the 
close  of  178^,  flunilics  had  moved  in   tor  the  purpose  of  opening 
houses  of  public  entertainment  at  Staffbrd,  near  the  present  village 
of  Caryville,  and  at  Clarence ;  and  at  Staflbrd,  Mr.  Ellicott  had 
erected  a  store-house  quarters  for  iiis  surveyors,  covering  them  with 
bark. 

In  the  meantime.  Captain  BrulF  and  his  successor,  Maj.  Rivardi, 
had  prevailed  upon  the  Indians  to  allow  a  sufficient  improvement 
of  the  old  Niagara  trail  to  admit  of  carrying  provisions  through  by 


J m  Ins  r..ut(!  thai  l.e  wa.  "gu.n^r  to  kill  \h',sv."     Well  .l„o.ll„.  atitlmr  mncnboi 

F  M-natod  the  "  „l.al  anovl  ot  .Lalh  ;"  h.  wan  arnu.i  with  a  war  ch,h  an,    lonmhawk 
■a  pan.t  waR  .laul.ed  up,,,,  hi.  ^warlhy  fa«.,  and  I..,,,^  h,i,u-li,.,s  „f  h,„>,.  hair,  .lyil 
ru!    ..<;,'p.-mli!iit  tr.mieadiurm.     Itcoso  wa.-,  k.-i,!  Mvivk'.t.ami  Ihiis.inall  nmimbili- 
ty,  avo.,Jod  Uio  lute  that  cvou  kiudred  Imd  luct  at  Uie  hui.ds  of  Jolui  JeniisoL, 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAil's   PUE0HA8E. 


445 


sleighinjT,  from  the  settlements  east  of  the  river  to  Fort  Niagara ; 
and  a  weekly  horse  mail  was  put  upon  the  lonrr  and  mostly  woods 
route  from  Canandaigua  to  Fort  Niagara.  Add  to  this,  the  two  or 
three  log  and  one  framed  hut  at  Buffalo,  and  two  or  three  tenements 
at  Lewiston,  and  the  reader  will  have  a  pretty  good  idea  of  all,  in 
the  way  of  improvement,  thrt  had  transpired  upon  the  Holland 
Purchase  before  the  close  of  1709 ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  cen- 
tury, there  was  but  little  more  than  the  addition  of  a  few  families 
along  on  the  Buffalo  road,  and  the  prosecution  of  surveys. 

The  author  had  supposed  that  he  was  done  with  Indian  wars,  and 
Indian  war  alarms  ;  coming  down  to  this  period,  he  finds  a  letter  from 
Capt.  Bruff  to  Capt.  Israel  Chapin,  which  would  indicate  that  some 
apprehension  was  entertained  in  this  quarter,  that  the  Indians  here 
would  be  drawn  into  a  southern  alliance  with  the  western  Indians, 
in  connection  with  the  then  pending  difficulties  with  France  and 
Spain.  The  letter  is  given  in  the  Appendix,  [No.  1^,]  more  as  a 
curious  local  reminiscence  than  from  any  thing  of  load  consequence 
allied  to  it. 

Previous  to  the  advent  of  Mr.  Ellicott  and  his  surveying  parties, 
in  the  spring  of  1798,  the  Senecas  had  not  surrendered  the  possession 
of  their  lands,  and  were  extremely  jealous  of  any  encroachments 
until  certain  preliminaries  were  arranged  with  the  Holland  Com- 
pany. In  March,  Hinds  Chamberlain  and  Jesse  Beach,  who  had 
the  year  previous  been  to  Le  Boeuf,  Pa.,  and  fixed  upon  locations 
there,  started  from  Avon,  with  two  yoke  of  oxen  and  sleds,  and 
making  their  own  road  the  greater  portion  of  the  distance,  arrived 
at  Buffalo,  where  some  four  hundred  Indians  were  assembled,  high- 
ly exasperated  at  what  they  considered  an  invasion  of  their  ierri- 
tory.  The  trespassers  informed  them  that  Poudry,  of  Tonawanda, 
had  assured  them  that  he  had  obtained  their  consent ;  and  after 
menacing  and  threatening,  the  matter  was  settled  by  Red  Jacket, 
as  the  principal  negotiator,  for  "  two  gallons  of  Indian  whiskey,  and 
some  tobacco."  And  this  is  but  one  of  the  many  instances  in 
which  that  chief  sullied  his  high  character,  by  as'sisting  to  feign 
resentment  to  levy  tributes  — generally  payable  in  that  which  he 
would  often  sacrifice  his  honor  to  obtain. 


» 


446 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAm's  PURCHASE. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


ALLEGANY JOHN  B.  CHURCH,  AND  PHILIP  CHURCH. 


John  B.  Church  came  from  England  to  the  American  colonies,  a 
young  adventurer,  a  few  years  previous  to  the  Revolution.     He  had 
been  placed  by  a  wealthy  uncle  in  a  large  mercantile  establishment 
m  London,  but  the  business  not  suiting  his  inclination,  he  emigrated, 
fixing  his  residence  in  Boston,  where  he  prosecuted  for  several  years, 
with  great  success,  the  business  of  an  underwriter.     When  the 
Revolution  broke  out,  or  as  soon  as  an  army  organization  was  per- 
fected he  was  engaged  in  the  commissary  department,  with  Jeremiah 
Wadsworth,   in   which  he   continued  throughout  the  war.     Gen. 
Philip  Schuyler,  being  also  engaged  in  the  commissary  department 
for  the  northern  division  of  the  army,  business  relations  led  to  an 
acquaintance,  and  before  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  Mr.  Church 
married  one  of  his  daughters.     The  official  duties  of  Messrs.  Wads- 
worth  and  Church,  embracing  the  care  of  the  subsistence  of  the 
French  army,  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  French  military 
and  naval  officers  of  the  Revolution,  succeeded.     Soon  after  the 
close  of  the   Revolution  -  in '85,  —  some  unliquidated   accounts 
between  the  commissary  department  and  the  army  of  Rochambeau, 
made  it  necessary  for  Messrs.  Wadsworth  and  Church  to  visit  the 
French  capital,  where  they  remained  with  their  families  for  eighteen 
months.     Mr.  Church  removed  his  family  to  London,  residing  there 
and  at  a  country  seat  in  Berkshire,  on  the  Thames,  until  '97,  when 
he  returned  to  America,  and  settled  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

The  eldest  son  of  John  B.  Church,  is  the  i)resent  Judge  Philip 
Church,  of  Belvidere,  Allegany  county,  the  Pioneer  ol  that  region. 
In  iiis  early  boyhood  he  was  taken  to  Paris  by  liis  father  and  after- 
wards to  England,  receiving  his  education  at  the  celebrated  Eaton 
school.     Returning  to  America,  he  became  a  student  of  law,  with 


PHELPS    AND    GORIIAM's  PUKCIIASE. 


447 


his  uncle  Alexander  Hamilton.*  and   also  his   private  Secretary 
Changing  h.s  destination  in  life  soon  after  his  majority,  and  becom. 
nig  the  patroon  of  new  settlements  in  the  wilderness 
_    Judge  Church  is  now  71  years  of  age.     With   a  yet  vigorous 
intellect,  n.s  memory  goes  back  to  the  early  scenes  of  his  youth,  and 
calls  up  remmiscences  of  the  American   and  French  Revolutions 
ot  England  and  English  satesmen,  which,  although  they  belon- t.'. 
the  provmce  of  general  history,  will,  the  author  is  confident,  notb. 
unacceptable,  if  preserved  in  these  local  annals. -See  Appendix 

While  pursuing  his  studies,  the  difficulties  occurring  with  France 
on  the  raising  of  the  provincial  army,  he  was  commissioned  as  a 
Captain  tliough  he  saw  little  of  service,  as  the  difficulty  was  soon 
adjusted.!  Cen.  Hamilton,  as  the  agent  of  John  13.  Church,  had  in 
his  absence,  loaned  to  Robert  Morris  $80,000  and  taken  a  mortgage 

T  fnZL  *'"'■''  f  f '^'^'^'l^'"'^;  ^''«  li«"  being  afterwards  transferred 
to  100,000  acres  of  land,  on  Morris'  Reserve  in  the  now  county  of 
Allegany.     In  1800  the  mortgage  was  foreclosed,  the  land  wassold 

,    T-,  "i"^  ^^'  ^""j-  ^^'^""-  ^'^^"  Sheriff  of  Ontario,  and  bid 
in  by  Phihp  Church  for  his  father.| 

At  the  period  of  this  sale,  there  was  no  white  settler  on  all  the 
territory  now  embraced  in  the  county  of  Alleganv,  with  the  excep- 
tion ol  two  localities  which  will  be  named.  The' survey  and  settle 
raent  ot  the  100,000  acre  tract  was  commenced  under  the  general 
supervision  of  Philip  Church.  Shortly  after  he  had  graduated  from 
the  law  office  of  Edmund  Pendleton,  where  he  had  finished  his  law 
studies-m  July  1801  -he  made  a  second  advent  to  the  Genesee 
country.     Taking  Geneva  and  Lyons  in  his  route,  he  employed  as 


♦Gen.  Hainiltoii  married  a  daiigliter  of  Gen.  Philip Sdiiivler 
tWh  I  J     ■ 


he 

ngs- 
or- 


an  opinion.         "  rtnnn^,  in. « jj  .tiuUcd  bj  h^  lulliur  lur  orfonng  so  rash 


448 


PHELPS  AND    GOUJIAm's    PURGIIASE. 


surveyor  and  local  agent,  Evert  Van  Wickle,  who  was  accompa- 
nied  by  John  Gibson,  John  Lewis  and  Stephen  Price.  Laying  in 
provisions  and  camp  equipage  at  Geneva  and  Bath,  the  party  ren- 
dezvoused at  the  setvlement,  which  had  been  commenced  by  the 
Rev.  Andrew  Gray  and  Moses  Van  Campen,  in  what  is  now  Almond, 
Allegany  county.  Mr.  Van  Campen,  who  to  use  a  sailor  phrase, 
knew  all  the  "ropes"  of  the  forest,  was  enlisted  in  the   expedition.' 

Proceeding  on,  the  party  came  to  the  house  of Dyke,  a  solitary 

settler  who  occupied  the  advanced  post  of  civilization,  near  the 
junction  of  the  eastern  line  of  Allegany  with  the  Pennsylvania 
Ime  ;  slept  in  a  log  tarn,  and  then  pushed  on  into  the  dark  forests 
upon  the  Genesee  River.  This  was  the  first  breaking  into  the  woods 
in  all  the  region  which  is  now  embraced  in  the  western  portion  of 
Allegany,  Wyoming,  southern  portions  of  Erie,  Chautau(iue  and 
Cattaraugus,  and  all  that  part  of  Pennsylvania  bordering  upon  this 
state,  with  the  exception  of  Presque  Isle,  and  the  solitary  family 
of  Francis  King,  at  Cerestown,  near  the  Allegany  river,  that  had  a 
short  time  before  exchanged  a  residence  in  the  city  of  London  for 
a  solitary  one  in  the  backwoods  of  Pennsylvania,  a  days  journey 
from  their  nearest  neighbor. 

The  party  made  a  pretty  thorough  exploration  of  the  tract,  camp- 
ing and  breaking  up  their  camp  from  day  to  day,  encountering 
almost  constant  rains  and  swollen  streams.  With  Judge  Church  i"t 
was  a  youthful  advent  — a  first  introduction  to  the  woods  — and  a 
pretty  rugged  specimen  he  encountered,  as  all  will  acknowledrre  who 
have  traversed  the  alternating  hills  and  valleys  of  Allegany.  ^Arriv- 
ed  at  the  north-west  corner  of  the  tract,  the  party  mostly  returned 
to  their  homes;  Judge  Church  and  Van  Campen,  making  up  their 
minds  for  a.  pleasure  trip,  taking  an  Indian  trail  *  that  bore  ofT  in 
the  direction  of  Niagara  Falls.  This  they  pursued  for  two  days, 
when  they  found  themselves  in  the  Seneca  Indian  village.  They 
made  their  appearance  in  the  little  white  settlement  of  "Ivew  Am- 
sterdam," (Buflalo)  in  a  sorry  plight ;  with  torn  clothes,  beards  un- 
shaven, tanned  and  camp  smoked.     They  visited  the  Falls,  returned 


This  trail  led  from  the  Indian  village  of  Canaedeaon  the  Allesranv  rivor,  over  the 
siiiJinut  that  (livid,  i  -ho  waters  nf  the  Geuuseo  from  tlioso  of  Lako  llrie,  fdl  into  tho 
valley  of  the  Caiaraiiirus,  tlieii  passed  over  into  tlie  valley  of  the  west  branch  of  Btif- 
lalo  creek,  and  jiursued  generally,  the  conrso  of  that  stream,  to  the  Indian  village  at 
its  juiKliou  with  the  niaiu  itreaiu,  lour  linies  iVom  its  uiouLh. 


rilELPS  AOT)   aORHAM  S  PtJRCnASE. 


449 


to  Buffalo,  and  took  the  "  white  man's  trail "  *  on  their  return  to 
Bath.  No  such  tramps  had  been  contemplated,  and  soon  after 
leaving  Buffalo,  money  and  provisions  had  both  been  exliau>ted  ;  all 
but  a  surplus  of  chocolate,  which  they  exchanged  alonfr  with  the 
new  settlers  for  meals  of  victuals.  Mr.  Ellicott  had  just  got  liis  land 
iiffice  built  at  Batavia.  At  Ganson's  there  was  a  militin  training, 
the  first  that  was  ever  had  west  of  the  Genesee  river.  Richard 
W.  Stoddard  being  one  of  the  officers,  supplied  Mr.  Church  with 
money ;  and  proceeding  on  to  Geneseo,  they  visited  Mr.  Wads- 
worth,  whom  Mr.  Church  had  become  acquainted  with  in  New 
York. 

Returning  to  Lyons,  Judge  Church  arranged  with  Mr.  Van  Wickle 
to  go  on  to  the  Allegany  lands,  and  commence  sui'veys  and  im- 
provements, having  previously  designated  the  site  of  Angelica,  as 
a  primitive  location.  A  mill  calcu'  ited  for  one  run  of  .stones,  and 
a  saw  mill,  was  soon  commenced,  and  a  road  opened  from  four  miles 
west  of  Hornellsville,  (west  line  of  Steuben)  to  Angelica.f  This 
road  was  cut  through  by  Silas  Ferry  and  John  Ayers.  The  saw 
mill  was  in  operation  in  1802,  the  grist  mill  in  1803.  A  framed 
dwelling  house  for  Mr.  Van  Wickle,  a  small  log  land  office,  and  a 
few  shantees  to  live  in,  were  also  erected.  Judge  Church  remembers 
that  the  transportation  of  his  mill  irons  from  Albany  to  Angelica, 
cost  86.00  per  cwt.  All  the  early  transporting  was  done  with 
sleighs  and  wagons,  from  Geneva  (80  miles ;)  with  liglit  loads,  a 
trip  would  generally  consume  seven  days.  In  1802,  Joseph  Taylor 
opened  a  tavern.  In  the  same  year.  Judge  Church  opened  a  small 
store,  which  was  managed  by  John  Gibson,  one  of  his  companions 
m  the  primitive  exploration,  who  now  survives,  a  resident  of  the 
neighborhood  of  Angelica,  aged  72  years,  John  Ayers  who  helped 
cut  out  the  first  road  leading  into  Angelica,  is  also  alive,  a  resident 
near  the  Transit  Bridge,  on  the  river.  In  1803  a  road  was  opened 
from  Angelica  to  Belvidere,  and  in  1805  was  continued  on  to  the 
present  site  of  Hobbyville,  to  which  point  Dr.  Hyde  had  advanced 
and  erected  a  log  tavern  house.  This  was  in  1807  ;  the  road  was 
for  several  years  but  little  better  than  a  woods'  path. 


*"Wlion   wolKHl  iiKulc  .-i  track  tlirougli  iho.  UnvM,"  suvs  Mr  Slepl.cn   Ln.k  of 
Pittsford,  wo  cdlccl  It  a  "white  huiu'h  trail,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  huliau  miils" 


450 


PIEELPS  AND  GORIIAM's  PUKCIIASE. 


From  the  commence-nent  of  settlement,  until  1805,  Allegany  was 
a  part  of  the  town  of  Leicester,  Ontario  county,  and  the  new  settlers 
had  to  go  to  the  old  village  of  Leicester  on  the  Genesee  river,  via 
Hornei:svilIe,  to  town  meeting.  In  1805  what  is  now  Allegany 
county,  was  erected  into  a  new  town,  and  called  Angelica.  In 
April  of  that  year  the  fust  town  meeting  was  lield  at  the  house  of 
Joseph  Taylor.  Benjamin  Criggs  was  elected  supervisor,  Jacob  S. 
Holt,  town  clerk.  Other  town  officers :  — John  T.  Hyde,  David 
Church,  Luke  Goodspeed,  Sylvester  Russel,  Elijah  Church,  Wm. 
Barney,  Evert  Xixn  Wickle,  Joseph  Taylor,  Abisha  Cole,  Win.  S. 
Hcydon,  Stephen  Waterman,  Thoma.s  Cole.  John  Bennett,  Ezra 
Bacon,  George  Otto,  Jacob  S.  Holt. 

In  this  year  there  are  the  records  of  roads,  as  follows :  —  Through 
main  street  of  Angelica  ;  from  Angelica  to  Indian  line,  or  Canaedea; 
from  Angelica  to  south  liije  of  Van  Campen's  farm  ;  from  Angelica 
to  rhilip^burgh  mills ;  to  Bhilips  creek ;  to  Vandennark's  creek ; 
to  Dike's  settlement. 

No  resolutions  were  passed  in  1805.  In  1800  Luke  Goodspeed 
was  supervisor.  It  was  resolved  that  "every  man's  yard  should  be 
his  pound  ;  "  that  the  town  of  Angelica  should  pay  .$2,50  for  every 
wolf  caught  within  the  limits  of  the  town. 

At  the  first  election,  April,  1805,  John  Nicholas  had  10  votes  for 
Senator ;  Ibr  members  of  Assembly,  Alexander  Rhea,  had  30  votes, 
Ezra  Patterson  25,  Daniel  W.  Lewis  10,  Jeremiah  Munson  12.  Iri 
1800,  Daniel  W.  Lewis  a.s  a  candidate  lor  Congress,  had  51  votes; 
for  the  Senate,  Joseph  Aimin  42,  Evens  w'herey  38,  John  Mc-' 
Whorter  33,  Freegift  Patterson  33 ;  for  Assembly,  Philip  Church 
82,  Timothy  Burt  35,  Philetus  Swift  33,  James  Reed  32,  Asahel 
Warner  30,  Joseph  M'Clure  0.  In  1807,  as  candidates  for  Governor, 
Morgan  Lewis  had  37  votes,  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  28. 

Judge  Church  spent  several  months  in  the  new  settlement,  in 
each  of  the  years  1801,  '2,  '3,  and  '4.  In  1803,  1..,  selected  as 'his 
residence,  a  location  upon  the  Genesee  River,  where  he  now  resides, 
four  miles  from  Angelica,  which  was  named  Belvidere.  His  large 
farm  is  a  beautiful  sweep  of  flats,  table  and  up  land.  The  Judge, 
who  in  his  prime,  was  somewhat  noted  for  athletic  feats,  is  said  to 
have  looked  out  the  favorite  spot,  by  climbing  tall  pine  trees  upon  the 
highlands.  The  winding  of  the  river  at  that  point,  and  the  frequent 
breaks  in  the  ranges  of  highlands  as  they  rise  from  the  valley,  sur- 


PHELPS  AND  OOIinAM's   PURCHASE. 


iol 


rounds  cultivated  fields,  a  fine  mansion  with  its  En^dJsh  lawn,  culti- 
vated groves,  orchards  and  gardens,  — with  a  varied,  wild  and  ro- 
nnantic  landscape.  The  primitive  framed  house  — built  in  1803  — 
which  slood  for  years,  an  outpost  of  civilization,  is  yet  preserved ; 
its  architecture,  its  old  fashioned  cut  nails,  marking  a  period  when  it 
must  have  looked  almost  aristocratic.  Its  founder  still  lives,  but 
how  n)any  of  the  early  men  of  the  Genesee  country,  who  have 
been  sheltered  under  that  venerable  roof,  have  long  since  gone  to 


thei 


r  graves 


Belvidere  is  retired  and  secluded,  even  now.  After  an  occupan- 
cy of  nearly  half  a  century,  the  guest  of  its  hospitable  founder,  will 
often  be  waked  from  his  slumbers,  by  the  crack  of  the  rifle,  and  the 
baying  of  hounds  upon  the  surrounding  hills.  How  must  it  have 
been  when  miles  of  forest  intervened  between  it  and  the  nearest 
settlements,  and  those  settlements  far  away  from  the  earlier  ones  of 
the  Genesee  country ! 

In  1805,  Judge  Church  married  the  daughter  of  General  Walter 
Stewart,  of  riiiladelphia,*  transferring  her  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years,  from  city  life  and  its  associations,  to  the  ^ar  oil"  home  in  the 

wilderness,  that  has  been  described.     The  then  youn"  wife the 

now  venerable  matron  —  remembers  that  woods  journey,  and  des- 
cribes it,  even  in  a  vein  of  gaiety  and  humor.  There  was  the  long 
ard  tedious  journey  IVom  Albany  to  Geneva,  and  Bath ;  then  the 
jolting  wagon,  over  a  wood's  road  to  Hornellsville;  and  then  when 
wheels  could  no  longer  be  used,  the  horseback  ride  over  what  was 
but  little  better  than  a  wood's  path,  to  Angelica,  and  her  new  home 
at  Belvidere.  With  a  characteristic  gallantry,  Thomas  Morris,  then 
the  active  promoter  of  settlement,  in  the  Genesee  country,  accom- 


*  Glti.  Stewart  li;icl  a  commaiul  in  the  Pcnnsvlvania  line  (luring  the  Rcvohition. 
Hw  liouse  in  Philadel|.liia\vas(>t'toii  the  liospitable  retreat  iif  Wiishiii!,'t<.ii,  La  Fayette, 
Rodinmbeau,  and  other  of  tlie  eminent  men  of  llie  Revohilimi.  Mrs.  Cliiircli  lins  a 
valualik'  heir  loom  of  tlic  family,  a  rdic,  r,f  the  latliev  of  liis  country.  If  is  his  por- 
trait m  a^  frame  ;  imoii  the  haek  of  the  fiame  i.s  jjasted  an  <iriginal  autoKfaiili  addressed 
to  Mrs.  Stewart,  which  accompanied  the  ]>ortrait.  It  was  soinethiii>r  nniqiie  in  its 
way  at  the  time.  In  the  note,  Washington  witli  characteristic  modestv,  begs  Mrs. 
Stewart  to  regard  it  "  not  so  much  for  any  merit  of  the  original,  a.s  for  its  excellence  as 
a  work  of  ait;  the  prodiiclion  of  a  yomig  hidv." 

E.xtract  from  Wasiiington's general  order  liook,  Moore's  House,  1779  :  — "The  com- 
mander in  chief  directs  a  general  conrt  martial  to  I)e  held  at  the  usual  place  to-morrow 
niornmg,  at  10  o'chick,  for  the  trial  of  Col.  Arniand  ;  Col.  Walter  Stewart  to  ))reside." 
Ac.  Ry  a  resolution  of  Congress,  medals  were  ordered  struck  for  Gen.  Wavne,  Major 
Walter  Stewart  and  Lt,  Co],  Fleury,  for  their  gallant,  conduct  in  tlicstorming  of  Stouy 


I'oint 


ouj- 


452 


riTELPs  Amy  gohtiam's  purcuase. 


panied  her  in  this  her  bridal  tour  to  the  wilderness.     She  had  her 
first  experience  in  housekeepinu;,  and  lived  for  several  years,  miles 
away  from  neighbors ;  often  the  busines's  of  her  husband  calling 
him  away  for  weeks  ,  her  only  compuniou  a  colored  female  domes- 
tic, and  a  small  boy.*     She   m;;  'c  in.  ..•  )r)y  acquaintance  with  the 
Indians  at  Canaedca,  and  was  a  I'.ivorite  with  them.     Upon  one  oc- 
casion, in  the  absence  of  Judge  Church,  she  attended  one  of  their 
festivals,  contributing  to  its  feast  out  of  her  stores,  and  enjoying 
with  a  high  relish  their  Pagan  rites,  dances  and  rude  sports.     They 
gave  her  as  a  name,  "Ye-nun-ke-a-wa,"  or  the    '  first  \vum;in  that 
has  come  ;  "  having  reference  to  settlement  upon  the  river.     Judge 
Church  being  in  England  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  1812,  a 
party  of  Canaedea  Indians,  headed  by  a  chief,  went  to  Belvidere, 
and  in  gratitude  for  Mrs.  Church's  kindness  to  their  people,  offered 
to  keep  a  guard  around  her  house,  to  jn-otcct  her  from  thi^  ]5i  itish 
Indians,     llegarding  herself  as  secure  from  invasion,  in  the  Nvnods 
of  Allegany,  she  thanked  them  but  declined  their  proffered  gallantry. 
John  B.  Church  died  in  London,  in  181G.     His  sons,  other  than 
Philip  Church,  were  :— John  B.  Church,  who  now  resides  in  Paris; 
Alexander,  who  died  young,  and  Richard,  who  now  resides  in  Eno- 
land.     His  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Bertram  P.  Cruger,  of 
New  York,  and  Rodolph  Bunner,  late  of  Oswego. 

The  family  of  Philip  Church,  now  consists  of  John  B.  Church, 
of  ISiew  York,  who  married  a  daughter  of  Professor  Silliman; 
Walter  and  Henry  Church,  of  New  York ;  Philip  Church,  who  re- 
sides near  Belvidere,  and  Richard  Church,  who  resides  at  the  home- 
stead.  Daughters :  — Mrs.  John  Warren,  of  New  York,  Mrs. 
Pendleton  Hoosick,  of  New  York,  and  an  unmarried  daughter,  re- 
siding with  her  parents. 

The  southern  portion  of  all  that  part  of  Allegany,  which  is  upon 
the  Holland  Purchase,  was  not  settled  until  just  preceding  the  war 
of  1812.  As  early  as  1804,  a  few  families  had  settled  at  Clean,  but 
no  road  from  Angelica  to  that  point  was  opened  until  1809  or  '10,  and 
then  but  a  woods  road.     It  was  surveyed  by  Moses  Van  Campen, 


Thore  was  miidi  of  womaTi's  nature  in  licr  reply,  in  1,  ng  after  years,  to  nn  obser- 
vation made  to  her,  e.xpressinsf  some  surprise  that  she  could  liavc  cndure.l  such  a 
change  —  Ironi  a  gay  and  social  city  to  the  woods  :  — •'  Oh,"  said  she,  "  I  was  just  the 
one  to  do  It,  [  had  youth,  Iiealth  ;  to  bo  sure  it  was  pretty  hard  at  first,  but  the  rela- 
tions ot  a  wife,  to  wliich  was  added  the  cares  of  a  mother,  soon  reconciled  me  to  my 
Uuw  home."  •' 


PHELPS   AND   GORIIAM's   PURCHASE. 


453 


in  1815,  and  soon  after  settlers  drc^jped  in,  began  to  be  worlied  by 
them  and  the  proprietors  of  Oleaii;  though  when  it  began,  in  1810, 
'17,  to  lie  thronged  with  western  emigrants  on  their  way  to  embark 
upon  the  Allegany,  it  was  only  by  sleighing  they  could  get  along 
comfortably ;  when  that  left  them,  as  it  often  did,  they  plodded 
through  sloughs,  and  over  stumps  and  roots,  making  slow  progress. 
There  ar^  emigrants  on  the  Ohio  and  Wabash  and  in  southern  Illinois, 
who  remember  their  early  journey  through  the  woods  of  Allegany 
and  Cattaraugus,  as  by  far  the  most  trying  scene  they  encountered 
upon  their  journey.  Soon  after  1810,  a  state  road  was  laid  there, 
the  state  making  a  small  appropriation,  but  the  pay  for  its  construc- 
tion principally  made  dependent  upon  the  proceeds  of  tolls.  It  was 
completed  in  1822.  The  road  was  principally  built  by  David  D. 
Howe. 

In  1805  Judge  Church  purchased  and  had  drove  to  Belvidere  twen- 
ty-four sheep.  Arriving  late  in  the  evening,  they  were  folded  close 
by  the  house.  In  the  morning  a  brother-in-law,  from  New  York, 
being  his  guest,  he  invited  him  out  early  to  see  them.  Approaching 
the  pen,  they  found  19  of  the  24  lying  dead.  The  wolves  had 
tracked  them  in,  and  made  the  havoc.  As  is  usual,  where  they 
have  a  plenty  of  victims,  they  had  only  bitten  the  throats,  and  ex- 
hausted the  blood.  The  woods  of  Allegany  were  especially  the 
haunts  of  wild  beasts ;  trapping  and  hunting  was  a  serious  diver- 
sion of  the  new  settlers,  from  the  work  of  improvement. 

In  early  years,  the  Pust-olBce  nearest  Angelica,  was  at  Bath,  40 
miles  distant.  The  citizens  clubbed,  and  contracted  with  William 
Barney  to  make  the  trip,  carrying  letters  and  papers  once  a  month. 
A  blind  boy  of  Mr.  Barney  made  the  trips,  until  he  was  killed  by  a 
fall  from  his  horse. 

There  was  no  physician  in  Allegany,  in  the  earliest  years  ;  Judge 
Church  says  he  brought  in  a  medicine  chest,  and  "  Buchan's  Family 
Medicine,"  and  occasionally  made  prescriptions.  The  nearest  phy- 
sician. Dr.  Niles,  in  Steuben  county.  The  first  settled  physician  in 
Angelica,  was  Dr.  Ellis,  who  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Southworth, 
now  of  Lockport. 

The  primitive  religious  meetings  were  held  in  the  loft  of  Judge 
Church's  store  house,  by  the  Rev.  Andrew  Grey.  "  He  was  a  broad 
shouldered  man,"  says  Judge  Church,  "of  extraordinary  muscular 
power ;    I  remember  his  getting  »o  earnest  on  one  occasion,  in  en- 


*. 


454 


PHELPS  AND   GOKFTAM's  PURCHASE. 


forcinrr  rcliijjious  precepts  upon  his  brickwoorls  conf^tofration,  that  in 
his  gestures,  he  knocked  our  Htoro  desk  to  pieces,  tiiat  we  j^ave  him 
for  a  pulpit.'" 

That  ))art  of  the  Morris'  Reserve,  in  Allegany,  which  constituted 
the  ('hurch  Tract,  was  six  miles  wide,  lying  east  of,  and  adjoining 
the  Holland  Company's  lands.  In  the  division  among  Mr.  Morris' 
creditors,  another  tract,  six  miles  wide,  containing  150,000  acres, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Sterritt  and  Harrison,  merchants  of  Philadel- 
phia;  and  in  turn,  this  was  cut  up  into  small  tracts  and  divided 
among  their  creditors.  This  large  tract  was  mostly  kept  out  of 
market  until  after  1815.  South  of  the  Church  and  Sterritt  tract, 
on  the  Pcmisylvania  line,  is  another  tract  of  37,000  acres,  which 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Willing  &;  Francis,  also  merchants  of  Phila- 
delphia; Mr.  Willing,  of  the  firm,  was  President  of  the  old  United 
States  Bank. 

The  first  settlement  founded  after  Angelica,  was  at  Van  Campen's 
creek,  in  the  direction  of  Olean.  This  name  was  giv-en  dm-insr  the 
primitive  advent  of  3Ir.  Church,  in  honor  of  his  woods' com])an ion, 
Mr.  Van  Campen.  Harrison  and  Higgins  were  the  first  settlers. 
Six  or  seven  miles  up  the  river,  above  Philipshurgh,  a  settlement 
was  commenced  by  Josejjh  and  Silas  Knight.  The  first  settlement 
down  the  river,  was  founded  by  the  Sandfords. 

No  new  country  has  probably  ever  been  opened  for  sale  and  set- 
tlement, that  had  as  rugged  features,  as  much  of  difficulty  to  over- 
come, as  the  territory  which  comprises  the  county  of  Allegany. 
Heavily  timl)ered  throughout,  with  the  exception  of  small  spots  up- 
on the  river,  it  was  many  years  before  the  roots  were  out  so  as  to 
admit  of  easy  cultivation.  The  new  settlements  in  all  early  years, 
were  extremely  isolated.  The  wide  forests  of  the  Holland  Pur- 
chase bordering  upon  them,  had  been  but  little  broken  into,  as  late 
as  ISOOor  '10,  and  after  that  for  many  years,  settlement  upon  them 
advanced  but  slowly.  When  the  settlers  began  to  have  any  thing 
to  diriposo  of,  they  had  no  market,  but  such  as  involved  a  ruinous 
cost  of  transportation,  over  long  woods,  roads,  and  up  and  down 
steep  hills.  The  very  earliest  years,  however,  were  far  more  pros- 
perous than  a  long  period  that  succeeded.  Black  salts,  pot  and 
pearl  ashes,  and  grain  could  be  taken  to  Hornellsville,  and  from 
thence  go  to  Baltimore,  where  it  would  command  cash.  This  made 
for  a  few  years,  pretty  brisk  times  ;  but  the  navigation  was  precari- 


rany. 


PHELPS  AND  OORHAm's   PURCHASE.  455 

ous,  and  at  best,  had  in  each  season  but  a  short  duration ;  and 
soon  came  on  European  wars,  the  embarcro  T,  be...- especially  heavy 
upon  the  enterprise  and  prosperity  that  h.  d  bctjir,.  to  dawn  in  the 
secluded  backwoods.  Pine  lumber,  >v.  j.;oo(i  /or  nothing,  beyond 
the  homo  uses  of  the  new  settlers.  It  v  .s  to,  far  from  the  naviga- 
ble waters  of  the  Allegany,  even  if  there  '  '  -en  roads  ;  and  Too 
far  from  the,  nortliern  older  settlements,  to  allcnv  of  any  considerable 
market  in  that  direction.  The  best  of  ,..  ,  >  trees,  instead  of  being 
any  help  to  the  new  settler,  was  a  great  Inudrance,  for  they  constitute 
the  most  difficult  clearing  of  new  lands  that  is  encountered.  The 
first  consideralile  market  for  the  pine  lumber  of  Allegany,  was  at 
Mt.  xMorris  and  Dansville,  after  the  completion  of  the  Genese  Val- 
ley canal  to  those  })oints. 

Independent  of  other  hindrances  to  prosperity  —  or  especially  to 
agricultural  improvement  —  two  prominent  ones  have  existed' — 
The  mountains,  the  valleys  and  the  streams,  had  attractions  fot  the 
hunter,  the  trapper  and  the  fisherman,  and  slow  progress  in  felling 
the  Ibrest,  neglected  fields,  and  dilapidated  log  tonenients,  were  the 
consequences.  The  free  use  of  whiskey  in  all  the  new  settlements 
of  the  Genesee  country,  was  a  curse  and  a  blight,  the  consefjuences 
of  which  —  the  manner  that  it  retarded  prosperity  and  imjirove- 
ment— the  strong  men  tliat  it  made  weak— the  woe  and  the  sor- 
row that  it  carried  to  the  log  c;.bins  of  the  wilderness—  would  fbrm 
a  theme  that  might  be  regarded  as  an  innovation  here  ;  but  elsewhere, 
in  its  appropriate  place,  would  "point  a  moral,"  though  it  would  not 
"adorn  a  tale."  Especially  was  this  an  evil  where  men  were 
attracted  by  the  causes  that  have  been  named,  from  legitimate  pur- 
suits.  The  other  local  hindrance  succeeded  when  lumbering  be- 
came a  sufficient  object  to  draw  men  away  from  agricultural  im- 
provements. 

Soon  after  1807,  a  serious  embarrassment  was  added  to  other 
difficulties  upon  the  Church  tract,  which  constituted  nearly  all  the 
settled  portions  of  Allegany.  John  E.  Church,  who  was  then  resi- 
ding m  New  York,  became  embarrassed,  principally  inconsequence 
of  French  spoliations  upon  American  conunerce  ;  having  made 
large  ventures  as  an  underwriter.*     The  title  of  one  half  of  the 


*  His  licirs  havu  now  largo,  niul  ms  it  would  soum  just  claim  upon  our  L'overninent. 
^n-owng  out  ot  thw.     Uy  Treaty  with  Fr;uu;o,  uur  goveriimwit  Lunml  pavme.it  .,f 


Uic  claims. 


456 


PIIELI'S   ANDGOUIIAm's  PUliCIIASE. 


• '  ii 


100,000  acre  tract,  was  in  his  son,  Philip  Church,  but  there  had  been 
no  division  ;  a  mixed  interest  was  assigned  to  trustees,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  creditors,  and  there  was  no  final  division  and  settlement  until 
1815.  In  all  this  time  there  was  a  distrust  of  title,  which  bin- 
dered  settlement,  and  created  an  unsettled  state  of  things,  as  the 
same  cause  always  will. 

The  war  of  1812  prostrated  all  of  enterprise  and  progress  in  all 
the  newly  settled  portions  of  the  Genesee  country,  wliere  they  had 
no  surplus  produce,  were  consumers  instead  of  producers.     The  new 
settlements  of  Allegany  furnished  their  full  (juota  of  men  for  the 
frontier,  drawn  from  feeble  settlements,  where  they  could  least  be 
well  spared  ;   some  were  left  upon  battle  fields,  died  m  hospitals,  or 
returned  to  die  of  disease  contracted  upon  the  frontier.     Peace  had 
but  just  been  concluded,  when  the  cold  and  untoward  season  of 
1810,  came  upon  them,  its  biting  frosts  upon  hill  and  valley,  de- 
stroying all  their  hopes  of  sustenance,  creating  distress  and  want, 
driving,  in  many  instances,  men  to  the  game  in  the  forest,  the  fish  in 
the  streams,  and,wild  roots  and  lierbs,  as  their  only  resources  to  ward 
off  a  famine.     Independent  of  their  own  sufferings  and  privations, 
they  had  quartered  upon  tliem  the  poor  Indians  of  Canaedea,who  were 
reduced  to  the  extremity  of  want.     Then  came  propitious  seasons, 
lite  and  activity  ;  for  a  few  years  a  tide  of  emigration  flowed  through 
their  midst,  on  their  way  to  Olean,  and  down  the  Allegany,  creatiuir 
a  home  market  for  their  produce.     This  lasted,  gradually  declining 
until  the  Erie  canal  had  reached  its  western  terminus,  when  emigra- 
tion was  entirely  diverted,  and  their  main  roads  and  public  hou.ses 
were  deserted.     The  Erie  canal  so  diffusive  in  its  benefits,  stimu- 
lating to  life  and  activity,  in  all  other  localities  of  western  New 
but  came  to  crush  the  hopes,  and  depress  the  energies  of  the  people 
of  Allegany  and  Cattaraugus.      Recovering  from  its  first  effects, 
gradually,  and  remotely,  its  benefits  began  to  reach  them,  even  be- 
fore the  construction  of  the  Valley  canal. 

It  is  after  almost  a  half  century's  struggle,  but  for  Allegany  the 
'•better  time"  has  come.  The  whistle  of  the  steam  cars  are  start- 
ling the  deer  that  yet  linger  in  her  forests  ;  the  echoes  of  the  boat- 
man's horn,  ere  these  imperfect  annals  will  issue  from  the  ])ress,  will 
be  sounding  along  the  valley  of  the  upper  Genesee  ;  the  dark  forests 
are  rapidly  disappearing ;  the  neat  framed  house  is  taking  the  place  of 
the  mo.<s  covered  log  cabin ;  all  is  putting  on  the  appearance  of  re- 


tal)! 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's   PUKCHASE. 


457 


newed  enterprise  and  rapid  progress.  Long  almost  a  "  terra  incogiii- 
tia"  her  near  neighbors  on  the  "  northern  plains,"  lier  soil,  her  climate, 
pure  water  and  pure  atmosphere,  is  beginning  to  be  appreciated ; 
and  she  will  soon  occcupy  a  better  relative  position  in  the  empire 
region  of  the  Empire  State. 


CHAPTER  X, 


THE  PIONEER  PRINTERS  AND  NEWSPAPERS. 


il 


M 


It 


Mr.  Williamson  was  directly  connected  with  the  introduction  of  the 
jM'inting  press  into  the  Genesee  country;  The  two  first  ncwspa])ei's  wx'iv,  e.s- 
tahlished  utidei'  his  ausjiices  and  patronage.  Early  in  January-,  1790,  In;  pro- 
cured from  Nortluiniberland  or  Sunhury,  in  Pennsylvania,  a  second  liand 
newspa]K'r  office,  and  enlistetl  as  printei-s  and  publishers,  \Vm.  Kersey*  and 
James  Edie.  Tliey  issued  "The  J^ath  (lazette  and  Genesee  Advertiser.'" 
This  Wiis  the  first  newspaper  published  in  western  New  York. 

In  the  same  year,  he  induced  Lucius  C'arcv,  who  had  been  jniblisliiiiir  a 
jtajier  at  Newburg,  to  sell  t)ut  and  est;iblish  himself  at  Geneva.  Mr.  Care^- 
forwarded  his  printing  materials  by  water,  and  came  himself,  with  liis  house- 
hold goods,  by  land.  On  his  arrival,  hiMvrote  toMr.  Williamson  at  All)aiiv, 
that  be  had  en  I'd  a  lung  and  expensive  jocirney;  arrived,  and  found  his 
house  unfinished,  and  no  room  provided  for  his  ofiice.f    He  got  settled  during 

*  It  is  ]ire.st:tn(?(l  that  Mr.  Kersey  may  liave  liiui  a  ciuniection  with  llip  jinper  not  a.s 
printer,  but  iis  one  of  Mr.  Williuiusoii's  asjeiits  at  Hatli.  He  was  a  l-'iiend,  as  would 
appear  Viy  iiis  h'tteis.  In  eno  of  them,  written  to  Mr.Wiliiamsoii  at  .Miwiny,  lie  speaks 
of  havini,'  lo(;ateil  some  new  .settlers,  and  at  th(^  hhiw'  time,  asks  for  .some  new  tv])e, 
nrij;int;  that  the  type  they  have  brouj^'ht  from  Pennsylvania  is  "<ild  and  worn."  "We! 
on  considerinix  the  ease,  I'onelude  it  is  best  to  have  a  suilicient  (piantity  of  new  tvpe  t(i 
complete  the  oHiee,  so  that  we  may  do  business  in  good  fashion;  therefore  reijue'st  that 
in  addition  to  the  order  by  Ci\\)\^  Coudry,  tliou  may  i)o  pleased  to  send  us  as  soon  as 
may  be,  ^(1(1  weii(ht  of  small  jiica  or  bourj,'eois.  We  have  some  eneoiu-a<rement  to  inir- 
Hue  the  b\isiiiess,  luit  many  of  our  patrims  eomplain  of  tlie  badness  of  tlie  i)rint,  and 
that  not  without  suffi<'ient  cause."  Ho  was  at  the  time  one  of  the  .Indices  of  !S|eid)en, 
and  informs  Mr.  Willi.imson  that  he  and  his  associates  had  been  indicted  bv  the  Grand' 
Jury,  "for  not  holding  u-i  election  at  the  J'ainted  I'ost  for  a  re|)resentativo  in  Con- 
j,Tess." 

t  "Tiie  Pioneer  printer  was  in  ill  Imnior.     He  says  to  Mr.  Williamson  :  —  I  am  now 
lyinj?  idle,  and  how  long- 1   shall,  1  cannot  say,  only  i'orthe  want  of  a  room  to  work 
ill.    My  house  was  to  be  done  in  July,  and  it  is  a  mortifying  reflection  to  me  to  have 
29 


458 


PHELPS   AND  GORIIAM's   PDRCHASE. 


! 


the  winter,  liowever,  and  in  April,  1797,  brouglit  out  tho  fii-st  number  of  the 
"Ontario  Gazetto  and  (Jeneseo  Advertiser."  Tho  paper  wiis  continued  but 
about  a  year  and  a  half  at  Gene\a,  after  which  it  was  removed  to  Canaiuhii- 
gua,  and  continued  until  1802,  when  the  othco  was  sold,  and  the  name  of  the 
paper  changed  to  "Western  Repository  and  Genesee  Advertiser."  Mr, 
Caivydieti  in  Canandaigiui,  in  1804. 

James  K.  Gould  was  the  immediate  successor  of  Mr.  Carey.  In  May, 
1803,  ho  issued  "for  the propriet.jrs,"  the  "Western  Repository  and  Gene- 
see Advertiser."  In  August,  1803,  Mr.  Gould,  in  ompaiiv  with  Russell  E. 
Post,  purchased  the  establishment,  and  changed  the  title  to  "  Western  Reposi- 
tory.'' In  October,  1804,  this  partnership  was  dissolved,  and  James  D. 
Hemis  took  tlio  ])]ace  of  Mr.  Post.  Mr.  Gould  dving  in  March,  1808,  the 
paper  was  continued  by  Mr.  Remis,  with  only  a  "slight  change  of  title,  for 
twenty-one  years.  The  i)aper  is  still  published,  being  now  the  oldest  news- 
]iapcr  in  western  New  York.  The  immediate  successors  of  Mr.  Bemis  were. 
Cliauncey  Morse  and  Samuel  Ward,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  biolhcr-iu- 

law  of  Mr.  R.,  an,l  the  latter  a  nephew.     Mr. Har\ cv  was  at  one  j  .eriod 

a-;s<xiated  with  Mr.  Morse  in  ius  publication,      flie  present  editor  and  publisher, 
IS  George  L.  Whitney. 

In  18(13,  Sylve-<ter  Titfany  established  in  Ganandaigua,  the  Ontario  Free- 
man, lie  was  from  New  Hampshire;  his  wife,  one  of  the  well  known  fami- 
ly ot  Ji'iistons,  of  that  Stat.'.  For  several  years  before  settling  at  Canandai- 
gua,  Mr.  Titiiiny  had  jiublished  a  paper  at  Niagara,  U.  C.  Ho  was  for  sever- 
al yeai's  clerk  of  Ontario  county.  He  died  in  1811.  His  widow  still  sur- 
\ives,  a  resident  of  Rochester.  The  surviving  sons  are :  —  Svlvester  Titiany, 
an  early  merchant  in  Le  Roy;  George  A.  Tittany,  who  married  a  dauohter  of' 
Mrs.  Berry,  at  Avon,  and  now  resides  in  Wisconsin ;  Alexander  R.Titfany, 
who  studied  law  in  Canandaigua,  married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Gain  Robinson, 
and  is  now  Judge  Titfany,  of  Adrian,  Micbiu-an.  Dean  0.  Titfany,  the 
youngest  son,  was  a  clerk  in  the  book  store  of  James  D.  Bemis,  of  Canandai- 
gua, and  subse(|uently,  in  the  Everingham  store  in  Rochester;  died  at  the 
south.  Daughters  became  the  wives' of  Stephen  and  William  Charies,  of 
RoclK^ster,  and  John  C.  Ross,  of  C.  W. 

John  A.  Stevens  was  the  successor  of  Mr.  Titfany,  commencing  tho  pub- 
lication of  the  Ontario  Messenger  in  1800.  The  Repository  and  Messen<rer, 
untlerthe  management  of  Messrs.  Bemis  and  Stevens,  were  for  a  considerable 
I'enod  the  leading  papers  of  the  respective  ])arties  whose  interests  they  es- 
poused. "Mr.  Stevens,"  says  a  brii^f  l)iogra])her,  *  "wa-  a  kind,  atleciion- 
ate,  and  good  hearted  man,  and  very  generally  esteem, •;  by  all  who  knew 
liim.       He  died  some  twenty  years  since. 


iny  pari'iits  lionr  tlmt,  I  must  lay  i.ll<-  lor  the  want  ef  a  lioiisc,  ivlicii  f  Jiml  si>„ke  so 
nine  1  111  pniisc  ot  the  town,  and   liccn   tlic  ineiins  nf  a  inonl.cr  coiiiim'  t.   it  since  I 

7"  luln  \  Y"'I'"'';"  ^^''  ^"■>'''  ''^'  •''"'"■"f  ''"I"'"'^  "'■  1''-^  '""•'^'•'''' :  vet,  with  Uk^  loan 
V  .'■"',  *';  I  •  ','  """'^■•■'  '>^'  '"">  K<'f  ii  paper  (Hit,  and  move  alontr,  "if  lioVan  i,'<'t  a  room." 
tlis  (IwelhiiK  house  was  liimlly  fnrnished,  and  a  far  hetter  on<.  it  must  liave  heen  than 
I  inneer  printers  usually  enjoy,  as  the  amount  i>ai(l  for  it  by  iMr.  Williamson,  was  over 

*  Frederick  Follctt,  Esq.,  who  compih'd  the  proroedinirsof  the  "  Printers'  Fe«tivnl  " 
ui  K(K-hostcr,  held  in  1847,  and  ailded  a  "  History  of  the  Truss  of  Westuru  New 


PHELPS   AND    GORHAm's    PURCHASE. 


459 


Mr. 


Of  the  large  nninlicr  ol"  printers,  mot  of  wliuiii  liavc  been,  or  are  now, 
conductors  of  ne\vs[>!i[iers,  ^vllu  serveil  tlieir  ;i|)iiri'nti(.('sl.ij)H  witli  Messrs. 
Beinis  and  Stevens,  the  names  of  the  followino-  ooeur  to  the  author:  —  Oran 
Follctt,  IJavid  M.  Day,  [..'wis  II.  Kedli.M,  I'lCz-kiah  and  Smith  Salisbury, 
A.  H.  I)ennctt,  Thomas  11  JJaiiium,  Kandall  ^leai. ham,  John  Van  Sice,  Ed- 
ward Van  Cleve,  John  Gilbert,  Elisha  Stai'r,  beside  many  othere  of  a  later 
period;  and  the  Author  of  this  work,  in  ]iart. 

Eben  I^aton,  a  brother  of  (ieneral  Eaton,  was  the  successor  of  Mr.  Carey 
at  (Jeneva.  He  started  a  paper  in  18U0,  called  "The  impaitial  Observer 
and  Seneca  Museum." 

James  IJogcrt  came  to  Geneva  in  1800.  lie  served  his  apprenticeship  in 
the  old  ollice  of  T.  it  J.  Swords,  New  York.  In  November,  1800,  he  is- 
sued the  lirst nmnber  of  the  "Expositor,"  which  was  continued  until  1809, 
when  he  changed  th"  title  to  "(h-neva  Gazette."  He  conducted  the  paper 
for  ovi'r  twenty-seven  years,  retiring  from  it  in  18.38.  Next  to  Mr.  Beinis, 
he  is  the  oldest  survivor  of  the  conductors  of  the  jircs  in  western  New  York. 
He  was  a  good  printer  aiul  editoi',  and  in  all  respects,  a  Avortliy  member  of 
the  "craft."  He  was  u])on  the  frontier  in  the  war  of  1S12,  bearing  the  com- 
mission of  Captain  in  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Peter  Allen,  and  was  after- 
wnnls  commissioned  as  a  Colonel.  After  retiring  from  the  Gazette,  he  was 
for  five  years  Collector  of  Canal  Tolls  at  Geneva. 

James  I).  Hkmis  may  justly  be  regared  as  the  father  of  the  press  of  west- 
ern New  York:  and  thisr.ot  only  with  reference  to  his  eariy  and  long  con- 
tinued coniieetion  with  it,  but  with  tarther  reference  to  the  large  number  of 
printers  who  have  gone  out  from  under  his  instruction ;  his  character  as  a  man, 
and  as  a  member  of  a  local  craft,  the  dignity  and  respectability  of  which  he 
has  in  so  large  Ji  degree  maintained.  lie  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire; 
though,  if  the  author  rightly  recollects,  lie  served  his  apprenticeship  in  Al- 
bany. Soon  after  a  riving  at  his  majority,  in  the  winter  of  l,--0.3,  he  left 
Albany  with  a  small  stock  of  books  and  stationery,  intending  to  locate  in 
Canada,  but  arriving  in  Canandaigua,  was  induced  by  the  favorable  jirospects 
held  out  there,  to  make  it  his  permanent  home.  [See  his  own  cotemporary 
acccnmtof  his  advent,  Aiipendix,  No.  19.]  Soon  engaging  with  Mr.  Gould 
in  the  Repository,  he  sold  his  stock  of  books  and  stationery  to  Myron  Holley ; 
but  it  was  not  long  before  he  connected  book-selling  with  printing,  and  for 
many  yeais  was  not  only  the  editor  and  ])ublisher  of  the  most  successful 
newspaper  in  western  New  York,  but  he  enjoyed  almost  a  monopoly  in  the 
printing  of  handbills,  blanks,  in  the  sale  of  books,  and  in  the  business  of 
book-binding,  in  a  wide  region.  All  of  this  was  inanaged  by  a  close  aj)plica- 
tien  to  biwinoss,  in  a  careful,  systematie  manner.  }ieculiar  to  the  man.  No 
one  connected  with  the  newspajier  press  in  western  New  York,  has  been  mor-^ 
successful,  and  no  one  better  deserved  succcv. 

Mr.  li.'mis  still  survives,  li.iving  reached  his  i"*^"!  year.  Sincerely  is  it  la- 
nieule.l  iiy  a  wiile  circle  of  friends  —  and  <'■  pccially  by  those  who  have  known 
him  nnvst  intimately;  many  of  whom  owe  him  gratitude  as  well  ius  respect — 
that  the  evening  of  his  long  and  •  fid  life  is  ckxided  with  misfortune.  I'e 
has  been  for  a  considerable  periov  ,i)  aimate  of  an  institution  at  IJrattleboro, 
Vt.,  under  treatment  for  the  cure  of  physical  intinnities,  in  which  hisonco 
well  balanced  mind  in  -omo  degree  ]»articipates.  *  He  married  in  early  life; 
liis  wife  still  sarvi\es.    An  only  son  is  George  W.  Bemis  of  Canandaigua, 


it 

If 

.i  ^ 

t 
li 

■  \ 

0\ 


m 


m 


I'W 


d 

1 

M 

460 


I 

I' 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's  PURCHASE. 


D^;r;rs'M^''/l^7:  '  V"^^^"^^'  ^^^^^  ^^^  -^^^"*1>^  '^^^n  appointed  a 
IJepiity  U   S.  Ma.-s}iall,     Daughters  became  tlie  uiv,.s  (/ Tluulde  is  C}vm\r 
ot^gjnanda.gua,  and  W.n.  B.  Peck,  a  bookseller  of  New  i^'Z^'^f 


and  addc.)  :  _..^Tho  wir  artofS 'nl  f^^.S^^ 

car..or,  whotl.or  wo  conHidor  t]>o  oven  s  ,^  t  nf  .  ■  !    /      "/i  "'^7'"^  1"  "^^^^>'  y**''"'" 

acted  tlifir  parts  in  trnisf.  rm  ur  tu2  ,        "■^^J'^'"'"'.  "r  the  cliaractcr  of  men  who 

il^'iS^;,;^^^- ^-^'^-t  editor  in  we.tS.^l^iS  Sll^h  ^^^^^ 

[end  of  general  history  op  PHELPS  AND  GORIIAm's  PURCHASE.] 


*fev   ^Vr-, 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS, 


OF 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF   PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S 

PURCHASE. 


[Note.— A  table  of  contents  -which  would  .mibrace  a  reference  to  localities,  persons 
and  events,  in  regular  order,  was  found  far  too  elaborate,  and  occupying  too  much 
space.  A  shorter  one  lias  therefore  been  adopted,  by  which  the  reader,  having  refer- 
ence to  localities,  will  be  enabled  to  refer  to  atiy  given  subject,  event  or  person,  with 
attle  difficulty.] 


PART  FIRST. 

CHAPTER  I.— [Commencing  page  9.]  — Brief  notices  of  Early  Colonization  — Pro- 
gress of  the  l-rench  upon  the  St.  Lawrence  — French  and  Indian,  and  French  and 
i^nghsh  Wars-- Progress  of  tlie  Frencli  around  tlie  borders  of  the  Western  Lakes 
—  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  by  Marquette  and  .Joliet  — First  advent  of  our 
race  to  woMerii  New  York  —  La  Salle  —  First  sail  ves.sel  upon  the  Upiier  Lakes— 
M.  lie  La  Barrie's  invasion  of  tlie  country  of  tlie  IroquoLs  — Do  Nonvi]l."s  inva- 
mon  ot  the  Seneca  Country,  in  what  is  now  Ontario  County  — Foundiu"  of  Fort 
JSiagara  — I-ivnchand  English  battles  in  the  region  of  Lakes  George  ami  Cham- 

CHAPTER  IT.— [Coin,  page  40.]  — Siege  and  SuiTendor  of  Fort  Niagara— Con- 
quest of  ^\  esteru  New  York. 

CHAPTER  in.—  [Com.  jiago  fiG.]  —  Siege  and  Capture  of  Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point, 
tiuebeo  and  Montreal- Peace  of  lUi'.i,  end  of  French  Dominion. 

CHAPTER  IV.— [Comjiage  69.]- 
olutiou  —  Sullivan's  Cainpaigu. 


■  English  Dominion  — Border  Wars  of  the  Rev- 


TART   SECOND. 

CHAPTER  I--[  Com.  page  83.]  — Our  immediate  predeces,sors,  the  Senccas,  with  a 
glance  at  the  Iroquois  — their  wars  with  their  own  race,  and  with  the  French - 
tlieir  bravery  and  prowess  — invasion  of  tlieir  country  l.y  De  Nonville. 

CHAPTER  II. -[Com.  page  !I9.]- Conflicting  claims  to  western  New  York  — In- 
dian 1  ieati(>s— The  Lessee  Company— The  Military  Tract. 

CHAPTER  III.-  [Com.  page  127.]  -  The  Genesee  Country  at  the  period  when  set- 
tlement commenced— its  position  in  reference  to  contiguous  temtory  —  Condi- 
tion ot  thecouutrygenerally  after  the  Revolution. 

^^^'sHN '^)l,V,7,fi'^';'"-  ^:''-"  F'-^  r  ',''"■''"  '""'  ^■"■•''•i'"'«  I^'-relioso  of  Ma,^sachu- 
Se ne^Ts  \  ,1  ''^'Ip.''' '"'^/"'^'^"t  to  the  Gene.seo  Country,  and  hi:^  treaty  with  the 
Oenecas  —  Jvatlianiel  Gorliain.  "^ 

*^"'Vow  Yates  Counter  ^"'°"  ^''^■^-^'''^'^  Wilkinson -Pioneer  events  in  what  is 


462 


PHELPS  AND  GOUIIAm's    PUKOHASE. 


PART   THIRD. 

CriAPTFR  I._[C,.,n.  rii-c  KM.J -CmuM,.,,,...,...,,!  of  siim.ys  nnd  sotllomcnt  of 
the  O..  u'so.'  (  nnnti-y-I'MMMTr  ..vnits  m1  (';i,„„„lm-un~  Mrs.  Sa-il.nrn  -  J.i.W 
now,;ll-o  luT, ,,Hy  rioM.rr.s-l!;,M,n>ti..l,|-tlu.A,h,M,staMiiiT-oil„.r,,io,„.,r 
)iinnli..s-|{,.,mMis<vi,..,.s  ,.f  .h„„,.s  Spcrry- Mici.l,  H,.„„kM-'W,.sl  lilooMilirM 
-lillstown.~l,tl'H  iiiiMily--()thf,-  cMily  l'io,„.,.rs~  l!i.|i,i„isroiKVH  of  Mrs. 
I'iinuMM—  IhrCl  mi.miiH  and  Allans— (ioihaiii.  l'anMii.f,'fon,  MaiH,'li..sl,.,— lU- 
.nm,sa.nc,..M  of    l",.],^.  J{,,l(iol,l  -  Tli.  Murn.on.s- J'ludps- Ocnova- Janios 

CHAl'TKR  Tr~[r,,,n  p,njr,.o.|n.]--Sal,-of  I'lu'lp.s  an.l  Goilia.u  to  liolurt.  Morris 

—  U(>HaliMo  Knnisli  /vssocialio.i  —  A.lvoiit  of  C'liarlrs  Williamson— Kvf.its  at 
\y,ll,an.stM.vp,  I,.,,],,  (;.,,„,,,.,  Lyons.  So.lns,  Culclonia,  l!nuldock'.s  liay-Jolni 
OrcifT-HobrK  'I'roiip-JoHiipli  Fellows.  ^ 

ClIAPTKR  III.      [Con,.  ]|a,nv  :2,S1.J- In.lian  .liflionltios-Uritisli  intorimmcc- 

Jndian  connciLs— (Jon.  Israel  CliajMn- Jasper  I'arri.sli. 
CHAI'TKli  lV._[Coni.  jia^v 'Ur..]-  AtL^nipt  of  (Jov.  .sin.eoel,.  Invak  np  llio  set- 

tlenient  at  Sodus  May-  l!,i,isl,  elain.s  to  weslen.  New  York-Wayne's  Victory 

—  Surrender  ol  J'orts  Osweijo  and  Niairara.  > '""ry 
CHAl'TKR  y.-[Co,n.  i.ai,re  .Mr.,|.]-,i,,„„,;  .„„,  -^^rj,];,,,^,  Wadsworth-Horatio  and 

tlie     Di.MM.t  ol   (.eneseo  '  — Leir,.sler,.'\[ose<,w,  m.  iMorris- N'a  ley  .,f  the  Can- 

CPIAPTl'jJl  Vr.-[Con,.  p;i;,^e;)7S.]~T'ionorr  events  in  what  is  now  Wayne  county 
~.lolu,  ^wilt  -  Harwoo.1  Spears,  Dnrfees,  Rodders,  other  early  l'i,,Meers--Wm 
Hove  U,yler-Jvons-Uor,s..ys,  Van  Wiekles,  I'errine.  othcT  early '1^1  tiers - 
R.d-e  Road  -  So.lus  Ray-  Per.-rino  Fif/hugh-Dr.  Lun.niis.         ^ 

^"1vtII'si,iy;;r'^iv;niT"%"*"'^'^7f'';V-'^^  'r^''  "•  ^^■'"'•^  '^""^^  ^onroe- 
Ki   ,  •   .  '  ""■.        ;  llcnelier-Ool,  Frsli-Ateliinsons- Hraddoek's   Jiay- 

Kin^^  s  setlJenen- Rriirl,t.n.- Lnsks.  Stones,  ( »liver  Cuh er- Trv.m's  Town - 

\SS'^':Z     'T^r  '".'.'^f'"''';  ^''■'■'■'"'""-  1^"""-'^-"  «»l'I'li-rin  r  Ibr^^c    to 
Victoi,  \\  e.st  Uloomheld  and  IJnslol,  paL;e -j;n.] 

CIIArTKR  VIIL-  [Com.  pa-..   l.'Ui.] -The  Jlorris  Trealv  at   Hi..  Tree-Cession 

NewspicS"'^  "'''''  '^'^"'^'^'^  -dGorhau.'.  Purd.a^o - Eady  I'rinlirand 


APPENDIX. 


ill' 


[NO.  1.] 

EXTRACT  FROM  MANUSCRIPTS  IN  TIIi:  JESClTs'  COLLEGE  AT  aUEBEC. 


On  tlic  mil  of  February,  IGG,'),  ubout  half  piint  five  o'clock  iu  the  evening,  a  great 
rushing  noise  was  heard  throughout  the  wlioh;  extent  of  Canada.  Tim  noise  ciuLsed 
the  peojile  to  run  out  of  (heir  houses  into  the  streets,  as  if  their  habitations  hud  been 
on  fire  ;  but,  instead  of  flames  or  Hinoke,  they  were  surprised  to  see  the  walls  rwding 
backward  and  for\vard,  ;ind  the  stonc's  moving  as  if  they  were  detached  from  each 
other.  The  timbers,  rafters  tind  planks  cracked.  The  earth  treiubled  violently,  and 
caused  the  stakes  of  the  jialisades  and  palings  to  dance,  in  a  manner  that  would  have 
been  incredible,  had  we  not  actually  seeu  it  in  many  jilaees.  It  was  at  this  moment 
every  one  ran  out  of  doors.  Then  were  to  be  s(!en  animals  flying  in  every  direction  ; 
children  crying  and  screaming  in  the  streets ;  men  and  women,  seized  with  affright, 
stood  horror-struck  with  the  dreadful  scene  before  them,  unable  to  move,  and  ignor- 
ant where  to  fly  for  refuge  from  the  tottering  walls  and  trembling  earth,  which  threat- 
eiu'd  every  instant  to  crush  them  to  death,  or  sink  them  into  a  profound  and  iiiimeas- 
urabU'  abyss.  Some  (hivw  themselves  (m  their  knees  in  the  snow,  crossing  their  breasts, 
and  calling  on  tlieir  saints  to  relieve  them  from  the  danger  with  which  they  were  sur- 
rounded. Others  passed  the  rest  of  this  dreadful  night  in  prayer;  for  tho"eartl](|uake 
ceased  not,  but  continued  at  slKjrt  intervals,  with  acertain  undulating  imj)ulse,  resem- 
bling the  w;)ves  of  the  ocean  ;  and  the  same  qualmish  sens-itionis,  or  sickness  at  the 
stomach,  was  felt  dining  the  s'.ocks,  as  is  experienced  in  a  vessel  at  sea. 

"  The  vioh'nce  of  the  eartliquake  was  greatest  in  the  forest,  where  it  ajijieared  ;ls  if 
there  was  a  battle  raging  between  the  trees  ;  for  not  oidy  their  brandies  were  destroy- 
ed, but  even  tiieir  trunks  are  said  to  have  been  detached  from  their  jilaces,  and  dashed 
against  each  other  with  inconceivable  violence  and  confusion —so  much  so,  that  the 
Indians,  in  their  figurative  manner  of  sjieaking,  declared  that  all  the  forests  were  drunk. 
The  war  also  seemed  to  be  carried  on  between  the  mountains,  some  of  Avliich  were 
torn  from  tlieir  beds  and  thrown  ujion  others,  leaving  imtnense  chasm.s,  in  the  jilaccH 
fioin  wlience  they  had  issued,  and  the  very  trees  with  wliidi  they  were  covered,  sunk 
down,  having  only  their  tojjs  above  the  surface  of  the  earth  ;  others  were  completely 
overturned,  tlieir  branches  buried  in  theeailh,  and  the  roots  only  remained  above 
ground.  During  this  general  wreck  of  naiinv,  the  ice  upward  of  six  feet  thick, 
was  rent  and  thrown  uji  in  large  pieces,  and  from  the  ojieiiings  in  many  part.s 
there  isued  thick  chnids  of  smoke,  or  fountains  of  dirf  and  sand,  which  spouted  up  to 
a  very  considerable  height.  The  .sjiiings  wiie  eitlie:'  choked  ii]i,  or  imiiregnatcd  with 
sulphur;  many  rivers  were  totally  lust ;  others  were  diveiled  from  their  courses,  and 


f? 


464 


APPENDIX. 


ihcir  waters  entirely  corrnptod.  Sonic  of  tlictn  hpciimo  yellow,  others  rod,  and  tlio 
^ivat  river  of  tliu  St.  Lawrence  app(^are(l  entirely  white,  as  far  down  as  Tadoiissjic 
Thi-*  cxfriiordinary  phenomena,  must  astonisli  thowe  \\li()kiu'W  the  size  of  the  river 
and  the  immense  liody  of  waters  in  various  parts,  whieli  must  hav(^  HMpiired  sueh 
atmiid.'un'e  of  matter  to  whiten  it.  They  write  from  Montreal,  tliat  durinij  the  earth- 
Unako,  they  plainly  saw  the  stakes  of  tho  picketing  or  palisades,  jump  up  as  if  they 
had  heon  dancinjf ;  and  that  of  two  doors  in  the  sanio  room,  one  opened  and  the 
oilier  shut  of  their  own  accord  ;  that  the  chimneys  and  tops  of  the  housi's,  l)ent  lik,' 
Krauches  of  the  trees  ajfilaied  with  the  wind  ;  that  when  they  wnt  to  walk,  tiiey  felt 
the  e.arlh  foUowinij  them,  and  rising'  iit  every  step  they  took,  somethin!^  sticking 
against  the  solos  of  their  fee',,  and  other  lhiiii,'S  in  u  very  forcible  and  surprising  inaiv- 
ner." 

"  From  Tlirec  liivers  they  write  that  tho  first  shock  was  the  most  violent,  and  com- 
menced witli  a  noise  rcsemhlini?  thuruler.  The  liouses  were  actitated  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  tops  of  tre"s  during  a  tempe^t,  with  a  noise  as  if  fire  wius  crackinu;  in  the 
g.'inots.  The  shock  lasted  hf'f  an  hour,  or  rather  better,  though  its  greatest  force  wa.s 
pro])erly  not  more  than  a  (juartcr  of  an  hotu',  and  we  believe  there  was  not  a  single 
shock,  which  did  not  cause  the  earth  to  open  more  or  less. 

•'  As  for  Uw  rest,  wc  have  reni.arked  that,  though  this  eartlKpiake  continued  almost 
without  infermis:,ion,  yet  it  was  not  always  of  an  eipial  violence.     Sometimes  it  was 
like  the  pitching  of  a  large  vessel  which  dragged  liea\  ily  at  her  anchors,  and  it  was 
this  motion  which  caused  many  to  have  giddiness  in  their  lieads,  and  a  (pialmishness 
in  their  stomachs.    At  otJier  times  the  motion  wasluirried  and  irregular,  creatini'  sud- 
den jerks,  some  of  which  were  (,'.\treniely  violent ;  but  tho  most  common,  was  a  slight, 
trenudous  motion,  which  occurred  frequently  with  little  noise.    Maiiy  of  tho  French 
inhabitants,  anil  Indians,  who  were  eye-witnesses  to  the  scene,  state  that  a  gri'at  way 
up  the  river  of  Trois  Kiviercs,  about  eighteen  miles  below  Quebec,  the  hills  which  bor- 
dered the  river  on  citlier  side,  and  which  were  of  a  prodigious  height,  were  torn  from 
tlieir   foundations,  and  plunged  into  the  river,   causing  it  to  change  its  course,  and 
spread  itself  over  a  large  tract  of  land  recently  cleared  ;  tho  broken  earth  mixed  with 
the  waters,  and  for  several  montlis  changed  tho  color  of  the  great  river  ISt.  Lawrence, 
into  which  that  of  Trois  Riviera  disemboques  itself.     In  the  course  of  this  violent  con- 
viU.sion  of  nature,  lakes  ajijieared  where  none  ever  existed   b<tore;  mountains  were 
overthrown,  swallowed  nj)  by  tho  gaping,  or  preciiiitated  into  .■idjacent  rivers,  Laving 
in  their  jilaces   frightful  chasms  or  level  phiins  ;  falls  and  rapids  were  ch.anged  into 
gentle  streams,  and  gentle  streams  into  falls  and  rapids.     Rivers  in  many  parts  of  the 
country  sought  other  beds,  or  totally  <lisnp]ieared.     The  earth  and  mountains  were 
entirely  split  and  rent  in  innumerable  ])lace.s,  creating  chasms  and  precipices,  whose 
depths  have  never  yet  been  a.^certained.    Such  devastation  was  also  occasioned  in  the 
wood,s,  that  more  than  a  thousand  acres  in  one  neighborhood  were  comiiletely  over- 
turned ;  and  where,  but  a  short  time  before,  nothing  met  the  eye  but  an  immense  forest 
of  trees,  now  were  to  be  seen  extensive ch'ared  lands,  ajiparently  cut  up  by  the  plough. 
At  Tadoussac,  (about  l.")0  miles  below  Quebec,  on  the  north  side,)  the  elFect  of  the 
earthquake  was  not  less  violent  than  in  otlier  ilac  s ;  and  such  a  heavy  shower  of  vol- 
canic ashes  fell  in  tliat  neighborhood,  particularly  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  that  the 
wai.'r  was  as  violently  agitated  as  tluring  a  tempest.    The  Indians  .say  that  a  vast 
volca\..  .xistsin  Labrador.     Xear  St.  I'aul's   Hay  (about  fifty  miles  below  Quebec 
on  the  north  .side,)  a  mountain,  about  a  quau'er  of  a  league  in  circumference,  situated 
on  the  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  was  precipitated  into  the  river,  but  us  if  it  had  only 


APPENDIX. 


465 


madn  a  pliingo,  it  rose  from  tlu!  bottom  and  Iwcamo  a  Biiiall  island,  formiiitf  with  the 
sliorc  a  convenient  liarbor,  well  sheltered  froTii  all  winds.  Lower  down  the  river, 
towiird  Point  Alonettoi.",  an  entin!  forest  (jf  eonsideralile  extent,  was  looHeiied  from  tho 
main  bank  and  slid  into  the  liver  St.  Lawrence,  wliero  the  trees  took  fresh  root.  There 
are  three  circnrnstances,  however,  whicli  have  rendered  thi.s  extniordinarv  eartliqiiakc 
paiticnlarly  remarkable  ;  — The  first  is  it.s  dMriifion.it  havin},'eontinned  Iroiri  Fc^bniary 
to  Anjjust,  that  is  to  say,  more  than  six  months  almost  wilhout  intermission.  It  is 
I  me,  the  i-liocks  were  not  always  ecinally  violent.  In  several  places,  as  toward  the 
inoiintjiins  buhind  Q  n  bee,  the  ihunderint,'  noiwwmd  trenibling  motion  continued  suc- 
cessively for  a  considerable  time.  In  others,  as  toward  TadfiuKsac,  thc^  shock  contin- 
ual f,'r.iierally  for  two  or  Ihreo  days  at  a  time,  with  much  violence. 

The  second  circumstance  relates  to  the  extent  of  this  earth(juake,  which  we  believe, 
was  uiiivorsal  throughout  the  whole  of  New  Franco,  for  we  learn  that  it  was  felt  from 
L'Isle  Perce  and  Gasiie,  which  are  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  be- 
yond Jlonlreal;  as  also  in  New  England,  Arcadia,  and  other  places  more  remote.  As 
far  IIS  it  has  coiik!  to  our  knowledge,  this  earthquake  extended  more  than  (JDO  miles  in 
lentil,  and  alwiit  DfJI)  in  breadth.  Fleiice,  It^O.OOO  s((uare  miles  of  land  were  convul- 
sed in  the  same  day,  and  at  llu,'  same  moment. 

The  third  circumstance,  which  appears  the  most  remarkable  of  all,re,<<ards  the  ex- 
traordinary protection  of  Divine  Providence,  which  has  been  extended  to  ii.s  and  our 
habitations;  for  we  have  seen  near  us  the  large  openings  and  chasms  which  the  earth- 
quake occasioned,  and  the  jnodigions  extent  of  country  which  has  been  either  totally 
lost  or  hideously  convulsed,  without  our  loosing  either  man,  woman,  or  child,  or  even 
having  a  Lair  of  their  head  touched." 


[NO.  2.] 

DE    NONVILLe's    invasion    OP    TIU;    GENESEE    COUNTRY. 


Succeeding  M.  de  la  Barre,  the  Governor,  Do  Xonville,  had  immediately  commenced 
peace  negotiations  with  tho  Sunccas  ;  at  times  there  seemed  every  ju'osjiect  of  a  favora- 
ble issue ;  but  the  EiigUsh  Governor,  Dongan,  was  evidently  throwing  every  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  ]ieace.  Had  he  been  otherwise  disposed,  a  jjowerfiil  inllneiice  was 
brmiglit  to  bear  iqion  him  :  The  English  traders  had  approached  the  imiductive  hunt- 
ing grounds  of  Western  N(!w  York  ;  and  were  stimulated  by  the  prosjiect  of  gain  wliich 
they  afforded  ;  and  this  region  was  their  only  practicable"  avenue  of  approach  to  the 
still  more  extensive  field  of  Indian  trade  around  the  borders  of  the  western  Lakes. 
The  mi'rcenary  views  of  the  English  traders  predominated  over  any  regard  for  the 
peace  of  their  colony.  The  sale  of  poor  English  brandy  to  the  Indians,  and  the  ac- 
quisition of  rich  packs  of  beaver  were  considi;iatioiis  with  them  paramount  to  tho.se  wliich 
involved  (juestions  of  peace  or  war  between  J^ance  and  England.  They  of  course 
wc^re  not  the  i)eace  coun.sellors  of  Gov.  Dongan. 

France  and  1)(!  Nonville  had  a  faithful  helper,  in  tho  person  of  tho  Jesuit  Father 
LamberviUe,  who  had  been  for  sixteen  years  located  as  a  missionary,  at  Onondaga, 
the  central  canton  of  the  InKjuois.  He  had,  not  unworthily,  acquired  great  influence 
and  he  exercisi'd  it  in  fa\-or  of  peace.  He  had  perseveringly  endeavored  to  prevent 
the  introduction  of  sjiiiitous  liquors  among  Mio  Indians  ;  had  foretold  its  consequences, 
and  in  all  things  else  had  jiroved  their  friend.    Pending  tho  viait  of  M,  de  la  Earrc  to 


J 

m 

n 


460 


APPENDIX. 


r; 


1* 


tho  south  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  ho  had  exerted  himself  to  procure  a  conference  be- 
tween tliu  French  and  all  the  Iroquois  nations  ;  and  in  ordurto  romovc  ovory  olwtacle, 
had  opened  a  friendly  con-osjiondence  with  Gov.  D(,^igan,  to  induce  him  to  be  on  the 
side  of  peace.  -  Let  your  zeal,"  lie  wrote,  "  for  tiie  public  peace,  and  especially  for 
the  Christiana  of  this  America,  induce  you  to  put  a  fini.shin^'  hand  to  this  good 
work.  Since  peace,  through  your  care,  will  apparently  last,  we  shall  continue  to  carry 
the  Christian  faith  throuy:li  this  country,  and  to  solicit  tho  Indians,  whom  you  Jioni^r 
with  y(jur  friendship,  to  embrace  if,  as  yon  yourselves  embrace  it,  for  this  is  the  sole 
object  tliat  has  caused  us  to  come  here  ;  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  ChrLst,  shed  for  all 
men,  may  be  useful  to  them,  and  that  his  glory  may  be  great  throughout  the  earth." 
Till'  good  missionary  retjuests  the  Governor  to  Ben<l  lu.s  answer  by  Gai-akontie,  m 
Onondaga,  whom  he  will  meet  at  Albany  ;  and  he  exhorts  him  "  to  have  a  little  care 
for  Garakontie,"  to  recommend  him  "not  to  get  dnmk  any  more, aa  he  promised  when 
lie  was  baptised,  and  to  iierform  the  duties  of  a  Christiim." 

On  the  advent  of  De  Nonville,  Father  Lamben-ille  seconded  all  his  efforts  for 
peace,  though  as  duty  to  his  country  dictated,  he  at  the  siime  time  kept  tlie  (iovcrnor 
informed  of  all  the  English  were  d<jing  to  prejudice  the  Iroquois  against  tlie  French. 

The  winter  of  1685,  'fi,  wore  away,  the  French  shut  up  at  Montreal,  and  at  their 
advanced  posts,  and  tho  English,  not  venturing  nmch  beyond  tho  Hudson.  Little 
could  be  done  in  the  winter  in  the  way  of  peace  negotiations,  war,  or  trade,  iw  the 
navigable  waters,  tho  only  means  of  conmiunication,  were  principally  closed  with  ice. 
In  May,  De  Nonville  informed  his  govern ment.that  there  had  been  seen  on  Lake  Erie, 
ten  Englisli  canoes,  laden  with  merchandise,  in  which  were  some  French  desei  tcrs ;  and 
mentions  that  lie  had  sent  a  small  force  to  Niagara  to  intercept  them  on  their  return. 
He  gives  a  mintito  topograi)hical  description  of  Niagara ;  describes  its  command- 
ing position ;  and  recommends  the  erection  of  a  fort  there,  its  the  most  elfectual  means 
of  preventing  English  encroachments  at  the  west  ;  and  he  is  of  the  oj)inion  that  if 
the  Scnecns  should  see  a  fort  planted  there,  they  would  be  more  pliant."  Ho  informs 
the  government  that  he  has  assumed  tho  responsibility  of  sending  an  engineer  and 
draughtsman  to  Niagara,  to  locate  the  Fort,  and  make  the  necc'ssary  drawings."*  The 
expense  attending  tho  getting  of  military  stores  and  provisions  to  Kingston,  is  men- 
tioned as  a  serious  drawback  to  his  oiierations,  it  costing  not  less  than  "110  liVres 
from  Ville  JIarie,  on  the  Island  of  Montreal,  to  Catarokouy,  per  1000  lbs." 

Soon  after  this  dispatch  had  been  forwarded  to  France,  De  Nonville  received  a  letter 
from  the  English  Governor,  abounding  in  professions  of  friendshij),  and  a  disposition 
to  preserve  jieace  between  the  two  nations  ;  laments  that  the  Indians  had  dealt  harshly 
with  two  Jesuit  Missionaries  ;  and  thinks  it  "  a  thousand  pitties  that  those  who  made 
such  progress  in  the  service  of  God.  should  be  disturbed;  and  that  by  the  fault  of 
tlioso  wlio  laid  the  foundation  of  Christianity  ainonst  those  barbarous  peojile."  In 
this  letter,  however,  the  English  Governor  distinctly  asserts  the  right  of  English  do- 
minion, all  along  the  soutli  sliorcs  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  up  to  the  eastern  banks  of 


lis  is  imiloubtedly  the  incijiient  step  to  the  occupation  of  the  site  of  Fort  Niag. 
n  his  llistiiry  of  the  Holland  Purchase,  the  author  has  assumed  that  La  S;dl( 


*Thi 
ara.     In   ms  msiory  ox  me  noMaiid  I'uivliase,  tlie  autlior  has  assumed  that  La  S;dle 
erected  a  trading  post  there;  but  butter  information  leads  him  to  the  conclusion  that 
this  was  an  error. 

Note.— The  reader  will  bear  in  mind,  that  up  to  this  period  of  colonization  in 
America,  the  queslKui  ofright,  as  to  jurisdictiou  and  doniinioM,  was  but  illv  defined 
Boundaries  were  but  imaginary,  no  survevor's  compass  having  marked  them  ;  no 

stakes  or  stones"  had  been  set  up.    The  French  claimed  dominion  and  pre-emjjiive 


Al'PENDIX. 


4G7 


tho  Niagara  River,  complnins  of  the  gatherinwof  stores  at  "Cataraqui,"  (Kingston,) 
as  it  is  evidence  of  intention  to  war  upoii  tiio  Iroqiiois,  who,  it  is  assumed  are  the 
kir^'  of  En(,'land's  siihjocta,  and  protests  against  the  iiitt'iitioiw  of  the  Frencli  to  build 
a  tlbrt  at  a  place  called  Ohnijijero,  on  tliis  side  of  the  Lake,  within  my  master's  ter- 
ritory es." 

Other  correspondence  transpired  between  the  Governors  of  the  rival  colonists,  and 
lx)th  kept  their  governments  informed  of  all  tliat  was  ffoins;  on  in  this  purtidn  of  tlio 
new  world.  The  diplomacy  of  the  floveniors,  was  marked  thronf^hont  witli  insincer- 
ity ;  they  mutually  concealed  from  each  other  their  real  intentions.  Gov.  Don^an 
occasionally  falls  into  a  vein  of  flattery  :  — On  one  occasion  he  expresses  his  "hii?h 
satisfaction  that  the  Kini^  of  France  has  sent  him  so  ffood  a  neij^hbor,  of  so  excellent 
qualitications  and  temper,  and  of  a  humor  alto^etlier  dilferent  from  Monsieur  La  Uarro, 
who  was  so  furious  and  hasty,  very  much  addicted  to  great  words,  as  if  it  had  bin  to 
have  bin  frightened  by  him."  De  Nonville  aware  that  Gov.  Dongan  was  a  (^atholic, 
takes  good  care  to  often  impress  him  with  the  idea,  that  all  tliat  lie  is  doiiig  lias  refer- 
ence to  "the  glory  of  God,  and  the  ])ropagation  of  the  Christian  faith."  Suddenly 
however,  his  tone  changed,  and  he  charged  tJie  English  Governor  with  inciting  the 
Indians  to  lunnlia-  Frenchmen  uj)on  their  own  territory;  of  being  privy  to  tlie  "mar- 
tyrd(jm  of  holy  missionaries  ;"  of  having  sent  an  English  exjjedilion  to  JMishillima- 
quina."  "  Think  you,"  says  he,  "that  religion  will  progress,  whilst  your  merchants 
«upply  as  they  do,  Eau  de  vci  in  abundance,  which  converts  the  savages  into  demons, 
and  their  wigwams  into  counterjiarts  and  theatres  of  hell."  He  charges  in  addition, 
that  the  English  liave  "hiubored  and  protected  French  runaway.s,  bankrupts  and 
thieves." 

De  Xonville  informed  his  King  of  English  eucroachinents  upon  French  teftitory  ; 
of  their  expeditions  to  the  AVest ;  of  their  hohling  councils  with  the  Iroquois,  and  es- 
pecially the  Senccas  ;  of  their  arming  and  inciting  them  to  war  upon  the  French  ; 
and  ooncluds  with  the  opinion,  that  there  can  be  no  .success  for  the  French  Mission- 
aries or  Traders,  until  the  Senecas  are  hun'bled ;  and  for  this  purpose  he  demands  a 
large  j-einforcement  from  France.  The  King  assured  him  that  his  demands  should  be 
complied  with,  and  recommends  prompt  otfensive  measures. 

Much  othei  coiTospondenee  passed  between  De  Nonville  and  his  government,  and 
between  the  two  Governors,  which  is  not  material  to  an  understanding  of  events  that 
followed. 

right  over  all  the  lands  of  the  Indians,  aniong  whom  their  missionaries  and  traders  had 
gained  a  foothold.  By  this  tennre  they  were,  at  the  jieriod  u])on  wliicji  we  are  now  dwell- 
ing, claimiu^'  the  wliole  vallev  of  tlie  Western  Lakes,  and  of  tlie  Mississijipi ;  over 
into  Texas  and  Xew  Mexico,  by  rea.«on  of  llie  advent  of  La  Salle  ;  and  all  ot  wliat  is 
now  New  York,  as  low  down  as  tlie  eastern  bounds  of  Oneida  county.  Tlie  taking 
po.ssession  by  formal  jnodamation,  in  the  name  of  their  king,  w.as  tlrst  ilone  by  De 
Nonville,  in  what  is  now  Ontario  county ;  and  repeated  at  Niagara.  The  English 
claimed  upon  similar  tenure,  beyond  wlieie  they  had  obtained  po.ssession  by  treaty. 
When  the  issue  was  jiending  between  De  Nonville  and  tlio  English  Governor,  the  Eng- 
lish had  not  been  occupant.*,  in  anv  form,  of  any  portion  of  western  Ne\,  York. 
The  Frendi  had  missionary  and  trading  stations  as  low  down  as  the  Oneida  castle. 
The  Eiiii'Iish  had,  to  be  sure,  performed  the  ceremony  of  sending  agents  to  all  the  Iro- 
quois villages,  to  en-ct  poles,upon  which  were  flags  bearing  the  a:  ins  of  their  nation  ;  but 
the  act  was  so  ludicrous  as  to  excite  (he  contempt  of  the  natives,  who  generally  tore 
them  down,  for  llie  Iroquois  acknowledged  no  sovereignty  of  either  France  or  England, 
over  them.* 

*We  are  free  !"  said  GaiTangula  to  de  la  Barre  ; — "  We  woroborn  fro(>men,  and  have 
no  dependence  on  Yonnoudio,"  (the  French  Governor,)  "  or  Corlear,"  (the  Euglisb 
Governor.) 


')\m  i  i 


t  >l|' 


iif- 


■j 

m 

J 

i 

i 
I 

f  ■ 

1 
M 

IMAGE  EVALUATrON 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


w.. 


1.0 


I.I 


ISKS  llii 

■"  Itt    12.2 
S   114    '"" 

S    '-    il|J£ 

WUi- 

1.8 


11.25      1.4      16 

■« 6"     

^ ► 

P^. 


(? 


/^ 


"a 


^- 


m.      oS.   ^^s 


.^ 


S^. 


V 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


^M 


t<>/ 


f/ 


.<5> 


^ 


I 


468 


APPENDIX. 


In  June,  1687,  the  recniite  having  arriveu  from  France,  the  French  army  moved  up 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  occupied  the  Fortat  "  Cataracouy."     The  premeiiitatcd  invasion 
of  the  Seneca  country,  W08  preceded  by  an  act  of  treachery  and  perfidy,  which  has 
few  parallels  in  liistory.     The  French  Governor  persuaded  the  go(*d  misworiary,  Laiu- 
bervdle,  who  was  intent  only  upon  peace,  the  service  of  his  King,  and  the  success  of 
his  mission,  to  take  a  large  delegation  of  Indians  to  his  head  quarters,  under  the  pre- 
tence of  holding  a  peace  council,  and  reconciling  all  difficulties.    When    they  were 
shut  up  within  the  fort,  and  completely  in  his  power,   he  ordered  fifty  of  them  to  be 
put  in  irons,  conveyed  to  Quebec,  and  from  thence  to  the  galleys  in  France  !     His  ob- 
ject, as  will  be  inferred,  was  to  hold  them  a.s  hostages,  to  give  him  advantage  in  making 
overtures  of  peace ;  but  he  sadly  misjudged  the  effect.    The  news  of  the  treachery 
reaching  the  Oneidas,  a  French  Missionary  was  seized  and  led  to  t'le  stake,  and  was 
only  saved  by  th.!  intervention  of  a  squaw,  who   claimed  the  right  to  adopt  him  as 
her  son.    At  Onondaga,  the  Missionary  Lambenllle,  was  summoned  before  a  council 
of  chiefs,  and  while  anticipating  that  his  life  had  been  forfeited  by  the  part  he  had 
taken  m  the  affair,  a  chief  arose  and  addressed  him  thus :  —"Thou  art  now  our  ene- 
my- thou  and  thy  race.     But  we  have  held  counsel  and  cannot  resolve  to  treat  thee 
as  an  enemy.    We  know  thy  heart  had  no  share  in  this  treason,  though  thou  wert  its 
tool.     Wo  are  not  unjust;  we  will  not  punish  thee,  being  innocent  and  hating  the 
cnme  as  much  as  ourselves.    But  depart  from  among  us ;  there  a*  some  who  mi-ht 
seek  thy  blood  ;  and  when  our  young  men  sing  then-  war  song,  we  may  no  longer  be 
enabled  to  protect  thee."    Lamberville  was  furnished  with  an  escort,  who  conducted 
him  to  the  French  upon  the  St.  Lawrence. 

Previous  to  his  arrival  at  Cataracouy,  De  NonviUe  had  sent  presents  to  the  western 
nations  at  war  with  the  Iroquois,  their  ancient  enemies,  who  were  in  alliance  with  the 
French,  and  had  given  orders  to  the  commandants  of  the  western  posts  to  collect 
them,  and  repair  with  them  and  their  respective  commands  to  Niagara,  and  from  thence 
to    Ga-ni-en-tar-a-quet,"  (Irondequoit.)    There  were  at  this  period,  Fr..nch  posts 
at  Mackinaw,  upon  Lakes  Superior  and  Michigan,  Upon  the  Wisconsin,  the  Illinois 
and  the  Mississippi  rivers ;  and  never  had  a  King  or  a  country  more  devoted  or  faith- 
tul  subjects,  than  were  the  commandants  of  these  far  off  posts,  dotted  down,  hundreds 
of  miles  apart,  in  the  wilderness.    Chief  among  them  was  Tonti,  wliom  De  NouviUe 
Lad  named  to  the  King,  as  "a  lad  of  great  entei-prise  and  boldness,  who  undertakes 
considerable."    Tonti,  it  wiU  have  been  observed,  had  been  the  companion  of  La 
Salle  in  the  primitive  advent  over  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie.    Left  by  his  principal, 
withahandfulof  menatthe-Fortof  the  Illinese,"  (Illinois,)  he  had  successfully 
defended  it  against  the  assuJts  of  the  Indians.    He  was  with  de  la  Barre,  in  his  expe- 
dition to  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Onterio;  and  returning  to  Illinois,  he  had  been  in 
search  of  the  adventurous  La  SaUe,  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.    Undei  him  the  western 
forces  were  marshalled. 

By  a  remarkable  coincidence,  the  army  under  De  Nonvillo,  and  the  western  French 
and  Indians  arrived  at  Irondequoit  on  the  same  day, -the  10th  of  July.  Pushing 
directly  across  the  Lake  from  Cataracouy,  to  "La  Famine  Bay,"  the  main  army  had 
coat,ted  by  slow  stages,  encamping  on  shore  when  night  overtook  them.  Thrir  last 
andmost^onside^^  .^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^  . 

and  ^aZ  ^'l^l'.rS  h?!' v*''l-' i' VF^^^^  stopping  place  for  IV^ncYba  t^xi^;;^ 
FrpnM  .  f  (      1.  •  ^"^'■'■'''i  L"!'-"  coasters.    The  sj)ecics  of  amAo  tree  wliich  the 

fid  ic^  :  i^^dtrir'  t'"*',':';g''^»./v.-.8 growing  tl,ere,  and  there  was  the  remains  of  a^ 
Sofn  blf  ^«  I'lt^  T  •^''"le'nent  commenced.  The  place  was  known  i.s  "Ap. 
pienoon,    before  its  present  name  was  conferred,  *^ 


APPENDIX. 


469 


The  western  dmsion  of  the  army  came  d„,.n  from  Niagara  by  lan.l  pur«uinwhe 
Indmr,  trail  upon  t].e  h.ke  shore.    Entori,,,  the  Bay  of  Inrnd.quoit  with  twolnaod 
butteaux,  and  n.n,ar.y  canoes.    De  Nonville  erected  a  paliJe  fort  upon  an  deva^ 
tedsrte,  m  wluoh  to  station  a  snmU  force  for  the  protection  of  his  wat^r  rnffand 
nnhtary  stores.    "Never  had  Canada  seen  and  never  perhaps  will  it  se^    1  ;''"- 
acl       A  camp  composed  of  one  fourth  regular  troops,  with  the  General's   uTt^one 
fourth  habuans,*  xn  four  battallions,  with  the  gentry  otthe  country ;  onetX'hr 
tian  Indians;  and  finally  a  crowd  of  all  the  barbarous  nations  naked  trooed  .Th 
panued  over  the  body  with  all  sorts  of  figure,  wearing  horns  o    thettS   t  1„^ 
down  then,  back,  and  armed  with  arrows.    Wo  could  hear  during  the  nig  t     ^nuT 
tude  of  languages,  and  songs  and  dances  in  every  tongue.    The  "Tsonnontouan   » 
(Senecas     came  to  reconnoitre  ns,  and  then  went  to  burn  their  villages  andTe  to 
leffwit,     r  '^^'^•■•^-^'^.g"-^,:- 300  Christian  Indians;  the  Pagan  ^savages    ntl^ 
Thercl    r""-Tr  T.^^^^^-'^OO  Pou^,  (Sloux.)  100IUinois,50HuronI 
headed  by  De  Nonville,  and  the  other  by  M.  Duque  " 

In  the  mean  time  the  Senecas  had  not  been  idle.    They  were  cognizant  of  thp 
ga  hermg  of  troops  and  provisions  at  Cataracouy-had  seen  ^heTISri  LLn 
push  across  the  Lake ;  squads  of  them  concealed  in  the  thick  woods,  had  watched  the 

Ernti:  :Jn  ^-^-'^  .t-^^-^:  ^'--  "^^^•^  ^^^^^-^  -d  their  swift  ^^it  ti 

fhe'  n   s       -"^'-  '-^J-ed  of  their  moven.ents.    Preparations  had  been  made  for 
aetT^lTi,  1  "f  •"«™"™lt'-<'^t'-eme  youth,  had  been  sent  to  places  of 

sa  ety  all  else  without  regard  to  sex,  had  been  marshalled  for  the  approach^  com- 
bat A  party  of  an  hundred,  approached  the  French  in  canoes,  bef  re  they  had L 
embarked,  and  hailed  them  in  a  friendly  manner;  to  which,  as  they  re,«  t"  te 
French  "rephed  in  base  language  : -Enustogan  horrio,  squa  which  irnuchn 
ti.-  anguage.  as  the  devil  take  you  ! "  Another  scouting  party  ppr  ch  d  t^o 
F.enoh  and  received  quite  as  uncivil  an  answer;  whereupon  they  wont  back  -nd  re 
ported  to  the  sachems,  that  to  fight  was  the  oidy  alternative. 

Various  accounts  of  the  battle  that  ensued,  have  been  preserved  ;-There  are  De 
Nonvme-,  ofhcial  report;  La  Hontan>s  account;  the  EngLi  account  d  r  dim 
the  Indians;  and  that  of  L'Abbe  de  Belmont,  in  a  manuscript,  "Historvof  Cunl  " 
recently  discovered  in  the  Royal  Library  of  Paris.  Theau'tl  or  woulcl' 1  o'lte 
be  n  an  e,.  witne..s,  and  he  has  faithfully,  as  is  evident,  recorded  the  ev   ,  '" 

coveied  with  aides.     ^I'ls  is  the  place  which  they  selected  for  their  ambuscade.    iW 


*  French  militia. 

head  a  tuft  of  haii'  is  bound  and  tridned  to  If.nT       •  ^T'"^  VP«"  ««>  crown  of  the 
or  tassel  '   ^  '"""^'^  *°  ^^and  upright,  terminating  in  a  loose  tuft 


470 


APPENDIX. 


divided  Ihenisulvos,  posted  300  men  alori^  the  falling  brook  botwoon  two  liill.^,  in  a 
great  thi.kct  (if  beodi  trees  ;  and  500  at  the  bottom  of  these  hills,  in  a  marrfi,  among 
the  alders  ;  with  tlie  idea  that  the  first  ambuscade  of  300  men  should  let  the  army  pass 
and  then  atti.ck  them  in  the  rear,  which  would  force  it  to  fall  into  the  second  anibus- 
cade  whicJi  was  concealed  at  the  bottom  of  the  hills  in  tlie  marsh.  They  -deceived 
Uiemselves  nevertheless,  for  as  the  advanced  guard  which  M  de  Calliera  commanded, 
was  very  distant  from  the  body  under  the  command  of  the  Marquis,  tliey  believed  it 
was  the  entii'o  array.  Accordingly  as  the  advanced  guard  pits.sed  near  the  thicket  of 
beeches,  after  making  a  terrible  whrjoj),  (sakaqua  ! )  they  tired  a  volley. 

"  The  Ottawas  and  the  heathen  Indian.s  all  fled.  The  Chrisfiau  Indians  of  the 
mountain  and  the  Sault,  and  the  Abenaquis  held  fast  and  gave  two  vollies. 

"The  Marquis  De  IS'imville  advanced  with  the  main  body,  conqiosed  of  the  royal 
tro-ps,  to  occupy  the  height  of  the  hill,  where  there  was  a 'little  fort  of  piquets;  but 
the  t«'rof  and  disorder  of  the  surprise  were  such,  that  there  was  only  M.  de  Calzenne 
who  distinguished  liimself  there,  and  M.  Duquo  who  bringing  up  the  rem- guard,  rallied 
the  battalliou  of  Berthier,  which  was  in  flight,  and  being  at  tliohead  of  that  of  Mon- 
treal, fired  two  hundred  shot'i.  The  Marquis,  en  chemise,  sword  in  baud  drew  up  the 
main  body  in  battle  (mier,  and  beat  the  dnmi  at  a  time  when  scarcelv  anv  one  was 
to  be  seen.  This  friglitenetl  the  DDO  Tsonnonouans  of  the  ambuscade,  who  "  fled  from 
above  towards  the  500  that  were  and)ushed  below.  The  fear  that  all  the  world  was 
upon  Ihem,  made  them  fly  with  so  nuich  precipitation  that  they  left  their  blankets  in 
a  heap  and  notlung  more  was  seen  of  them. 

"A  council  was  held.  It  was  re  solved,  as  it  Wiis  late,  to  sleep  on  the  field  of  battle  for 
camp.  Oiij  who  was  still  alive  said  there  were  800  of  them  ;  300  above,  and  500 
below  ;  and  that  the  Goyogoaians,  (Cayugas.)  were  to  come  the  next  day,  which  was 
the  reason  that  they  f\  aid  where  they  were.  There  were  found  at  several  j)lac(s  during 
the  succeeding  days,  provisions,  and  some  other  dead  savages ;  or  if  not  dead,  our  men 
killed  them." 

"On  the  morrow  we  inarched  in  battle  order,  wating  for  an  attack.  We  descended 
the  hill  by  a  little  sloping  valley,  or  gorge,  througli  wliich  ran  a  brook  bordered  with 
thick  bus^vs,  and  which  discharges  it.self  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  in  a  marsh  full  of  deep 
mud,  but  planted  with  alders  so  thick  that  one  could  scarcely  see.  There  it  was  tliat 
they  had  stationed  their  two  ambuscades,  and  where  perhaps  we  would  have  been  de- 
feated, if  tlu^y  had  not  mistaken  our  advanced  guards  for  the  whole  army,  and  been 
so  hasty  in  firiug.  The  Manjuis  acted  -"ery  prudently  in  not  pursuing  them,  for  it  was 
a  trick  of  the  Iroquois  to  draw  us  into  a  greater  ambuscade.  The  marsa  which  is 
about  twenty  acres,  (aopens,)  being  passed,  we  found  about  three  hundred  wretched 
blankets;  several  nuserablo  guns,  and  began  to  perceive  the  famous  Babylon  of  tlie  Tsou- 
nontouans ;  a  city,  or  village  oi  bark,  situate  at  the  top  of  a  mountain  of  earth,  to 
which  one  rises  by  three  terraces,  or  hills.  It  ajipeared  to  us  from  a  distance,  to  be 
crowned  with  roimd  towers,  but  these  were  only  large  chests,  (drums)  of  bark,  about 
four  feet  in  length,  set  the  one  in  the  other  about  five  feet  in  diameter,  in  which  they 
keep  tlieir  Indian  corn.  The  village  had  been  burnt  by  themselves;  it  was  now 
eight  days  since  ;  we  found  nothing  in  tlie  town  excejit  t'.ie  cemetery  and  grave.  It 
was  filled  with  snakes  and  animals,  tliere  was  a  great  mask  with  teeth  and  eyes  of 
brass  ;  and  a  bear  skin  with  which  they  disguise  in  their  cabin.s.  There  were  in  the 
four  corners,  greiit  boxes  of  grain  which  tliey  had  not  burred.  They  had  out.sidc 
this  j)ogt,  theii*  Indian  corn  in  a  piquet  fort  at  the  top  of  a  httlo  mountain,  steps  or  cut 
down  on  all  sides,  where  it  was  knee  high  thvoughout  the  fort." 


APPENDIX. 


471 


"  The  Tsonnontouans  have  four  largo  villages,  which  they  change  every  ton  years,  in 
order  to  hring  tlien>selves  near  (lie  wodds,  and  permit  them  to  grow  up  again.  They 
callthfiii  CMgn.sjifa,  Tohaitwi,  which  are  the  two  larger;  Onnntagiie,  and  Oiinenatu 
ffhich  are  Rinaller.  In  the  kst  dwells  Ganonkitahoui,  the  principal  eliief.  Wu  cut  the 
hfau(iing  grain  already  ripe  enough  to  eat,  and  burned  the  old.  It  was  estimated  that 
we  burnt  one  Imndred  thou.iand  minots  of  old  grain,  and  a  huntlrod  and  fifty  thou-sand 
minotH  of  that  standing  in  the  field,  besides  the  beans,  and  the  hogs  that  we  killed. 
Sixty  persons  died  of  wounds  received  inthebatlle,  a  multitude  perished  of  want: 
many  of  them  fled  beyond  tlie  great  mountainM  of  Onnontagtie,  and  went  to  dwell  in 
the  country  of  the  Andastoez.  The  greater  part  of  their  captives  dispersed,  and 
Mncothat  time  the  Tsonnontouau,  (Seneca)  nation,  which  counted  at  loiHit  eight  or 
nine  hundred  warriors,  and  ten  thousand  souls  in  all,  has  been  reduced  to  half  tliat 
number. 

"  From  here,  against  the  expectations  of  our  Indians,  who  believed  wo  were  going 
among  the  Iro(iuoia  crntons,  we  went  to  establish  a  Fort  at  Onnigara,  [Niagara,]  where 
we  arrived  after  three  days'  journey." 

The  ofheial  account  of  I)e  iVonville,  does  not  difter  materially  from  that  of  the  L 
Abbe  de  Belmont.  He  says  the  French  loss  was  but  "  five  or  six  raeu  kiUed  and 
twenty  wounded."  He  says  :  —  "  We  witnessed  the  painfid  sigh.^  of  the  usual  cruel- 
ties of  the  savages,  who  cut  the  dead  into  quarters,  as  in  slaughter  houses,  in  order  to  put 
thcia  into  the  jiot.  The  greater  number  were  opened  wliile  still  warm,  that  their  blood 
might  be  draiik.  Our  rascally  Ottowas  distinguished  themselves  parti  ularly  by  the.«o 
barbarities,  and  by  their  cowardice,  for  they  withdr  om  the  combat ;  the  Hurous  of 
Michilimaquina  did  very  well,  but  our  Christian  Indians  surpassed  all,  and  performed 
deed«  of  valor,  especially  our  Iroquois,  of  whom  we  durst  not  make  sure,  ha\in-  to  firrht 
against  their  relatives."  He  is  quite  as  extravagant  as  de  Belniont,  in  hLsestimate  of  tlie 
amount  of  com  destroyed.*  The  estimate  of  either  is  incredible;  it  was  a  new  kind  of  war 
for  the  Marquis,  and  not  much  to  his  taste.  He  says  to  the  Minister  of  War  :  —  "  It  is 
an  unfortunate  trade,  my  lo.d,  to  command  savages,  who,  after  the  first  broken  head,  ask 
to  return  home,  carrying  home  with  them  the  scalps  which  they  lift  off  Uko  a  leather 
cap;  you  cannot  conceive  the  terrible  efforts  I  had  to  retain' them  until  the  com  was  cut. 
It  is  full  thirty  years  since  I  hate  had  the  honor  to  serve,  but  I  assure  you,  my  lord, 
that  I  have  seen  nothing  that  comws  near  this  :n  labor  and  fatigue. 

Baron  La  Hontan  accompanied  the  expedition,  as  he  was  much  disposed  to  tell  the 
truth  upon  all  occasions,  his  version  of  the  general  features  of  the  battle  is  entitled  to 
credit.  Ho  insists  that  the  ambuscade  was  very  successful,  tlirowing  the  French  into 
general  disorder,  and  panic  from  which  they  were  only  relieved  by  a  fierce  assault 
of  tlieir  allies,  the  western  Indians,  upon  the  assailants.  He  savs  the  ]o.ss  was  that  of 
ten  of  their  Indian  iJlies,  and  a  hundred  Frenchmen.  "  Six  lavs  we  were  occupied 
in  cutting  down  Indian  com  with  our  swords.  We  found  in  all  the  villages  horse?, 
cattle,  and  .n  multitude  of  swine." 

The  western  Indians  were  much  chagrined  at  the  result  of  the  expedition  They 
had  come  down  to  join  De  Nonville,  in  the  hope  that  their  ancient  implacable  ene- 
mies, the  Iroquois,  were  to  be  exterminated,  when  they  found  that  the  French  intended 
to  retreat  without  visiting  the  other  Iroquois  cantons,  tiiey  complained  bitterly  and 
indirectly  taunted  them  with  cowardice.  They  spoke  in  contei.iptuous  language  of 
an  expedition  assembled  at  so  much  expense  and  trouble,  "to  burn  bark  cabins  which 
could  bo  rebuilt  in  four  days,"  an.l  destroy  com,  the  loss  of  which  their  confederates 

*  A  minot  ia  equal  to  tluee  bushels. 


472 


APPENDIX. 


in  tlieir  abundance,  could  easily  Rupply.  Many  of  tliem  doparted  for  home  in  disgust 
Those  that  went  with  tho  French  to  Niagara,  were  only  a])[)wiKC(i  by  the  proiuiac  that 
the  war  should  be  renewed. 

Before  leaving  tlie  Seni'ca  country,  De  Nonville  took  fonnal  posBftssiou  of  it  m  the 
name  of  liis  king,  making  a  ijoniiiousi)rorlaniation,  in  wliich  he  enumerates  the  Tillages 
of  Ga-os-waeh-gwa,  (upon  Botighton  Hill,)  (Ja-no-gairae,  (near  where  the  old  ludiai 
trail  crossed  the  Oanargwa,  in  East  Bloomtield,)  De-yu-di-huak-do,  (at  the  north-east 
bend  of  the  Houeoye  outlet,  near  West  Meiidon,)  Dy-u-doii-set,  (al)out  two  miles 
south-east  of  Avon.)  "^he  proclaniation,  act  of  possession,  or  "  process  verbal,"  sayb 
that  the  I'rench  ;ai-my  "  have  vanquishetl  and  put  to  flight  eight  hmuhcd  Iroquois 
Tsonnontouans,  and  have  laid  waste,  burnt,  and  destroed  tlieu-  cabins." 

Subsequently  there  has  appeare<l  tlie  careful  and  distinct  account  of  the  battle  given 
by  the  L.  Abbe  de  Belmont,  a  larger  portion  of  whicli  is  given  in  preceding  pagea 
Guided  by  that  and  Mr.  Marshall's  pamplilet,  the  author  has  made  some  personal 
investigations  which  leads  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the  army  of  De  Nonville  landed 
on  the  east  side  of  IrondequoitBay.at  whr.t  has  been  known  as  the  old  "Indian  Land- 
ui; ;."  and  pursued  the  old  Indian  trail,  r-nsged  the  head  of  tiio  Bay,  and  the  branch  trail 
which  bore  otTa  little  east  of  Pittsford  village,  and  over  tho  ridge  of  higlilands,  descend- 
ing to  Victor  flats  over  the  now  farm  of  Wm.  C.  and  Truman  Dryer,  near  the  present 
Pittsford  road. 

With  the  different  authentic  accounts  of  the  battle  which  we  now  have,  the  antiqua- 
rian, or  historical  reader,  will  have  no  difhcnlty  in  identifying  upon  Victor  Flats,  Bough- 
ton  Hill,  and  Fort  Hill,  the  entire  battle  grounds.  There  are  the  places  of  the  two 
ambuscades,  the  site  of  tho  "  Babylon  of  the  Tosnnontouans,"  the  "  high  hill  siuTOunded 
by  three  little  hills  or  terraces,  at  the  foot  of  a  valley,  and  opposit«  some  other  hills  ;" 
and  mdeed,  many  things,  evidences  of  identity  that  arc  conchisire.  In  early  years  of 
settlement,  Brant  was  a  guest  of  Jared  €*;  ;1  Eiios  Boughton.  He  traced  out  tlie  site  of  the 
ancient  Indian  villag'-,  and  tho  old  French  battle  ground,  and  8t!ite<l  that  his  grand- 
father, who  was  of  the  Iroquois  tliat  had  settled  under  French  protection,  upon  the  St. 
Lr^'-Qiico,  was  the  pilot  of  De  Nonvilk's  army. 

Relics  of  the  battle  and  of  temporary  French  occ^ipancy,  were  numerous  in  the 
early  years  of  K'ttleniv'iit,  such  as  "  bill  axes,"  gun  barrels,  and  trinnnings,  a  silver  cross 
and  silver  coins.  As  late  as  1818,  two  five  frank  pieces  were  j)loughed  up  on  the  liill 
nortli  of  Boughton  Hill.  A  little  oast  of  the  Pitfsfcrd  road,  near  tho  old  Indian  trail, 
on  the  farm  of  Asahel  Boughton,  there  was  ploughed  up  a  few  yeai-s  ago,  a  half  bushel 


NoTK. — The  p'-ecise  location  of  the  battle  ground  of  De  Nonvallo  and  the  Senecas, 
has  been  a  muofed  question.  Mr.  Ho.smer  has  favored  the  conchision  that  it  was  in 
Avon,  near  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Honeoye.  Mr.  James  Hpeny,  of  Henrietta,  an 
early  pioneer,  a  man  of  obser\;ition,  as  the  reader  will  ;ilready  have  obser\'ed,  inclines 
to  the  opinion  that  it  was  on  the  farm  of  Nathan  Waldron,  in  tlie  nnrtli-east  cornel 
of  East  Bloomtield.  A  few  years  sinco',  O.  H.  Marshall,  of  Builalo,  a  close  and  care- 
ful investigator  —  an  intelligont  antiquarian,  to  whom  our  whole  local  region  is  far 
more  ind(bted  for  early  Indian  and  French  History,  than  he  has  had  credit  for  —  trans- 
lated from  the  Frencl'i,  the  Journal  of  De  Nonville,  for  the,  use  of  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society,  and  to  illustrate  his  sulijcct,  made  a  tour  of  obseiTation,  He  located 
tho  battle  ground  in  Victor,  traced  and  mapped  the  several  localities  alluded  to  in  De 
Nonville  .and  La  Hontan's  account  of  the  battle ;  and  left  little  room  to  doubt  the 
correctness  of  his  conclusions.  He  was  assisted  in  his  investigations  by  Jacob  Lob- 
dell  and  Wm.  C.  Dryer.  Exhibiting  a  maj)  of  the  region  to  tlie  venerable  and  int"l- 
gent  Seneca  chief,  Blacksmith,  at  Touawanda,  he  traced  it  with  bis  finger,  and  locat  xl 
the  battle  ground  as  Mr.  Marsliall  had. 


APPENDIX. 


473 


of  iron  balls,  about  the  sl-^  of  musket  biilbi.  In  the  early  years  of  scttloiuent  iu  Victor, 
the  niowt  of  tho  iron  tlic  settlers  used,  was  the  old  French  axon  the  phugh  woulil 
ozpijse. 

But  tlie  inquiry  arises,  if  the  battle  ground  of  De  Nonville  and  the  Senecaa  was  in 
Victor,  liow  arc  Iho  relics  on  tlie  "  Wuldron  farm,"  tlie  "  Bull  farm,"  in  Avon,  to  he 
accounted  for  ?  The  inquiry  miglit  also  include  Uio  relics  of  French  warfare,  and 
Frencli  occupancy,  in  Aurora,  and  Eden,  Erie  counly,  spoken  of  in  tlie  history  of  the  Hol- 
land Purchase.  Tlie  answer  may  be  that  our  Jiistory  of  French  occupancy  of  ;h(;  wliolr 
Genasee  country,  is  as  yet  imperfect ,  but  a  small  part  of  the  Jesuit,  Recollet  and  Fran- 
ciscan "Relations,"  during  tlic  occupancy  of  more  than  a  century  has  as  yet  been  dis- 
coTered,  unless  the  recent  discoveries  among  the  archives  of  the  Jesuits  in  Montreal, 
and  by  Mr.  Cass  our  minister  at  Rome,  has  supphed  the  deficiency. 


[NO.  3.] 

[extract  FKOM  his  excellency,  gen.  WASHINGTON'S  ORDERS.] 


"Head  Quarters,  More's  IIoisk,  Oct.  17,  17'?9. 
"The  Commander-in-Chief,  has  now  the  pleasure  of  congratulating  the  armv  on  the 
complete  and  full  success  of  Maj.  Gen.  Sullivan,  and  the  troops  under  his  command, 
against  the  Seneca  and  other  tribes  of  the  Six  Nations,  as  a  just  and  necessary  puuishnienl 
for  their  wanton  depredations,  their  unparalleled  and  innumerable  cruelties,  their  deafness 
to  all  remonstrances  and  entreaty,  and  their  pereeverance  in  the  most  horrid  acts  of 
barbarity.  Forty  of  their  towns  have  been  reduced  to  ashes,  some  of  them  large  and 
commodious-;  tliat  of  tlie  Genesee  alone,  containing  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
houses.  Their  crops  of  com  Iiave  beeu  entirely  destroyed,— which,  by  estimation,  it 
it  is  said,  would  have  provided  160,000  bushels,  besides  large  quantities  of  vegetables 
of  various  kinds.  Their  whole  country  has  been  over-run  and  laid  waste :  and  thev 
themselves  compelled  to  place  their  security  iu  a  precipitate  flight  to  the  British  for- 
tress at  Niagara ; — and  the  whole  of  this  has  been  done  with  the  loss  of  less  than  foitr 
men  on  our  part,  including  the  killed,  wounded,  captured,  and  those  who  died  natural 
deaths.  The  troops  employed  in  this  expedition,  both  officers  and  men,  througliout  tlie 
whole  of  it,  and  in  the  action  ti^^y  had  with  the  enemy,  manifested  a  patience,  perse- 
verance, and  valor  that  do  them  the  highest  honor.  In  the  course  of  it,  when  tliere  still 
remained  a  large  extent  of  the  enemy's  country  to  bo  prostrated,  it  became  necessary 
to  lessen  the  issues  of  provisions  to  half  the  usual  allowance.  In  this  the  tro(  ips  acqui- 
esced with  a  most  general  and  cheerful  concuiTence,  being  fully  determined  to  sur- 
mount every  obstacle,  and  to  prosecute  the  enterprise  to  a  complete  and  successful 
issue.  Maj.  Gen.  Sullivan,  for  his  great  perseverance  and  activity  ;  for  his  order  of 
march  and  attack,  and  the  whole  of  his  dispositions;  the  Brigadiers  and  officers  of  all 
ranks,  and  the  whole  of  the  soldiers  engaged  in  the  cxpedititm,  merit,  and  have  thv 
Commander-in-Cliiers  warmest  acknowledgements,  for  tlieir  important  ser\-ices  upon 
this  occasion." 

As  nothing  has  been  said  of  Col.  Brodhead's  campaign,  it  may  be  proper  to  sUte 
that  on  the  22d  of  March,  1779,  Waehington  ordered  him  to  make  the  necessary  pre- 
parations for  an  expedition  against  Detroit,  to  throw  a  detachment  forward  to  Kittan- 
ing,  and  another  lieyond  to  Venango,  at  the  same  time  preserving  the  strictest  secrecy 
88  to  his  ultimate  object.  Though  this  expedition  was  soon  found  impracticable  and 
obaudoued,  preparations  were  immediately,  made  for  the  one,  which  was  actually  un- 
30 


474 


APPENDIX. 


I. 


|i)' 


I 


il, 


-lertakpii  ngninat  tlio  Indiana  at  tho  heml  of  tlie  Allegany  River,  French  Creek,  and 
.)t.her  trilmtarifK  of  tlic  Ohio.  On  the  ll(h  of  Au(,niHt,  1779,  with  about  hx  liumlred 
men,  incliuliiig  militia  and  vohintociH,  and  one  month'rt  provisions.  Col.  Daniiil  Brod- 
ht>a<l  left  Fort  Pitt  and  hefran  his  march  to  tho  Indian  country.  Tho  result  was  an- 
nounced by  Gen.  Wjwhington  to  his  army  at  West  Point  :— 
[Extract from  General  Orders.} 

"Hkad  Qiiarteus,  Moiiu's  Hoise,  Oct.  18th,  1779. 

"  The  Commander-in-Chief  is  happy  in  the  ojuxirtunity  of  congratulating  the  army 
<  >u  o\ir  further  success,  by  advices  just  arrived.  Col.  Biodhead,  with  the  Continentid  troops 
uuder  his  command,  and  a  body  of  militia  and  volunteers,  has  penetrated  about  one 
hundred  and  eif^hly  miles  in.'o  the  Indian  country,  on  the  Allcfjany  river,  bu.nt  ten 
of  the  Muuc'v  and  Seneca  towns  in  that  quarter,  containing  one  huiuh'ed  and  si.xty- 
tive  houses;  destroyed  all  their  fields  of  corn,  computing  to  comprehend  five  hundred 
acres,  besides  large  quantities  of  vegetables;  obliging  the  savages  to  flee  before  him 
with  the  greatest  inecipitatioii,and  to  leave  behind  them  many  skins  and  other  articles 
of  vahie.  The  oidy  oi)position  the  savages  ventured  to  give  our  trooi)s,  on  tliis  occasion, 
was  near  Cuskusking.  About  forty  of  their  warriors,  on  their  way  to  commit  barbarities 
on  our  frontier  settlers,  were  met  here.  Lieut.  Harden,  of  the  8th  Pennsylvania  regi- 
ment, attlieheadof  (me  of  cmr  advance  partu-s,  comjwsed  of  thirteen  men,  ot  whom 
eight  were  of  our  friends  the  Delawan!  nation,  who  immediately  attacked  the  savages 
and  put  tluun  to  the  rout,  with  tho  loss  of  five  killed  on  tho  spot,  and  of  all  their  canoes, 
blankets,  shirts,  and  provisions,  of  which,  as  is  usual  for  them  when  going  into  action, 
they  had  divested  themselves  ;  ai;d  also  of  several  arms.  Two  of  our  men  and  one  of 
our  Indian  friends  were  very  slightly  wounded  in  the  action,  wliich  was  all  tho  dam- 
age we  sustained  in  the  whole  enterprise. 

"The  activity,  perseverance,  and  firmness,  which  marked  tho  conduct  of  Col.  Brod- 
heau,  and  that  of  all  the  oflicern  and  men,  of  every  descri])tion,  in  this  expedition,  do 
them  great  honor,  and  their  services  justly  enlitlo  them  to  the  thanks,  and  to  tliis  tes- 
timonial of  the  General's  acknowledgment." 

In  a  letter  dated  "West  Point,  20th  October,  1779,"  addressed  to  tho  Marquis  dc 
La  Fayette,  Gen.  Washirgton  incidentally  alludes  to  these  two  campaigns,  and  their 
j)robable  efT'eets  njion  the  Indians.  He  informs  Gen.  La  Fyetto  as  news  that  may  be 
interesting  to  him,  that  — 

"  Gen.  Sullivan  has  conijileted  the  entire  destruction  of  the  country  of  the  Si.x  Nations  • 
driven  all  their  inhabitants,  men,  women,  and  children,  out  of  it ;  and  is  at  Easton  on  his 
return  to  join  this  army,  with  the  troops  under  his  command.  lie  performed  this  service 
without  losing  forty  men,  either  by  th(^  enemy  or  by  sickness.  While  the  Six  Nations 
were  under  this  rod  of  correction^thc  Mingo,  and  Muncey  tribes,  livingon  the  Alleganv, 
French  creek,  and  other  watei-s  of  tho  Ohio,  above  Fort  Pitt,  met  with  similar  chastise- 
ment from  Col.  Brodhead,  who,  with  six  hundred  men,  advance<l  upon  them  at  the 
same  instant,  and  laid  waste  their  country.  These  unexjjeeted  and  severe  strokes  have 
disconcerted,  humbled,  and  distressed  the  Indians  exceedingly  ;  and  will,  I  am  persua- 
de.I,  be  productive  of  gi-eat  good,  as  they  are  undeniable  pi'oofs  to  them,  that  Great 
Britain  cannot  protect  them  whenever  their  hostile  conduct  deserves  it"— Writings  of 
Washington,  Vol  vi,  p.  384. 


APPENDIX. 

[NO.  4.] 

PETER  OTSEQUETTE. 

[from  manuhchipts  ok  thomas  moekis.] 


476 


At  this  trrnty  also,  T  became  intiiniife  with  Peter  Ofsequclte,  wlio  when  a  boy,  was 
taken  U)  France,  by  the  Marqum  d(;  La  Fayette.  He  remained  witli  tlio  Marquis  seven 
years;  he  received  while  with  him,  a  very  finiHJiwi  education.  Having  received  tlic 
early  part  of  my  own  echication  in  France,  and  t.-ng  well  arciuainted  with  the  French 
langiiaj,'.-,  I  won  Id  fa'(jnently  retire  with  Peter,  into  the  woods,  and  hear  him  recite 
some  of  the  finest  pieces  of  French  poetry  from  the  tragedies  of  Corneillo  and  Racine. 
Peter  was  an  Oneida  Indian,  he  had  not  been  many  months  restored  to  his  nation,  and 
yet  he  woidd  drink  raw  rum  out  of  a  brass  kettle,  take  as  much  delight  in  yelling 
and  whooping,  as  any  Indian ;  and  in  fact,  became  as  vile  a  drunkard  as  the  worst  of 
them. 


[NO.  5.] 
HENDRICK  WLilPLE. 

[from   MAJdlSCRIPTS  OF  W.  H.  C.  nOSMER.] 


Ho  was  the  father  of  MiH  Maria  Berry,  wife  of  the  late  Gilbert  R.  Rerry,  a  pioneer 
Indian  trader,  and  settler  in  the  valley  of  the  Genesee.  In  advance  of  civilization, 
this  remarkable  man,  frequently  visited  the  Indian  villages  of  western  New  York— 
ajid  sometimes  exten<led  his  joiirnies  by  water,  in  a  birch  canoe,  manned  by  Indians,  to 
Detroit,  and  thence  to  Mackinaw  and  the  Straits  of  St.  Mary's.  His  place  of  resi- 
dence was  near  Canghiiawaga,  on  the  Mohawk,  at  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities.  He 
afterwards  removed  to  the  Oneida  Castle. 

John  Scott  Quackeuboas,  a  kinsman,  and  who  knew  him  in  his  boyhood,  describes 
him  as  a  man  of  majestic  proportions,  more  than  six  feet  in  height,  and  endowed  by 
nature  with  great  personal  strength  and  agility.  His  influence  was  great  among  the 
Oneidas  and  Mohawks,  being  familiar  with  their  customs,  and  their  superior  in  all  ath- 
letic sports.  He  accompanied,  by  special  invitation,  Gc  ral  Herkimer  and  party,  in 
their  perilous  expedition  to  Unadilla  in  1777,  and  acted  m.-^  interpreter  at  an  interview 
between  Drant  and  the  gallant  old  German,  on  that  occasion.  He  was  also  interpre- 
ter for  Sullivan,  and  in  that  capacity  served  in  the  great  Indian  campaign  of  1779, 
accompanying  the  army  in  their  march  through  a  howling  wilderness,  and  hostile 
country,  to  the  valley  of  the  Genesee,  where  liis  daughter  and  son -in  law  subsequent- 
ly settled  and  died.  My  informant,  Mr.  Scott,  of  Mohawk,  in  Montgomery  county, 
alluded  particulaily  to  his  skill  as  a  marksman,  having  been  his  companion  in  many  a 
hunt.  He  also  spoke  with  great  fluency,  all  the  dialects  of  the  Iroquois,  besides 
having  a  knowledge  of  many  western  tongues.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary T^ar,  while  in  a  forest  that  bordered  the  Mohawk,  he  Avas  the  unseen  spectator 
of  a  murder,  p.-rpctrated  by  a  Mohawk,  known  as  Saucy  Nick  —  the  victim  being  un- 
conscious, at  the  time  he  received  the  fatal  blow,  of  an  enti.:^  being  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. After  he  returned  to  his  home,  he  saddled  a  horse  for  the  purpose  of  procuring 
process  for  the  Indian's  arrest  Ou  his  way  to  the  magistrate's  office,  a  few  miles  dis- 
tant—  he  stopped  at  a  public  house,  observing  Saucy  Nick  standing  on  the  steps,  and 
wishing  a  close  watch  to  be  kept  on  the  murderer's  movements.    After  the  necessary 


476 


APPENDIX. 


I'  ( 


wa^lill^'  had  Ixhmi  {,mvoii,  ho  wns  about  to  loavc,  wlion  Saucy  Nick  importunnd  him  to 
treat,  iiiiil  iii,si.4o(l  that  Mr.  AVeinplo  whouM  drink  ■with  liiiii. 

To  liilUho  Jiidiuik's  MiiKpicioiiB,  wliich  hiUiiou^'lit  liad  W'vn  fi.ivil.ly  aroiiwd,  lio  drank 
witli  him,  and  niountod  his  liorsc ;  he  had  Ijceii  ia  tlic  mMh  hut  a  few  ininutcH,  wlicn 
ho  was  attacked  witii  a  severe  pain,  and  a  scuso  of  niortid  tiickiiess.  With  dilliculty 
Lo  disnioiiuted,  and  vaH  !i>*tiisted  to  a  bed.  His  'tonf,'iie  BWelled  until  it  protruded  from 
his  nioutli,  and  tlie  next  day,  after  indeHcribable  agony,  he  died. 

IV  was  generally  believed  by  his  neij,'hl)i)rs  and  friends,  tliat  the  Indian  had  had  Kocrot 
intelligence  of  the  design  to  arrest  hiiii,  and  adroitly  druggeil,  wiih  boiuc  Hubtlo  poison, 
tho  '  'pior  of  his  unsuspecting  victim.  Tlie  murderer  elfected  iiis  escape;,  and  joined 
hifl  tribe  in  Canada,  tiendritk  Weniple,  was  buried  close  to  Oueida  Oaatle,  ou  the 
north  side  of  the  turnpike,  about  one  mile  from  Skenandoah's  residence. 

In  his  life  time  he  claimed  a  large  portion  of  temtory,  afterwards  bought  by  Judge 
Coo])er,  of  CooiRTstown,  and  embracing  some  of  the  best  lands  of  Otjscgo  county. 
Ho  was  a  descendant  of  Hendrick  'Wemple,  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  .Schenec- 
tady—the  O-no-al-i-gono  of  the  Oueidas  — and  whose  arms,  Giles  F.  YatcH  informs 
me,  may  still  be  seen  over  the  door  of  an  old  Dutch  church,  one  <if  the  moat  cherished 
antiquities  of  the  city.    His  name  is  not  out  of  place  in  this  local  work. 

He  was  a  transient  resident  in  this  region  previous  to  tlio  Revolution,  aud  many  of 
his  descendants  are  now  residents  of  the  Genesee  country. 


[NO.  6.] 


OLIVER    PHELI'S'    SPEECH    TO     THE     INDIAKS,    IN     ANSWER    TO     1IIEIK 

COMPLAINTS. 


I  wish  in  afiieudly  manner,  to  state  to  you  the  particulars  of  our  bargain  :  —  When 
I  arrived  at  Buffalo  creek,  O'Bail,  (Cornplanter.)  had  leased  all  your  cotmtiy  to  Liv- 
ingston and  Benton.  I  had  bought  that  lease  of  Livingston,  but  I  found  you  were 
dis,satisfied,  and  not  willing  to  give  up  your  country.  Although  I  had  power  to  have 
confirmed  that  lease  and  have  held  your  lauds,  yet  I  would  not  have  anything  to  do 
with  your  lands  without  your  voluntaiy  consent.  I  therefore,  to  remove  the  lease  out 
of  the  way,  and  set  your  minds  at  ease,  bought  so  mucli  of  it  of  Livingston  as  covered 
the  Seneca  lands,  and  gave  up  tho  lease  to  you,  making  it  all  void ;  so  that  all  the 
Seneca  lauds  was  yours.  So  that  by  my  means  you  got  your  whole  country  back 
again.  I  then  came  forward  with  a  speech  to  you,  requesting  to  purchase  a  part  of 
your  country.  You  was  not  willing  to  sell  so  much  as  I  wanted,  but  after  a  long 
time  we  agreed  on  tho  lines. 

Brothers,  you  rcmemher  we  set  up  all  night.  It  was  almost  morning  before  we 
agreed  on  the  boundaries.  After  breakfast  we  returned  to  agree  on  the  prico  you 
should  have.  Capt.  O'Bail  said  he  was  willing  to  take  the  same  proportion  for  the 
Seneca  lands,  that  Livingston  was  to  pay  for  the  whole, 

[Mr.  Phelps  recapitulati'd  the  terms  of  the  bargain  as  fixed  by  the  referees,  and 
cited  the  testimony  of  those  present,  in  confirnuitiou  ol  his  statement] 

After  some  consideration  you  agreed  to  the  terms  proj)osed,  but  insisted  that  I  must 
add  some  cattle  and  some  rum,  to  which  I  agreed.  Brothers,  you  know  there  was  a 
great  many  people  there ;  they  all  tell  alike ;  they  all  teU  one  story. 

Now,  brothers,  I  do  not  want  to  contend  with  you.  I  am  an  honest  man.  If  you 
go  to  New  England  aud  enquire  my  character,  you  will  not  find  me  such  a  rogue  iis 


APPENDIX.  477 

you  represent  me  to  bo.  I  menn  to  fulfill  my  engagement  to  yon.  I  now  owo  you 
ono  tlioiisand  doUnrs  for  two  years  rent,"  which  I  am  willinj?  to  j«y  at  auy  time,  and 
at  any  place  you  wish. 


[NO.  7.] 
JEMIMA  WILKINSON, 

[raOM  MANBSCEirTS  OF  THOMAS  MOUHIS.] 


"Prior  to  my  having  settled  at  Cnnandaigua,  Jemima  Wilkinson  and  her  followers, 
had  cstahlislied  themselves  on  a  tract  of  land,  purchased  by  them,  and  called  the 
Friend's  settlement.    Her  disciples  were  a  very  orderly,  sober,  industrious,  and  some 
of  them,  a  well  educated  and  intelligent  set  of  people  ;  aud  many  of  them  posaossed 
of  handsome  properties.     She  called  herself  the  Universal  Friend,  and  would  not 
permit  herself  to  bo  designated  by  any  other  appellation.    She  jtretoiidctl  to  have  had 
revelations  from  heaven,  in  which  she  had  been  directed  to  devote  her  labors  to  the 
conversion  of  sinners.    Her  disciples  placed  the  most  unbounded,  confidence  in  her 
and  yiehled  in  all  things,  the  most  implicit  obedience  to  her  mandates.     She  would 
punish  those  among  them,  who  were  guilty  of  the  slightest  deviation  from  her  orders ; 
in  some  instances,  she  woiild  order  the  offending  culprit  to  wew  a  cow  bell  round 
his  neck   for  week.s,  or  month.s,  accordijig  to  tlie  nature  of  tho  offence,  and  in  no  in- 
stance was  she  known  to  have  been  disobeyed.    For  some  offence,  committed  by  one 
of  her  people,  she  banished  him  to  Nova  Scotia,  for  three  years,  where  ho  went,  and 
from  wlience  he  returned  only  after  tlio  expiration  of  his  senteuce.    When  any  of  her 
people  killed  a  calf  or  a  sheep,  or  purchased  an  article  of  dress,  the  Friend  was  asked 
what  portion  of  it  she  would  have,  and  the  answer  would  sometimes  be,  that  the  Lord 
hath  need  of  the  one  half,  and  sometimes  that  tho  Lord  hath  need  of  the  whole.    Her 
house,  her  grounds,  and  her  farms,  wore  kept  in  tho  neatest  order  by  her  follower, 
who,  of  course,  labored  for  her  without  compensation.    She  was  attended  by  two 
young  women,  always  neatly  dressed.    Those  who  acted  in  that  capacity,  and  enjoyed 
the  most  of  her  favored  confidence,  at  tho  time  I  was  there,  were  named  Sarah  Rich- 
ards and  Rachel  Malin.    Jemima  prohibited  her  followers  from  marrying ;  and  even 
those  who  had  joined  her  after  having  been  united  in  wedlock,  were  made  to  sept- 
rate,  and  live  apart  from  each  oilier.     This  was  attributed  to  her  desire  to  inherit  tho 
the  property  of  those  who  died. 

Having  discovered  that  bequests  to  the  Universal  Friend  would  be  invalid,  and  not 
recognizing  the  name  of  Jemima  Wilkinson,  she  caused  devises  to  bo  made  by  the 
dying  to  Sarah  Richards,  in  tlie  first  instance.  Sarah  Richards,  however  died,  and  her 
heu-  at  law  claimed  the  property  thus  l)equeathed ;  litigation  ensued,  and  after  the  con- 
troversy had  gone  from  court  to  court,  it  was  finally  decided  in  Jemima's  favor,  it  ap- 
pearing, that  Sarah  Richards  had  held  the  property  in  tnist  for  her.  After  the  death 
of  Sarah  Richards,  devises  were  made  in  favor  of  Rachel  Malin  ;  but  Rachel  took  it 
into  her  head  to  marry,  and  L.r  husband  claimed  in  behalf  of  his  wife,  the  property 
thus  devised  to  her.  Among  Jemima's  followers,  w.-s  an  artful,  cunning,  and  intelli- 
gent man,  by  tlie  name  of  Elijah  Parker;  she  dubbed  him  a  prophet,  and  called  liim 


*  Purchase  money  in  part.  Mr.  Phelps'  use  of  tho  term  "rent  "must  have  been  dic- 
tated by  the  consideration  that  the  Indians  had  been  talked  to  so  much  about  rent,  by 
the  Lessees,  that  they  would  better  understand  him,  than  they  would  if  ho  spoke  of 
instalraenta  of  purchaso  money. 


478 


APPENDIX. 


M^ 


tho  Prophet  Elijah.  IIu  would,  before  proplicsying,  wear  around  the  lower  part  of  hu 
waist,  a  hnnda^'e  or  girdle,  tied  very  tiglit,  and  wlien  it  had  caiwed  tho  upper  part  of 
liis  stomach  to  swell,  ho  would  pretei-d  to  1)0  filled  with  the  prophetic  visions,  which  ho 
would  impart  to  the  cotninutiity.  But  after  Horiie  time,  Jeiniiiia  and  her  Pr.iphet  (juar- 
relled,  and  lie  then  denounced  her  as  an  imixwtor,  declared  that  «!ie  had  iinpowed  on 
his  credulity,  and  that  he  had  never  been  a  prophet.  After  havin;?  divested  himself 
of  his  projihetic  character,  lie  became  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  in  that  capacity  isHueu 
a  warrant  ajjainst  Jemima,  charging  her  with  blasphemy.  She  was  accordingly 
brought  to  Canandaigua,  by  virtue  of  this  warrant,  and  at  a  circuit  court  held  there  in 
179(),  by  the  late  Governor  Lewin,  Judge  of  the  S-prenie  Court  of  tho  State,  a  bill  of 
indictment  prepared  by  Judge  Howell,  of  Ciinandaigua,  thiMi  District  Attorney,  was 
laid  before  the  Grand  Jury.  Judge  Lewis  having  told  the  Grand  Jury,  that  l)y  tJio 
laws  and  constitution  of  this  State,  blasphemy  was  not  an  indictable  offence,  no  bill 
was  found.  Judge  Ho -ell  has  informed  me  that  a  similar  question  having  been 
brought  before  a  full  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  that  Judge  Lewis*  opinion  was 
overruled  by  all  the  other  Judges,  and  that  blasphemy  Wiis  decided  to  be  an  indictable 
offence.  These  litigations  liowever,  had  considerably  les.sencd  the  number  ,  f  her  fol- 
lowers, but  she.  as  I  am  informed,  retained  until  her  death,  her  influence  over  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  them. 

Prior  to  these  occurrences,  Jemima  had  been  attacked  with  a  violent  disea-se,  and 
she  expected  to  die.  Under  tliis  conviction,  she  caused  her  disciples  to  be  a,«sembled 
in  her  sick  chamber,  when  she  told  them  that  her  Heaveidy  Father,  finding  tliat  tho 
wickedness  of  the  world  was  so  great,  that  there  was  no  prospect  in  her  8ucce(;ding  in 
reclaiming  it,  had  determined  that  she  should  soon  quit  it,  and  rejoin  him  in  heaven. 
Having  unexpectedly  recovered,  she  again  assembled  them,  when  she  announced  to 
them  that  her  Heavenly  Father  had  again  commanded  her  to  remain  on  earth,  and  make 
one  more  trial. 

When  I  first  saw  Jemima,  she  was  a  fine  looking  woman,  of  a  good  height ;  and 
though  not  corpulent,  inclined  to  en  bon  point.  Her  hair  was  jet  black,  short,  and 
curled  on  her  shoulders  ;  she  had  fine  eyes  and  good  teeth,  and  complexion.  Her  dress 
consisted  of  a  silk  j)ur})le  robe,  open  in  front ;  her  under  dress  Wiis  of  the  finest  white 
cambric  or  muslin.  Round  her  throat,  she  wore  a  large  cravat,  bordered  with  fine 
lace.  She  was  very  ignorant,  but  possessed  an  uncommon  memory  ;  though  she  could 
ueitlicr  read  nor  write,  it  was  said  tliat  she  knew  the  Bible  by  heart,  from  its  having 
been  read  to  her.  The  sermon  I  heard  her  preach,  was  bad  in  point  of  language,  and 
almost  unintelligible ;  aware  of  her  deficiencies  in  this  respect,  she  caused  one  of  her 
followers  to  tell  mo,  that  in  her  discourses,  she  did  not  aim  at  exjiressing  herself  in  fine 
language,  prefening  to  adopt  her  style  to  tlie  capacity  of  the  most  illiterate  of  her 
hearera 


So 
"J 
Hi 
Sri 
tor 
Tc 


um 
ma 
of 


N 


[NO.  8.] 


In  1803,  the  only  Post  Office  in  all  the  Genesee  country  west  of  Geneva,  was  a* 
Canandaigua.  To  show  the  reader  how  wide  a  region  of  new  settlements  was  em- 
braced in  its  circle  of  delivery,  the  autlior  extracts  from  its  list  of  advertised  letters,  a 
few  names  and  their  localities  :  — 

"Mr.  Garbut,  near  Geneva;"  "Gen.  Mountjoy  Bailey,  Geneva;"  "Wm.  Bates, 
Gov.  House,  head  of  Lake  Ontario;"  Samuel  B  'sin,  (Avor   "    "Mathew  Clark. 


APPENDIX. 


479 


Sodus;"  "Dr.  Prcscott,  Phclpstown ; "  " Samuel  C.bwdl,  Friendn'  Settleraont;" 
"  Aloxuniior  M'Donuld.  Caledoniu; "  "Nathan  Fisk,  Northfield  ;  "  "Widow  llebtscca 
Reed,  PittHtown  ; "  "  Wni.  White,  Palmyra;"  "Elisha  Sylvester,  Lyo.m;"  "John 
Smifh,  Williamsbug ;  "  "James  0.  Shennett.  Potter's  Town  ;  "  "  Henry  Tower,  Hope- 
ton;"  "Soljmon  Hull,  JeruHalem;"  "David  Nash,  Big  Tree;"  "Joseph  Poudry 
Tonawanda ; "  "  Eliakim  Crosby,  Fort  Erie  ;  "  "  Peter  Anderson,  Big  Springs." 


[NO.  9.] 


Tlic  followinfj  is  an  abstract  of  the  census  roll  of  Gen.  Amos  Hall,  a  deputy  ranrslml 
under  the  U.  S.  census  law  of  1790.  Th..  author  i>resumcH  that  the  enumeration  was 
made  in  July  and  August  of  that  year.  It  embraces  the  names  of  all  who  were  heads 
of  families,  in  all  the  region  v^cst  of  the  old  Ma^^sachusetts  pre-emption  line  :  * 


No.  9. 7th  R. 

William  Wadswoiih, 
Phineas  Bates, 
Daniel  .R0.18, 
Henry  Brown, 
Enoch  Noble, 
Nicholas  Rosecrantz, 
David  Robb, 
Naliuin  Fairbanks. 

No.  1,  2nd  R. 
Ele<izer  Lindley  Esq. 

Daniels, 

Samuel  Lindley, 
John  Seely, 
Ezekiel  Mumford, 
Eleazer  Lindley,  Jr., 

No.  2,  2d.  P.. 
Arthur  Krwine, 
Henry  Gulp, 
William  Anchor, 
Martin  Youn,^, 
Peter  Gardner, 

No.  3  &  4,  .'ith  &  6tli  R'8. 
James  fj^^dley, 
William  Baker, 
Jedediah  Stevens, 
Uriah  Stevens, 
Uriah  Stephens,  Jr., 
Joliii  Steplieiis, 
Richard  Crosby, 
Solomon  Bennett, 
Andrew  Bennett, 
John  Jameson. 
No.  11,  2d.  R. 

■ Sweet, 

Ezra  Phelps. 

No,  10,  .'ill.  R. 
Nafliiiuiel  Gorhnm,  Jr. 
Nathaniel  Sanborn, 


No.  10,  3d.  R. 
John  Fellows, 
JoHe|)h  Smith, 
James  D.  Fisk, 
Israel  Chapin, 
John  Clark, 
Martin  Dudley, 
Phineas  Bates, 
Caleb  Walker, 
Judah  Colt, 
Abner  Barlow, 
Daniel  Brainard, 
Seth  H(dcomb, 
James  Brocklebank, 
Lemuel  Castle, 
Benjamin  Wells, 
John  Freeman, 

No.  11,3d.  R. 
Abraham  Lapham, 
Isaac  Hathaway, 
Nathan  Harrington, 
John  M'C'-mber, 
Joshua  Harrington, 
Elijah  Smith, 
John  Paine, 
Jacob  Smith, 
John  Russell, 
Nathan  Comstock, 
Israel  Reed, 
Reuben  Allen. 

No.  12,  3d,  R. 
Webb  Harwood, 
David  White, 
Darius  Comstock, 
Jerome  Smith. 

No.  8,  4th  R. 
Gamaliel  \^  Uder, 
Epliraiin  Wilder, 
Aaron  Rice, 
Aaron  Spencer. 


No.  9,  4th  R. 
James  Goodwin, 
William  Goodwin, 
Nathaniel  Fisher, 

No.  10,  4th  R. 
Ephraim  Rew, 
Lot  Rew, 
Matthi!w  Hubble, 
John  Barnes, 
Oliver  Chainn, 
Nathaniel  Norton, 
John  Adams, 
Michael  Rodgers, 
Allen  Sage, 

No,  11,  4th  R. 
Seymour  Boughton, 
Jared  Bouditon, , 
Zebulon  Norton," 
Elijah  Taylor. 

-     No.  9,  Sth  R. 
Gideon  PittB. 

No.  10,  5th  R. 
Peregrine  Gardner, 
Amos  Hall, 
Benj.  Gaidner, 
Peck  Sears, 
Samuel  Miller, 
John  Alger, 
Sylvanus  Thayer. 

No.  12, 5th  R. 
Jared  Stone, 
Siraon  Stone, 
Israel  Farr, 
Thomas  Cleland, 
Silas  Nye, 
Josiah  Giminson, 
Alexander  Dunn, 
David  Davis, 


*  Geneva  and  the  Friends  Settlement  on' Seneca  Lake,  is  of  course  not  included. 


480 


No.  11,  5th  R. 
Jonathan  Hall, 
William  Moores. 

No.  13,  5Ui  R. 
John  Lusk, 
Chauiicey  Hyde, 
Timothy  Allen, 
Jacob  Walker. 

No.  10,  Gtli  R. 
John  Minor, 
Asahel  Burchard, 
Abuer  Miles, 
Davison. 

No.  11,  6th  R. 
John  Gaiison, 
Philemon  Winship, 
Atcl  Wilsey, 
Elijah  Mortran, 
Solomon  Hover, 
John  Morgan, 
William  Webber, 
William  Markham, 
Abr?  ia;u  Devans. 

iVo.  7,  7th  R. 
Niel. 


APPENDIX. 

No.  9, 1st  R. 
David  Smith, 
I'hineaa  Pierce, 
Esther  Forsyth, 
Thomas  Smith, 
Harry  Smith, 
Thomas  IJarden. 

No.  10,  1st  R. 
Scth  Reed, 
Thaddeiis  Oaks, 
Jonathan  Whitney, 
Solomon  Warner, 
Jonathan  Oaks, 
Joso]'h  Kilboume, 
John  Whitcomb, 
Phineas  Stevens, 
Benjamin  Tuttle, 

No.  11,  1st  R. 
John  D.  Robinson, 
Pierce  Granger. 

No.  8,  2d  R. 
Francis  Priggs, 
Michael  Pierce, 
Benjamin  Tibbits, 
Henry  Lovell, 
John  Walford, 
William  Hall, 
Arnold  Potter. 

No.  10,  2d.  R. 
Sweet, 


No.  9,  Ist  R. 
Jame.q  Latta, 
David  Benton, 
Samuel  Wheaton, 
Rice, 

Males,  728 ;  Females,  340 ;  Free  Blacks,  7 ;  Slaves,  9 ;— Total  population,  1,084. 


No.  10,  2d  R. 
Daniel  Gates, 
Thomas  Warren, 
Israel  Cliapin, 

Piatt, 

Day. 

West  of  Gknksek  Riveb. 
Gilbert  R.  Berry, 
Darling  Havc^ns, 
David  Bailey, 
William  Rice, 
Gershom  Smith, 
HUl  Caniey, 
Morgan  Desha, 
William  Desha, 
Horatio  Jones, 
William  Ewing, 
Nathan  Fowler, 
Jeremiah  Gregory, 
Nicholas  Philips, 
Jacob  PhiUps, 
CaluK/  Forsyth, 
Nathan  Chapman, 
Nicholas  Miller, 
Asa  Utley, 
Peter  Shaeffer, 
Ebenezer  Allan., 
Christopher  Dugan, 
Zephaniah  Hough, 
Edward  Harp, 
Joseph  Skinner, 


[No.  IC] 


.  MURDER  OF  MAJOR  TRUEMAN. 

[statement  of  WILLIAM  SMEILIE,  OBTAINED  BY  CHAELES  WILLIAMSON.] 


About  the  20t]i  of  May  last,  [1793]  I  left  FortWashington,  in  company  with  Majors 
Hardin  and  Trueman.  After  bearing  us  company  7  days.  Major  Hardin  and  his  atten- 
dants took  the  route  for  Sandusky,  while  Major  Trueman,  with  whom  I  continued,  took 
the  route  for  Au  Glaize.  About  sunset  we  fell  in  with  two  Indians  and  a  little  boy,  who 
appeared  friendly  and  asked  to  encamp  with  us,  saying  they  would  be  our  pilots  to  An 
Glaize,  then  about  30  mi'es  distant. 

After  having  made  fires,  taken  our  supper  and  smoked.  Major  Tnieman  had  laid  down 
and  fallen  to  sleep.  The  oldest  Indian  asked  me  to  ask  the  Major  if  he  would  have  me 
or  the  Major's  servant  tied  to  him  as  otherwise  the  Indian  boys  would  be  afraid  to  sleep. 
The  Major  consented  that  his  servant  might  be  tied  to  liim,  which  was  done.  After 
which  the  Major  covered  liimsclf  all  over  with  his  blanket  to  keep  off  the  musquctoes, 
and  seemed  to  fall  asleep.  The  Indians  sat  up  against  a  log  and  smoked.  The  oldest 
Indian  desired  me  to  lay  down  on  a  boar  skin  near  him,  which  I  did.  Taking  rp  liis 
gun,  he  said, '  look,  what  a  bad  gun  I  have  got,'  and  taking  advantage  of  my  head  being 
turned  the  other  way,  fired,  killing  Major  Trueman,  the  ball  entering  lii."  'oft  br<....)t.— 
The  Major  threw  himself  over  on  his  left  side,  groaned  and  died  immediately.  I  ran  to 
a  tree  ;  the  Major's  nervant  disengaged  himself,  ran,  but  was  overtaken  and  brought 


APPENDIX. 


481 


back.  One  of  the  Indians  watched  mo  to  shoot  rae,  but  I  covered  myaclf  ■with  the 
tree,  and  reasoned  with  him  to  save  my  life.  The  Indian  who  h,id  tlie  Major's  Hcrvant 
called  to  the  one  who  had  the  gun  to  shoot  as  he  could  not  hold  liim.  He  turned  and 
shot  him  through  the  heart. 

WliL-n  all  thi.s  was  done  they  called  me  to  come  to  the  fire,  which  I  did  after  they  had 
promised  to  save  my  life.  Next  morning  they  carried  me  to  Au  Glaizc  where  I  met 
some  of  my  adopted  relatives*  and  wa.'^  well  used.  At  this  time  there  seemed  to  be  u 
suspension  of  hostilities  on  account  of  Brant's  going  to  Philadelpliia.  They  were  wai- 
ting for  his  answer.  While  I  was  at  IJois  de  Bou,  a  great  council  was  hold  to  heai- 
Brant's  ans';\er,  whom  they  heard  was  returning  ;  but  on  his  being  taken  sick  one  Mr. 
Gill  brought  his  papers,  which  were  opened  before  a  great  council.  But  as  Congress 
they  said,  liad  not  agreed  to  give  up  the  land  on  the  further  side  of  the  Oliio,  the  voice 
for  war  was  unanimous,  and  a  paity  of  COO  warriors  mai-ched  immediately  after  to 
attack  Fort  Jefferson. 

Mr.  Williamson  added  that  Smellie  informed  him  that  the  Indians  were  bueily 
employed  in  concentrating  their  forces,  and  that  they  expected  to  have  not  less  than  7 
or  8000  warriors  the  nejtt  year  ;  and  that  tliey  were  liberrJly  supplied  by  the  British 
with  provisions,  arms  and  ammunition. 


[No.   11.] 
THE  PULTENEY  TITLE. 


Not  as  much  as  the  reader  will  have  been  led  to  anticipate  by  the  reference  in  the 
body  of  the  work,  wiU  be  given.  In  proceeding  to  the  task,  the  author  found  that  a 
connected  historical  and  legal  deduction  of  title  would  involve  the  use  of  too  much 
space,  at  a  stage  of  the  work  in  which  condensation,  and  the  omission  of  much  matter 
already  prepared,  had  become  necessaiy.  So  far  as  the  validity  and  soundnefis  of  the 
title  is  concerned,  now  after  the  lapse  of  over  half  a  century,  when  the  acts  of  our  legis- 
lature and  the  decrees  of  our  courts  have  frequently  confirmed  them,  and  no  less  than 
three  Attorney  Generals  of  state  have  investigated  and  made  reports  coinciding  ;  the 
whole  must  be  deemed  now  a  settled  question.  Certainly,  a  careful  penisal  of  the 
whole  chain  of  title,  induces  the  conclusion  that  there  are  few  less  broken  and  imper- 
fect ;  lew  instances  in  which  through  so  many  changes,  and  a  long  succession  of  years, 
a  title  has  l)'2en  so  carefully  guarded. 

lu  the  body  of  the  work,  the  Pulteney  estate  is  left  vested  in  Henrietta  Laura  Pulte- 
ney,  the  daughter  of  Sir  William  Pulteney.  She  died  in  July,  1808,  leo\-ing  a  cousin, 
Sir  John  Lowther  Johnson,  her  sole  heir.  He  died  in  December,  1811 ;  previous  to 
which  he  had  executed  a  will  devising  all  of  his  real  estate  in  America,  in  trust,  (to  be 
sold  and  the  proceeds  spccilically  appropriated,)  to  Ernest  Augustus,  Duke  of  Cumber- 
land, Charles  Herbert  Pien'epoint,  David  Cathcart  and  Masterton  Urc.  In  these  truE- 
toes,  and  then-  successors,  tlie  title  now  remains,  in  trust  for  two  sons  of  George  Frede- 
rick Johnstone,  who  was  au  oidy  son  of  Sir  James  Lowther  Johnstone.  The  heirs  are 
twins,  born  after  the  death  of  their  father,  and  are  now  minors,  being  but  1 1  years  of 
age.    They  reside  in  Scotland. 

The  portion  of  the  original  estate  of  the  London  Associates,  which  in  the  division, 
fell  to  Gov.  William  Hornby,  is  owned  by  his  grand-children  who  reside  in  London. 


•Smellie  had  been  an  Indian  captive. 


JaL 


r 


I 


in 


482 


APPENDIX. 


[NO.  12.] 
RED  JACKET -FARMER'S  BROTHER  _  INDIAN  WAR  DANCE. 

[fBOM  MAKUSORIPTg  OF  THOMAS  MOBHIS.] 

It  may  not  l,e  amm  to  mention  here,  an  arecdote  that  ^.as  told,  and  ^vhich  was 
generally  bol.ovod  to  l,o  correct,  as  to  the  means  resorted  to  by  Red  Jacket  to  become 
a  faac hem.  The  Sacliemnhip  is  derived  from  birth,  and  the  doscenu  is  in  the  female 
hne,  because  they  say  the  offspring,' of  the  mother  is  always  known  to  be  legitimate  ; 
the  ^ar-Ch.efs  only,  are  selected  for  bravery  and  merit.  Red  Jacket,  though  of 
obscure  birth  was  .letern,ine<l  to  become  a  Sache.n.  To  effect  his  purpose,  he  announ- 
ced to  the  Ihdmns,  that  the  Great  Sj.irit  had  made  known  to  hin,  in  a  drea.n,  that  their 
Wahon  woidd  never  pnmi„.r,  until  they  m,«le  of  hin.  a  S.achem.  For  some  time,  Vfiiy 
little  attention  was  paid  to  this  j.ret.Muled  revelation  ;  but  the  dreamer  artfully  availed 
himsclt  of  every  cidamity  that  befc'l  the  Nation  -  su.^h  a«  an  unusually  sickly  season, 
the  small  pox  spreading  amons:  them,  iuid  .ittributed  all  the  misfortunes  of  the  Nation 
to  their  not  complying  with  the  will  of  the  Great  Spirit.  He  is  said  to  have  persevered 
in  tins  couree  until  he  wfis  made  a  Sachem. 

The  Farmer's  Brother  was  a  tall,  powerful  man,  much  older  than  Red  Jacket  por- 
fcctly  honest,  an.l  possessiu-,  and  deserving  to  possess,  the  confidence  of  the  Nation. 
Ho  wasdiirmtied  a.id  fluent  in  his  public  s],eaking  ;  and  although  not  gifted  with  the 
brilliancv-  of  Red  Jacket,  he  possessed  good  common  sense  and  was  esteemed  both  by 
tlic  white  people  and  the  Indians. 

_    It  may  not  be  improper  here  to  describe  a  religious  ceremony  to  which  I  had  been 
invited,  and  joine.l  in.  during  this  treaty.    It  being  full  moon  ;  the  ceremony  waa  in 
honor  .;f  that  luminary.     There  were  present  probably  1.500  Indians;  we  w.'ie  aU 
Bcated  on  the  gro„„,l  forming  a  large  circle,  excepting  that  part  of  it,  where  afire  was 
burning,  and  not  far  from  which  was  a  pillar  or  po.st,  rej.resenting  the  stake  to  which 
criminals  are  tied  when  tortured,  after  having  been  taken  in  battle.    A  very  old  Cayuga 
Chief,  much  distinguished  for  hid  bravery,  .and  called  the  Fish  Carrier,  rose,  and  address- 
ed the  Moon  in  a  speech  of  alnnit  a  half  an  hour  in  length,  occasionally,  throwing  in 
the  hre  a  handful  of  tobjicco,  as  an  otFering.     After  this  speech,  we  all  stretched  our- 
selves   full  length  upon  the  ground,  the  head  of  one,  touching  the  feet  of  another  • 
and  .It  one  end  of  the  circle  commenced  the  utterance  of  a  guttural  sound  which  wa^ 
repe'ited,  .me  after  the  other,  by  every  pem.n  present.    Then  followed  the  War-dances 
performed  by  young  warriors,  n.aked  to  the  w.ais*  band,  with  bodies  painted  with 
Btreaks  of  red,  down  their  backs  representing  streams  of  blood.    Occasionallv  ono  ot 
the  dancers  would  strike  the  post,  representing  the  tortured  prisoner,  and  inl!^.  whoso 
body  he  was  sup,,osed  to  thrust  the  end  of  a  burning  stick  of  wood.     Ho  wouhl  then 
brag  of  the  number  of  scalps  be  had  taken  from  those  of  his  tribe  or  nation.    After  the 
nim  dr.ink  during  this  ceremony,  i,ad  began  to  produce  its  effect,  an  Oneida  warrior 
struck  the  .    St,  and  imprudently  began  to  boast  of  the  number  of  Indian  .scalps  he  had 
taken  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  when  the  Onei.las  alone  had  sided  with  tho 
Americans,  and  the  Senecas,  Cayugas,  Onondagas,  and  Chii)pewa3  with  the  Ihitisii.- 
Ihis  b,.ast  e.\.'iiecl  llio  anger  of  the  others,  knives  were  drawn,  and  theie  would  have 
been  bloody  work,  had  not  old  Fish  Carrier,  (who  was  venerated  both  on  account  of  his 
age  and  his  bravery,)  interi.osed.    He  arose,  and  addressing  himself  to  the  young  war- 
riors, told  them  that  when  any  of  them  had  attained  his  age,  and  Lad  taken  as  many 
Bcalps  as  he  had,  it  would  be  time  for  thwu  to  boast  of  what  they  Lad  dona;  but  until  then 


APPENDIX. 


483 


it  better  became  them  to  be  mlont.  Ho  then  stnick  the  post  and  kicked  it  over,  and 
caused  tlie  fire  to  be  put  out,  and  they  dispersed  peai;eat)ly. 

It  was  fit  tills  ceremony  that  I  received  the  Indian  name,  by  which  I  was  tliereafter 
calhid  by  them.  I'liat  name  was  O-tes-si-aw-nc,  which  was  translated  to  bo  "  always 
ready."  Red  Jacket  told  mo  that  it  was  his  name,  when  he  was  a  ybuug  man  ;  but 
when  he  became  a  Sacliem,  he  was  called  Sa-go-ye-wa-tiu 

And  in  this  connection  the  author  will  add  an  mipubliahed  reminiscenco  of  Red  Jack- 
et, that  he  had  from  John  Dixson,  Esq.,  of  Bloomtield,  who  gave  Jasper  Parriah  as  his 
authority. 

'I"he  Chief,  it  is  well  known,  was  no  renowned  warrior.  The  author,  in  his  boyhood, 
kn(!W  liim  wcU,  has  often  seen  him  hi  his  wigwam  upon  the  Seneca  Reservation,  and  in 
his  fre(nient  journeyings  between  liis  own  village  and-tlu!  homes  of  his  people  upon  tlie 
Genesee  River.  He  was  never  popular  with  his  own  race  ;  his  influence  wai*  acquired 
alone  by  the  force  of  liis  superior  tidents ;  ho  would  govern  by  Ids  detiirmined  will  and 
strong  intellectual  powers  ;  not  by  commanding  the  love  or  esteem  of  those  he  govern- 
ed. It  Wiis  common  to  hear  him  called  a  coward  ;  indeed  such  wiis  his  general  reputa- 
ti(m  among  his  own  people.  But,  to  the  reminiscence  : — When  the  Indians  retreated 
before  Sullivan,  and  had  crossed  the  Canandaigua  outlet,  reaching  the  commanding 
bluff,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Lake,  Farmer's  Brother  insisted  upon  a  stand,  and  a  resis- 
tance of  the  invasion,  but  Red  Jacket  opposed  him  and  insi.sted  upon  a  continued  flight. 
Agidii,  at  the  old  Indian  orchard,  a  little  south  west  of  Canandaigua,  Farmer's  Brotli- 
er  was  for  standing  and  giving  battle,  but  met  with  the  same  opposition.  Turning  in  a 
spirit  of  indignation  to  the  squaw  of  Red  Jack- 1,  he  told  her  not  to  boar  sous  of  which 
He  was  the  father,  for  they  would  be  the  inheritors  of  his  cowardice. 


[NO.  13.] 
SHAY'S  REBELLION. 

[FODND  AHONQ  the  PAPEUS  of  gen.  ISRAEL  OHAPIN.] 


Northampton,  5th  December,  1796. 
General  Order*  for  the  Miiitia  of  the  4th  DicLiion. 

WhereaB,  the  Legislature,  composed  of  the  Representatives  of  the  good  people  of  this 
Commonwealth,  have,  at  their  late  meeting  for  that  purpose,  carefully  and  attentively 
examined  our  political  circumstances,  and  the  various  causes,  and  even  pretended  causes 
of  complaint  anions'  us  of  late ;  and  have,  aa  far  as  is  consistent  with  the  interest  and 
hapfiiiicsH  of  the  State,  complied  with  the  wishes  of  every  of  its  citizens;  and  have 
among  other  things,  i)i'cpared  and  jfliblished  an  accurate  statement  of  all  taxes  that 
have  been  granted,  and  the  sums  p.lid  ;  also  the  sums  that  have  arisen  frota  the  Impost 
and  Excise,  aiul  the  application  of  all  monies  within  the  State.  Also  the  whole  amount 
of  our  foreign  and  domestic  federal  debt,  and  the  particular  debt  of  this  State.  And 
have  enumerated  resources  competent  to  the  payment  of  the  whole,  accompanied  with 
agreements  convincing  to  all  honest  and  well  disposed  members  of  society  ;  and  finally 
have  even  iiidemnltied  all  concerned  in  any  irregular  or  riotous  proceedings  in  any 
part  of  the  State  that  none  who  had  acted  from  mistaken  notions  of  propriety  and  civil 
duty,  might  be  jirecluded  from  returning  to  the  same. 

Notwithstanding  which,  there  are  still  some  noi-so-is  (so  restless  and  abandoned  to 
all  sense  of  soc'ial  obligations  and  tranquility  and  not  improbably  influenced  by  the 
clandestine  instigations  of  our  avoweii  and  must  iuqilacablo  euomies)  again  embodying 


484 


APPENDIX. 


r  I 


i 


under  arms  to  obstruct  the  course  of  law  and  justice,  and  perhaps  by  one  IjoM  strolte 
ovorturri  tlio  very  fnuiulation  of  our  Government  and  Constitution,  and  on  their  ruins 
exert  the  unprincipled  and  lawless  domination  of  one  man.  The  General,  tlierefore 
from  a  sense  of  duty,  and  desirous  to  ward  off  impending  evils,  no  less  than  in  compliance 
with  orders  from  lus  excellency,  the  (Governor,  once  more  entreats  and  even  conjures 
the  mihti,-.  of  his  division,  both  Train  Band  and  Alarm  List,  and  indeed  every  cliUHs  of 
citizens,  as  tlioy  prize  their  lives,  their  liberties,  tlieir  prosperity,  and  tueir  country, 
unitedly  to  exert  themselves  to  prevent  those  ills  which  must  otbor^vi80  inure.  And 
all  officers  commanding  Regiments,  are  hereby  requested  and  comman.led  immediately 
to  march  with  all  the  effcclivc  men  of  their  several  regiments  to  Brookfield,  in  tlie 
county  of  W(,rcester,  ami  to  wait  further  orders  ;  tlie  commanders  of  regiments  will 
take  care  that  the  men  are  furnished  with  arms,  ammunition  and  accoutrements,  well 
clad,  and  with  fifteen  day's  provisions.  The  (k'neral  begs  that  no  little  j)ersonal  or 
private  considerations  may  t^dce  place  of  tlie  very  near  regard  we  all  owe  our  country 
but  that  we  may  with  one  mind  contribute  in  our  several  conditions  to  reclaim  the  de- 
luded, bring  aU  high  handed  offendf.rs  to  tlie  punishment  they  so  justly  deserve,  and 
give  not  only  the  present  but  future  generations  proof  tliat  Uie  peace  and  dignity  of 
Massachusetts  is  not  to  be  attacked  with  impunity. 

'  WM.  SHEPARD,  Maj.  General 

[NO.  14.] 
LORD  Dorchester's  speech  to  the  Indians. 

''Children  :  I  was  in  expectation  of  hearing  from  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
what  was  required  by  tJi.™ ;  I  hoped  that  I  should  have  been  able  to  bring  you  together 
and  make  you  friends.  ' 

"CnttnaEN  :  I  have  waited  long,  and  Hstened  with  great  attention,  but  I  have  not 
heard  one  word  from  them. 

"CnxLmiEu:  I  flattered  myself  ^V^  the  uopc  that  the  line  propo.sed  in  the  year 
eighty-three,  to  separate  us  from  thoTJnitod  States,  which  was  immediately  broken  by 
themselves  as  soon  as  peace  was  signed,  would  have  been  mended,  or  a  new  one  drawn, 
m  an  amicable  manner.     Hero,  also,  I  have  been  disappointed. 

"  Cnii:,DRE.v  :  S-'nce  ray  return,  I  find  no  appearance  of  a  line  remains ;  and  from  the 
manner  m  which  tlio  people  of  tlie  United  States  vush  on,  and  act,  and  talk,  on  this 
side;  and  fron.  what  I  learn  of  their  conduct  toward  the  sea,  I  shaU  not  be  surprised 
If  we  are  at  war  t.  ith  them  in  the  course  of  the  present  year ;  and  if  so,  a  Une  must  then 
De  oi-awn  by  the  warrior.a. 

"  CniLDHEx  :  You  talk  of  selling  your  lands  to  the  State  of  New  York.*  I  have  told 
you  that  there  is  no  line  between  thorn  and  us;  I  shaU  acknowledge  no  lauds  to  be 
thcir's  which  have  been  encroached  nn  by  them  since  the  year  1783.  They  tlien  broke 
the  peace,  and  as  they  kept  it  not  on  their  part,  it  doth  not  bind  on  ours. 

"Childden:  They  then  destroyed  their  right  of  pre-emption.  Therefore  all  their 
approaches  toward  us  since  that  rime,  and  aU  the  purchases  mad.!  by  them,  I  consider 
as  an  infringement  on  tlie  King's  rights.    And  when  a  lino  is  drawn  between  us,  be 

*  The  Caughnawaga  Indians,  residing  near  Montreal,  were  about  this  time  in  treaty 
with  Governor  George  Clinton,  for  tlie  sale  of  some  of  their  lands  lying  within  the 
bonndaries  of  the  State  of  New  York.  The  late  Egbert  Benson  was  a  Commissioner 
on  the  part  of  the  State. 


APPENDIX. 


485 


it  in  peace  or  war,  tlicy  must  loose  all  their  Improvements,  and  houses  on  one  side  of 
it,  those  people  must  all  bo  gone  who  do  not  oVjtain  leave  to  become  the  King's  sub- 
jects. What  belongs  to  the  Indians  will  of  coui-se,  be  secured  and  confirmed  to  them. 
"Children  :  Whi.t  farther  can  I  say  to  you  ?  You  are  witnesses  that  on  our  parts 
we  have  acted  iu  the  most  peaceable  manner,  and  borne  the  language  and  conduct  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States  with  patience.  But  I  believe  our  patience  is  almost 
exhausted."* 


[NO.  i5.] 

WILLIAM  EWINg's  LETTER  TO  GE^.  CIIAPIN WAYNe's  VICTORY. 


Geneseo,  Sept  17th,  1794. 
Israel  Ciiapin,  Esq.,  Sir  :  — Agreeable  to  j-our  request,  the  2Gth  ultimo  I  left  this 
place  to  go  and  see  Capt.  Brant,  and  bring  him  forward  to  Canandaigua  if  possible. 
As  I  passed  tlirough  Buffalo  Creek  settlement,  I  was  told  by  Red  Jacket,  one  of  the 
Seneca  chiefs,  f hat  the  Indians  at  that  ])lace,  and  the  Six  Nations  in  different  parts  of 
the  country  around,  had  not  yet  determined,  whether  they  would  attend  the  treaty  at 
Canandaigua  or  not ;  that  they  were  waiting  for  Capt.  O'Bail  (Cornplaiiter,)  and  other 
chiefs  to  come  in,  whose  arrival  was  hourly  expected,  when  they  should  determine 
what  answer  to  send  to  your  invitation,  though  himself  and  many  others,  from  tlie 
first,  was  determined  to  attend  your  council  fire.  I  was  also  told  by  young  Jemison, 
a  Seneca  Ind-'an,  that  Cob  Butler  left  that  place  a  few  hours  before  I  arrived,  who 
had  been  in  council  with  the  Indians  some  days  past,  aud  that  he  was  of  an  opinion 
that  Butler  was  trying  to  stop  the  Indians,  and  he  did  not  think  they  would  go  to 
Canandaigua.  I  from  this  place  crossed  the  river  to  the  British  side,  and  proceeded  down 
the  river  to  Niagara  Fort.  I  found  tlie  Britisli  had  been  much  alarmed  at  Gen. 
Wayne's  advancing  into  the  Indian  country.    The  news  was  that  Wayne  had  an  en- 


*  The  autlienticity  of  this  speeeh  of  Lord  Dorchester  is  denied  l)y  Chief  Justice 
Marshall,  and  Mr.  Sjiarks,  in  his  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Washington,  notes  that 
denial  without  dissent.  Hence  it  has  been  received  as  spurious,  and  Lord  Dorchester. 
Avith  his  Oovernment,  has  escaped  the  responsibility  of  having  uttered  such  an  un- 
warrantable document.  The  first  copy  was  forwarded  to  President  Washington  by 
Governor  Clinton,  who  did  not  doubt  its  genuineness.  Neither  did  the  President" ; 
since,  in  his  letter  to  Governor  Chnton,  acknowledging  its  receipt,  he  states  his  reasons 
at  large  for  dissenting  from  the  opinions  of  those  who  were  proclaiming  it  to  be  spurious. 
On  the  contrary,  he  declared  that  he  entertained  "  not  a  doubt  of  "its  authenticity." 
Equally  strong  was  he  in  the  opinion,  that  in  making  sucli  a  speech.  Lord  Dorches'ter 
had  s] token  the  sentiments  of  tlio  British  Cabinet,  according  to  his  instructions.  On 
the  2()tli  of  May,  the  attention  of  the  British  Minister,  Mr.  Hammond,  was  called  to  the 
subject  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  Edmund  Ran(lol])li,  who  remonstrated  stronglv,  not 
only  against  tlie  speech,  but  against  the  conduct  of  Governor  Siincoe,  who  was  then 
engageil  in  measures  of  a  liostile  character.  Mr.  Hammond  replied  on  the  •2-2d  of 
May,  rather  tart  ly  ;  and.  what  renders  the  denial  of  the  speecli  by  Marshall  and  Sparks 
tlie  more  singular,  is  tlu^  fact,  that  the  British  Minister  sjiid  in  that  letter  :— "  I  am 
willing  to  admit  the  authenticity  of  the  speech."— [Sea  T.  B.  Wail  (^«  Son's  Editinn 
of  American  State  Papers,  vol,  1,  pages  449 — 453.]  "  But  if  doubt  has  existed  be- 
fore, as  (o  tlie  genuine  character  of  that  document,  it  shall  no  hjngcr  exist.  1  have 
myself  transcribed  the  preceding  extracts  from  a  certified  niamiscrijit  copy,  discovered 
among  the  papers  of  Joseph  Brant  in  my  possession."— ^j</ior  of  Life  of  Brant, 


Note. — If  confirmation,  other  than  that  furnished  by  Col.  Stone,  is  required,  the 
papers  of  Gen.  Israel  Cliapin  will  supply  it.  Assuperintendentof  Indian  affairs  in  this 
region,  Gen.  Cliapin  obtained  authentic  information  of  the  exti-aordiuaiy  speech  of  Lord 
Dorchester  a  few  days  after  it  was  delivered. — Author. 


IP' 


i  )■ 


t 

'ii 

I 


r 


486 


APPENDIX. 


gagement  with  the  Indians,  that  the  action  commenced  in  what  is  called  the  Olaize, 
and  that  he  had  defeated  and  completely  routed  the  Indians,  and  drove  them  six  or 
seven  miles  down  the  Miami  of  the  Lakes,  below  the  Fort  at  tlie  rapids,  built  by  the 
BriUsh,  and  that  as  he  passed  by  the  Fort  he  demanded  it,  but  the  officer  in  command 
of  it,  refused  to  comply  with  his  request,  and  he  passed  on  without  giving  any  dam- 
age to  the  Fort    Some  said  there  was  100  Indians,  some  150,  some  60  i  nd  35  killed 
and  taken,  and  that  the  loss  on  Wayne's  side  was  very  great,  two  or  three  hundred. 
Rut  the  best  i.'formation,  and  what  I  most  depended  on  was,  I  lodged  at  what  is  called 
the  Chippewa  Fort,  at  the  head  of  the  Great  Falls,  at  the  head  of  the  carrying 
place,  and  I  overheard  a  Mr.  Powell,  who  had  just  arrived  from  Detroit,  relating  to 
tlie  officer  the  news  of  tn^.t  country,  and  among  the  rest  he  told  him  he  thought  there 
was  eighty  or  ninety  Indians  and  white  people  lost  in  all ;  he  said  also  there  was  no 
dependence  to  be  put  in  the  Militia  of  Detroit,  for  when  Wayne  was  in  the  country 
they  refused  doing  duty  in  the  Fort    Gov.  Simcoe  had  called  out  all  the  Militia  of 
the  country  about  Niagara,  it  was  said  to  man  the  posts  through  or  to  send  up  to  De- 
troit, but  upon  hearing  that  Gen  Wayne  had  returned  back  to  his  Forts,  some  were 
discharged,  some  deserted,  and  about  sixty  were  kept  in  Barracks,  so  tliat  every  thing 
seemed  to  be  suspended  for  the  present    I  from  Niagara  Fort  proceeded  on  to  the 
head  of  Lake  Ontario,  about  twenty  miles  from  Capt  Brant's  settlement,  at  wliioh 
place  I  got  certain  information  that  Capt.  Brant  liad  set  off  some  days  past  for  De- 
troit.   At  this  place  I  also  found  he  had   vvrote  you  a  letter  the  day  he  started,  and 
that  a  Dr.  Ciirr  had  it,  which  1  afterwards  con<  ived  to  get.    It  wa.s  said  Brant'.-;  object 
was  to  meet  the  Southern  Indians  r.t  Detroit,  though  I  believe  he  has  taken  l.jO  or  200 
warriors  with  him,  but  his  object  will  be  known  in  a  future  day.    I  returned  by  Ni- 
agara and  Buffalo  creek.    I  was  told  at  Niagara,  that  Gen.  Simcoe  would  set  off  for 
Detroit  in  a  day  or  two  to  meet  Capt  Brant  and  the  other  Indians,  and  to  strengthen 
tlie  Fort  at  the  Miami.    The  13th  instant  Simcoe  arrived  at  Fort  Erie  opposite  Buftalo 
creek,  and  Col.  McKay  from  Detroit  met  him  there.    The  day  following  the  Indians 
from  Buftalo  creek  were  called  over  to  council  with  them.    Simcoe  there  told  them 
when  he  was  going,  and  that  he  was  going  to  make  his  forts  strong,  and  to  put  more 
men  in  them,  tliat  if  Wayne  should  return,  he  would  not  be  able  to  injure  them,  that 
the  fort  at  the  Rapids  was  not  strong,  nor  but  a  few  men  in  it  when  Gen.  Wayne  came 
past  it,   but  that  he  now  should  make  it  very  strong,  and  put  a  great    many  men 
in  it,  so  that  he  would  be  able  to  protect  the  Indians  for  the  future  ;  he  told  tliem  the 
Indians  had  lost  but  thirty-five  warriors,  and  five  or  six  white  men  in  tlie  last  engage- 
ment with  Wayne,  but  that  Wayne  had  lost  a  great  many,  two  or  three  hundred  men 
supposed,  and  that  he  would  not  have  drove  them,  only  tlie  Indians  were  not  collec- 
ted.   This  it  seems  was  the  news  Col.  McKay  brought  h<it  times  would  soon  alter,  for 
the  Indians  were  collecting  from  all  quarters,  and  from  all  nations,  that  a  greater  force 
was  already  collected,  and  they  were  coming  in  daily,  and   that  he  observed  Capt 
Brant  was  gone  with  a  number  of  wamors,  and  that  the  destination  of  tlie  Indians 
was  to  give  Wayne  a  decisive  stroke,  and  drive  them  out  of  the  countiy.    Tliis  I  Avas 
told  by  one  of  the  Indians  who  was  at  the  council.    The  next  day  Simcoe  and  McKay 
sailed  for  Detroit.    After  this  council  I  saw  Red  Jacket  and  lie  informed  me  that  the 
Indians  would  all  go  to  the  treaty  at  Canandaigua,  that  the  next  day  tiiey  would  go 
into  council  among  themselves,  and  agree  upon  the  time  they  should  start  and  where 
to  meet  you,  and  in  two  days  time  they  should  send  off  runners  to  let  you  know,  but 
that  there  was  not  the  least  doubt  but  all  the  Indians  would  attend,  but  r-.y  opinion  is 
it  will  be  fifteen  or  twenty  days  before  they  all  collect    I  cannot  perceive  any  differ- 


APPENDIX. 


487 


ence  in  the  Indians  at  Buffalo  creek,  they  appear  as  friendly  as  ever,  and  I  do  not 
think  they  wish  a  disttnbaiicc  with  the  United  States,  were  it  not  for  tlie  British.  As 
to  Brant,  although  he  is  now  gone  away  to  the  South,  and  will  not  attend  the  treaty 
and  every  appearance  is  liostile,  yet  I  cannot  luit  entertain  favorable  ideas  of  his  con- 
duct and  juacofble  wishes  towards  the  United  States  ;  he  acts  open  and  candid  and 
the  part  ho  is  now  acting,  it  appears  to  me,  he  is  rather  forced  into  it  by  the  British, 
and  the  promises  he  has  made  to  them  Southern  Indians  heretofore,  though  I  cannot 
but  tliink  from  the  conversation  I  have  had  witli  liini  some  time  pjist,  and  wliat  I  have 
heard  in  many  other  places,  but  that  his  real  wish  and  desire  is  that  a  peace  might  be 
brought  about  between  the  United  States,  and  all  the  Indian  nations,  and  that  although 
he  now  acts  in  the  capacity  of  a  warrior,  that  he  would  be  as  willing  to  take  hold  of 
the  olive  branch  of  peace,  as  the  bloody  tonoaliawk. 

I  am,  Sir  with  respect,  your  most  obt  and  most  humble  servt, 

WM.  EWING. 


[NO.  16.] 
UNPUBLISHED  REMINISCENCES  OF  RED  JACKET. 


"Many  years  ago,"  snys  Thomas  Maxwell,  Esq.,  of  Elmira,  "in  conversation  with 
Red  Jacket  at  Bath,  after  a  little  fire  water  had  thawed  liis  reserve,  the  diief  remark- 
ed, that  when  a  boy,  he  was  present  at  a  great  coimcil  fire  held  on  the  Shenandoali. 
Many  nations  were  represented  by  their  wise  men  and  orators,  but  the  greatest  was 
Logan,  wlio  had  removed  from  the  tenitory  of  his  tribe  to  Sliemokin.  He  was  tlic 
son  of  Shikellcimus,  a  celebrated  chief  of  the  Cayuga  nation,  who  was  a  warm  friend 
of  the  whites  before  the  Revolution.  On  the  occasion  alluded  to.  Red  Jacket  remark- 
ed, tliat  he  was  so  cliarmcd  with  his  manner  and  style  of  delivery,  that  he  resolved  to 
attain  if  possible,  the  same  liigh  standard  of  eloquence;  though  he  almost  despaired 
of  equaling  his  distinguished  model. 

He  said  tliat  after  his  return  to  his  then  home,  at  Kanadesaga,  near  Geneva,  he 
sometimes  incurred  the  reproofs  and  displeasure  of  his  mother,  by  long  absence  from 
her  cabin  without  any  ostensible  cause.  When  hard  pressed  for  an  answer  he  inform- 
ed his  mother  that  he  had  been  playing  Logan." 

Thus  in  Ills  mighty  soul,  the  fire  of  a  generous  emulation  had  been  kindled  not  to 
go  out,  until  his  oratorical  fame  threw  a  refulgent  gloiy  on  the  declining  fortunes  of 
the  once  formidable  Iroquois.  In  the  deep  and  silent  forest  he  practiced  elocution,  or 
to  use  his  ow;i  expressive  language,  played  Logan,  until  he  caught  the  manner  and 
tone  of  his  great  master.  What  a  singiiLir  revelation !  Unconsciously  the  forest  ora- 
tor was  an  imitator  of  the  eloquent  Greek,  who  tuned  his  voice  on  the  wild  sea  beach, 
to  the  thunders  of  the  surge,  and  cauglit  from  nature's  altar  his  lofty  inspiration. 

Not  without  i)reviou8  prejiaration,  and  the  severest  discipline,  did  Ked  Jacket  acquire 
!iih  power  of  moving  and  melting  his  hearers.  His  graceful  attitudes,  significant 
gestures,  perfect  intonation,  and  impressive  pauses,  when  the  lifted  finger  and  flashing 
eye  told  more  than  utterance,  were  tlie  results  of  sleepless  toil ;  while  his  high  acquire- 
ment, was  the  product  of  stern,  habitual  thought,  study  of  man,  and  keen  observation 
of  eternal  nature. 

He  did  not  trust  to  the  occasion  alone  for  his  finest  periods,  and  noblest  metaphors. 
In  the  armory  of  his  capacious  intellect  the  weapons  of  forensic  warfare  had  been  pre- 
rioHsly  polished  aiid  sturud  away.    Ever  ready  for  the  unfaiteiing  tongue,  was  the  cut- 


488 


APPENDIX. 


ting  rebuke,  or  apt  illustration.  Let  not  tlio  superficial  candidate  for  fame  in  Senate 
halls  mipposefora  moment,  that  Sa-go-ye-wat-ha,  "The  Keeper  Awake,"  was  a 
speaker  who  sprung  uj,  fully  equipped  for  debate,  without  grave  meditation,  and  cun- 
mug  anticipation  of  whatever  an  adversary  might  advance,  or  maintam. 

By  labor,  like  all  other  gi-eat  men,  persevering  kbor,  too— he  achieved  his  renown 
A  profound  student,  though  unlettered,  ho  found  "books  in  the  running  brooks  ser- 
mons m  stones."  By  exercising  his  faculties  in  playing  Logan  when  a  boy,  _  one  of 
the  highest  standards  of  mortal  eloquence,  eitlierin  ancient  or  modem  times  —  he  has 
left  a  lesson  to  all  ambitious  a-'^irants,  that  there  is  no  royal  road  to  greatness ;  that 
the  desired  goal  is  only  to  be  gained  by  scahng  rugged  cliffs,  and  treading  painful  paths. 


[NO.  17.] 

CAPT.  BEUFf's  letter. 


,  "NiAOARA,  Sept.,  1797. 

Ur.  bir:  — Recent  information,  not  to  be  disguised,  assures  us  that  emmissaries 
have  been  among  the  Indians  residing  within  tlie  territorial  limits  of  the  United  States, 
to  engage  them  in  hostile  enterprises  against  the  posts,  and  from  a  combination  of 
circumstances,  it  is  feared  that  tliey  have  been  too  successful. 

"Accounts  from  Detroit  say  that  the  Indians  there  are  very  surly,  and  have  planted 
no  crops;  that  numbers  have  gone  over  the  Mississippi,  and  that  others  have  collected 
in  bodies  near  th^posts  St.  Josephs,  Mackinaw,  and  other  points,  whose  views  are 
unknown,  but  must  be  apprehended.  That  the  French  inhabitants  of  the  post  St 
Vincent  have  revolted,  taken  the  national  cockade,  and  declared  for  France  and  Spain. 
That  the  attachment  of  these  at  Detmit,  cannot  be  much  relied  upon.  That  the 
Spaniards  have  not  yet  given  up  the  pc  „s,  but  are  collected  in  force,  high  up  the  Mis- 


SLs.- 


'11^' 


lliese  menacing  appearances  ;  the  hostile  messages  to  the  western  Indians 
tlioirs  to  the  Seven  Nations  of  Canada,  and  their.s  to  the  Sk  Nations;  tlie  doubtful 
disposition  of  the  latter  towards  us;  the  admonition  of  the  Secretary  of  War  in  his 
last  communication,  "to  uso  the  same  precautions  as  if  tlie  United  States  were  actuaUy 
at  war;"  with  the  remembrance  of  the  deep  laid  schemes  of  Pontiac ;  arc  sufficient 
to  put  us  on  our  guard,  if  not  to  alarm  us,  on  account  of  our  present  reduced  numbers 
and  the  distance  from  which  we  ...re  to  look  for  succor.  For  provided  the  Indians  and 
those  that  set  them  on,  are  politic,  they  may  so  manage  the  attack  upon  the  posts  on 
either  side,  tliattlie  other  would  hesitate  about  giving  aid  that  might  involve  the 
nation  in  an  Indian  war. 

For  some  weeks  past,  our  neighbors,  the  Tuscarora.s,  have  been  very  shy  •  the  few 
that  have  visited  us  are  distant.  There  are  at  present  about  fifty  warriors  of  Chippewa 
and  Ottawa  nations  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  a  large  number  are  expected  in  a  few 
days ;  ostensibly  to  hold  a  council  with  the  Governor  about  supplies.  Those  already 
arrived  have  been  importunate  for  arms  and  ammunition,  and  I  understand  have  ob- 
tained a  gim  each." 

[Capt.  BniflF  closes  his  long  letter  with  some  account  of  the  indefensible  condition 
of  Fort  Niagara,  and  suggestions  to  as  keeping  watch  of  the  Indians,  and  other  precau- 
tionary measures.] 


[NO.  18.] 
On  his  return  to  England,  John  B.  Church  having  been  a  decided  partizan  in  the 


APPEISTDIX. 


489 


Rovnlution,  and  moreover,  having  connected  himself  by  marriage,  with  so  notorious  a 
"rebel"  family  as  the  Schuylora,  found  himself  not  in  repute  with  the  hio;h  tory  par- 
ty, and  had  especially  the  disfavor  of  his  j)atron  uncle.  Fortunately,  Jiowever,  the; 
An.erican  adventurer  was  as  independent  in  his  purse  as  in  his  politics,  and  g'jon  gi-ew 
in  favor  with  Fox  and  Pitt,  and  their  party.  Ho  was  elected  a  member  of  the  British 
Parliament,  from  Wendover,  warmly  esj)oused  the  liberal  party,  and  ndhered  to  Mr. 
Fo.x,  when  it  wiis  said  in  de>isio-i  that  "his  party  could  go  to  (he  House  of  Commons 
in  a  hackney  coach." 

The  country  residence  of  the  family  was  but  four  miles  from  Windsor  Castle,  and 
tJie  family  physician  was  the  physician  of  George  tlie  Third.  Long  before  it  trauspir- 
e<l  publicly,  the  physician  informed  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Church  of  the  King's  aberration  nf 
mind,  and  he  did  not  hesitate,  confidentially,  to  attributes  the  developcmeut  of  herctlita- 
ry  tendency,  to  the  loss  of  American  Colonies. 

The  house  of  Mr.  Church  in  Lon<lon  wa";  a  frequent  resort  of  Fox  and  Pitt ;  of  pro- 
minent Americims  who  visited  London  ;  and  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Freuch  Rev- 
dlution,  when  the  refugees  fled  to  London,  he  had  as  guests,  Talleyrand,  and  many 
of  Ids  companions,  with  most  of  whom  he  had  become  acquainted  in  America  and 
Paris.  Judge  Church  speaks  of  the  happy  faculty  of  the  French  to  be  gay  and  light 
hearted  even  in  the  darkest  hours  of  advei-sity.  The  men  who  liad  fled  fr(mi  what  M. 
A.  Tliiers  calls  the  "  Sanguinary  Republic  of  '93"  —  from  the  rack  and  the  gtiillotiro 
—  statesmen  and  courtiers  —  stripped  of  their  possessions  and  dependent  upon  tte 
purses  of  their  friends  for  the  means  of  subsistence ;  were  yet  chcerf'd  and  seemingly 
happy,  seeking  amusements,  and  endeavoring  to  make  dull  and  smoky  London  as  gay 
as  their  own  devoted  capital  had  been. 

In  Paris,  Judge  Church  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Talleyrand,  and  it  was  by 
means  of  the  assistance  he  rendered  him  that  the  refugee  Minister  was  enabled  to  reach 
tliis  country,  when  the  British  Ministers  had  ordered  him  to  leave  London  in  twenty- 
four  hours.  Aftei-wards,  when  he  had  returned  to  Paris,  and  was  flourishing  again  und  er 
a  new  dynasty,  he  remembered  the  kmdneso,  but  the  demonstrations  of  his  gratitude 
were  marked  with  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  man.  John  Church,  a  son  of  iiis 
benefactor,  having  taken  up  his  residence  in  Paris,  received  from  him  a  general  invitat  ion 
to  all  his  evening  parties,  and  besides,  an  invitation  that  at  his  weekly  dinners  there  was 
always  a  "  knife,  fork,  and  plate  for  him."  This  had  continued  for  a  while,  when  the 
welcome  guest,  discovered  that  some  change  had  come  over  his  host ;—  coldness  and 
reseiTC  had  taken  the  place  of  cordial  welcomes.  An  explanation  followed.  One  evening 
as  Mr.  Clmrch  entered  his  apartments,Talleyrand  beckoned  him  to  a  deep  window  recess 
and  -vhispered  :— "  Mr.  Church,  I  am  always  happy  to  see  you,  but  you  must  not  feel 
unpleasantly  if  I  pay  no  attention  to  you ;  I  am  so  watched  that  I  cannot  be  civil  to 
any  person  from  England  or  America."  The  anecdote  will  be  adjudged  bx  good 
keeping  with  the  whole  character  of  the  man. 

Judge  Church  relates  many  anecdotes  which  illustrates  the  ill  feeling  that  prevailed 
in  England,  after  the  Revolution,  and  especially  pending  the  Jay  treaty,  to  every 
tiling  that  was  American.  His  school-follows  at  Eaton,  were  generally  tlie  sons  of  thi' 
nobility,  and  of  high  tory  blood,  and  tlieir  boy  partizanship  could  hardly  tolerate  the 
sentiments  of  a  representative  of  the  disenthralled  colonies.  French  politics  -Kaa  soon 
introduced,  and  the  young  American,  following  the  lead  of  his  father,  was  inclined  to 
be  a  French  republican  ;  manifesting  upon  one  occasion  a  little  exultation  over  tlie  fate 
of  Louis  XVI,  he  provoked  the  bitterest  resentments  of  his  school-follows. 

When  the  family  left  London,  in  '97,  there  was  employed  about  the  King's  home- 
stead, a  young  Frenchman,  in  the  capacity  of  a  cook  or  confectioner.    Ho  had  made 
31 


490 


APPENDIX. 


h 


I 


himself  olmoxmustotho  tones  by  Iuh  Hitra  French  republieanis.n.  and  would  sing 
siiatcluH  oi  Fre.cU  revo  uhonary  balladn.  in  tbe  very  precincts  ..f  royalty,  and  at  tl.o  ale 
houses  So„,e  oAc.al  of  the  King's  household  quietlv  a^-ran^ed  his  ^-npLy  n.ent  by  Mr. 
Church,  and  he  c..n.c  to  Au.erica  vith  his  fan.ily ;  afterwards,  estuWishin.-  himself  a.  a 
c.mfect.o„er  ,„  ^  ew  \  ork.  1I«  v..^  the  father  of  Godey,  the  founder  ..f  Godey 's  Ma^a- 
Eiue,  in  i'liiladelphia.  " 

Most  rea.lersure  familiar  witli  the  attempt  .3f  Dr.  nolhnan  and  Busier  to  relea.se  La 
Fayette  Ironi  the  pri.son  of  Uhnntz.  Yhe  daring  adventurers  reaching;  London,  made 
ac.,ua,ntanco  ot  Jo'.n  B.  Church,  ^vho  had  kno.vn  La  Fayette  when  a  guest  at  his  lath- 
cr-indaw  s  house,  ui  Albany,  in  other  places  during  tho  Revolution,  and  aftenvards  in 
Paiis  and  London ;  and  feeling  a  lively  interest  in  the  pr..j..ct  for  his  release,  he  at  once 
seconded  it ;  m  hw  aouse,  in  London,  the  plan  wa.s  matured,  and  ho  contributed  moauB 
fw  p'usccutirig  it.* 

/^  Judge  Philip  Chursh  bears  upon  his  .jerBoii  a  relic  of  the  Border  Wars  of  the  Revolu- 

Uou  ;  a  slight  scar  upon  his  forehead  ;  comicctcd  ^ith  which  is  an  interesting  lustorical 

renuniscence,  dillerent  vershuis  of  which  have  alrea.ly  I,cen  incorporate.!  in  history.    In 

August  1  <  97  a  scheme  was  devised  by  Sir  Frederick  Haldimand,  the  !?riti.sh  c.umnan- 

dei-,  in  Caua.la,  to  secure  Gen.  Schuyler  at  Alba.iy,  and  by  getting  possession  of  him 

emove  the  powerful  mlluenco  he  was  exercising  against  the  success  of  the  banded 

British  tones  and  Indians.    John  Waltemeyer.  a  tory  refuge*  was  cntn.stc.1  with  U.e 

«.jumand  of  the  expi^lition.     With  a  gang  of  torh'S,  Canadians  and  Indian.s,  he  cro.ssed 

Die  Pt.  Lawrence,  and  readied  the  pine  plains  between  Albany  and  Schenectady  when- 

tJieylurk.'d  about  for  several  days  until  they  could  a.scertain  the  precise  position  of 

General  Schuyler's  mansion,  which  stood  upon  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  about  three- 

fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  then  setUed  portions  of  Albany.    Attempts  having  been 

previously  made  upon  his  life,  he  had  a  good  8up])ly  of  arms,  and  a  pretty  strong  body 

gi.ard  ot  servant.s.    He  had  beside  rehablo  information  that  Waltemeyer  and  his  party 

were  lu  the  neighborhood,  and  well  inuiginod  theii-  errand. 

Witli  reference  to  defence,  the  hou.se  was  so  arranged,  that  at  night  the  only  accea 
was  in  the  roar,  and  that  was  banvrl  by  an  iron  gate,  wluch  was  kept  locked.  Sit- 
ting with  lus  numerous  famUy  in  the  main  hall,  in  a  sultry  evening,  a  servant  came  and 
mlonned  him  tJiat  a  man  was  at  the  gate  wishing  to  speak  to  him.  In  reply  to  U.e 
question  as  to  wliere  the  man  came  from,  tlic  servant  repUed  that  he  "  thought  he  came 
down  the  hill  from  the  woods."  The  moment  the  General  heard  this,  he  onlered  all 
the  lights  to  be  extinguished,  the  sen-ants  to  arm  themselves,  and  the  family  to  retreat 
to  tlie  garret.    Unfortunately.  JIra  John  B.  Church,  tlie  day  previou.s,  seeing  that  her 


Wlivu  La  Fayette  visited  Rochester  in  Ins  American  tour,  a  member  of  the  c.unmit- 
tec  ol  rcceptum  was  introducing  the  ladies  as  they  one  after  another,  in  ,n,ick  succession 
presented  hem.sclves.  In  the  crowd  was  a  daughter  of  Judge  cliurch.  As  shJ 
approaches  ,  La  I ayette  addressed  the  conuuittcc  man,  saying  : -^  ■<  Sir,  vou  nee.l  nor 

r^If.  V''r-  %T,"r"-J'\''"'''r''^''"  :^''''""'""^"*'  '"y  "'l<lin<'"<l  Angelica  Srhuvl.T;" 
K  '1  ;"•  Ti"''''  ^'H\y^''^'^  "t  the  .same  time  advancing  and  shaking  her  cordi.ally 
by  tl„,  hand  This  was  the  recognition  of  a  family  resemblance  after  tlie  !;ipse  of  over 
forty  years!  This  is  almost  incredible,  and  yet  the  author  witnessed  in  tl'e  Nation's 
gue.st,  Kunnlar  instances  of  his  'xtraordinary  recognition  of  persons,  and  familv  resem- 
blances. In  a  letter  to  Judge  Church,  dated  at  La  Grange,  in  182(;,  he  alhufcsto  the 
circums  ance  :  —  "  Happy  I  an  in  the  opportunity  to  remind  you  of  the  old  friend  of 
your  beloved  parents  ;  to  present  my  respects  to  Mrs.  Cliurch,  doubly  dear  to  niv  most 
precimi:^  recollections  ;  ami  to  your  amiable  daughter  whom  a  frimdly  imarre  ch'sraral 
on  imj  heart,  niade  me  recognize  before  she  was  named  to  me. 

Your  affectionate  friend,  LA  FAT  £TTE." 


APPENDIX. 


491 


mfwit  son,  (the  present  Jiulgo  P.  Cl.urch)  was  meddling' with  the  muskeg  had  them 
removed  to  a  back  closet  or  entry.  Gen.  Schuyler,  lookh.g  wit  at  iho  window,  saw 
tJiat  his  house  was  surrounded  by  armed  men,  and  immediately  posted  himself  with 
the  servants  at  the  foot  of  the  stiiirs,  with  the  lest  defences  they  could  lay  their  hands 
on  ;  resolved  at  least  to  protect  tho  family.  The  banditti  soon  forced  an  entrance  into 
iho  house.  At  this  juncture,  Miss  Margaret  Schuyler,  (aftenvards  the  wife  of  Gen. 
Stephen  Van  Rensscloar,)  discovered  Uaat  her  inlant  aistor  had  been  left  asleep  in  a 
cradle  upon  the  ground  floor.  Rushing  down  stau^,  cad  passing  her  faUier,  against  his 
remonstrances,  she  seized  the  child  and  was  pas.sing  the  beseigers,  when  Waltemeyer 
nnstnkmg  her  for  a  ser^-ant  maid,  demanded  of  her— "  Where  is  your  master  V  "Gone 
to  rail  tlie  guard,"  she  replied  with  gre.it  presence  of  mind,  as  she  made  a  safe  retreat 
with  the  child.  Prcsummg  that  the  chief  object  of  tlic  visit  had  escaped,  they  com- 
menced plundenngtho  house,  and  were  in  tlie  dining  room  securing  the  plate.  Three  of 

theservants  had  possessed  themselvesofanns, and  Gen.  Schuyler  havinghisside  arms  aa 
good  a  rosist^mco  was  made  as  their  strength  would  admit,  but  the  superior  force  finally 
obliged  all  to  retreat  to  the  upper  rooms  of  tlie  house.  Waltemeyer  and  his  party  pur- 
sued, and  ,,ust  as  they  were  about  to  make  prisoners  .  f  the  whole  family,  Gen.  Schuy- 
ler hit  upon  an  ingenious  and  successful  expedient.  'Suddenly  raising  a  window,  as  if 
a  host  had  come  to  his  rescue,  hallowing  out  to  the  eve  ngair,in  aloud  voice,  there  w.re 
no  friends  to  hear  :  _"  My  friends,  my  friends,  quickly,  surround  tlie  house  and  let  not 
one  of  the  rascals  escaj^o  !>'  The  banditti  were  panic  stricken,  ran  down  stairs,  sweep- 
ing  the  silver  from  tho  side  board  as  they  passed,  and  hurrying  off  with  them  in  their 
retreat  to  tho  woods  as  captives  two  slaves,-  the  first  amied  rescue  perhaps,  of  "  .per- 
sons held  to  seiTice,"  that  ever  transpired  in  this  State.  No  one  was  killed  in  the 
melee  ;  Waltemeyer  received  a  slight  wound  from  a  pistol  shot  of  Gen  Schuyler  •» 
sen-ant  was  slightly  wounded.  The  slight  injury  of  the  child,  named  in  tlie  intnKiuc- 
tion,  was  had  in  the  hurried  retreat  to  the  garret. 

The  failure  of  Gen.  Schuyler  to  bring  to  his  aid  any  of  the  then  few  citizens  of  the 
tiUaseot  Albany,  was  owing  to  a  most  ingenious  contrivance  of  Waltemeyer  Dunua 
his  ambush  in  the  woods,  he  had  come  across  a  woman,  whom  he  bribed  to  precede 
hm.  m  Ins  attack  and  report,  in  the  village  that  there  was  a  dead  man  in  the  woods 
off  ,n  another  direction  from  Gen.  Schuyler's  house.    The  trick  succeeded.    When  tho 


alarm  was  given  the  men  of  the  village  were  away  searching  for  the  dead  maO 

s  B88;  at 


In  his  retreat,  Wiiltemeyer  and  his  party  <«ok  General  Gordon  from  his 
Lallstou,  and  carried  him  to  Canada. 


^ii;' 


not  vary  luatorial  v  from  tlio  account  o(  Col.  StonV        i,  Li  b  of  II,-,  t    .'"    ",^f™ 

A  writer  in  tlie  Albany  Express,  a  few  years  since  snoakiiirr  nf  tl„.  .,1,1  q  i  i 
mansion  in  Albany,  say/:  -  '^ Here  also  til  illustrious  Tf  am  f , "  w  o  1  md  .m?S 
daughter  otns -hospitable  proprietor,  that  venerable  and  exccWm  wo  na  w1  sSl 
hves  n  tho  full  enjoyment  of  her  intcllectu.il  iiicuKi.s,  „„e  of  the  few  re  ',"'.1^,  of  S^ 
Revolutionary  a,-e.  Another  daughter  of  Gen.  Schuvler  -i  bidv  of  .rr,.f V>  .  i 
acconiplislinients,  was  als.,  niarried'in  this  housJ,  to  J&t  c£^^^ 
came  out  to  t  ns  country  .hiring  the  Revofeion.    Aiuong    llSis  Ze    ■'  1  ave 


492 


APFEiroiX. 


[NO.  10.] 

MB.  JAMES  Ii.  BEMIS'    COTEMPORARY   ACCOUNT  OF  HIS   ADVENT  TO    THE 

GENESEE  COITNTUY. 


ExtiTict  of  a  letter  to  Mr.  nnd  Mrs.  Diuiiel  Wiird,  of  Albany  :  —  [Mrs.  Ward  was  a 
sister  of  Mr.  Ik-miH,  -was  tlio  mother  of  Samuel  and  Uen.  ^'ard,  and  Mi-a  Oran 
FoUett.] 

"After  being  at  Utica  upwards  of  seven  weeks,  my  patience  was  so  far  exhausted, 
that  I  dtteriiiiiied,  notwitlistnriding  the  badness  i.f  the  roads  to  make  one  nioreatttini)t 
to  gain  tlie  place  of  my  destination,  mid  iccordingly  hired  two  wagons  to  taku  me  to 
Oaiiandaigua.  They  had  proceedtvi  about  50  rods  when  one  of  them  got  mired  to  the 
hub  I  Cood  start,  you  will  say.  Well,  we  g.,t  out  in  about  a-  hour,  mul  tinvi'lled 
eight  milts  the  first  day,  and  put  up  at  Raymond's  inn.  Next  morning  after  taking  n 
warm  breakfast,  I  rgain  weighed  anthor,  and  trudged  in  solitude  along  the  inuildy 
waste,  (for  it  is  indeed  solitary  to  have  no  company  but  swearing  teamsters,)  'till  wo 
reached  Oneida  village,  an  Indian  settlement,  where  about  dark,  both  wagons  again 
got  mired  (o  the  hub !  Zounds  and  alack  !  What  a  pickle  wo  were  in  I  !  How  dkl  I 
invoke  the  aid  of  old  Hercules  to  give  one  tug  at  tbo  wheel  1  However,  after  Ufting, 
1,'runibling.  hoUowing  and  tugging  three  hours  and  a  half,  with  the  assistance  of 
an  Indian,  we  once  more  got  on  land.  It  was  now  ten,  and  no  tavern  within  our  power 
to  reach.  Cold,  fatigued  and  liungry,  we  were  glad  to  get  under  shelter;  and  accor- 
dingly sto])pe(l  at  thg  first  Indian  hut  we  found,  where  there  was  no  \  1,  nor  victuals 
except  a  slice  of  rusty  pork."  *  *  *  »  •##«,' 

"  After  a  night  spent  in  yawning,  dozing,  gaping,  we  again  got  under  way,  and  hove 
in  sight  of  a  tavern  about  ten  o'clock  ;  but  nothing  like  breakfast  was  to  bo  had  — all 
confusion -and  wo  went  on  to  Onondaga,  (50  miles  from  Utica,)  where  wo  anived 
about  ten  at  night.  Here  the  house  was  full,  and  I  obt^iined  the  privilege  of  sleeping 
with  two  strangers,  by  paying  for  their  lodgings  and  giving  theia  a  glass  of  bitters  ; 
an  odd  bargain  to  be  sure ;  but  I  iJiought  it  cheap,  had  it  been  my  last  shilling.  But 
fate  decrtied  that  the  troubles  of  that  day,  should  not  end  with  going  to  bed."         * 

[The  young  adventurer  had  become  a  room  mate 
with  a  "  snoring  traveUer."  He  describes  his  enormous  nose,  and  says,  that  the  sounds 
It  gave  out  all  night  long,  "frightened  Morpheus  from  his  post."] 

"  At  tliis  place,  (Onondaga)  the  wagonera  got  discouraged  and  dispairod  of  the 
practicability  of  travelliug ;  they  r.ccordingly  stored  their  goods  and  made  the  best  of 
their  way  home  again.  Here  I  was  obliged  to  remain  two  weeks,  when  a  fine  snow 
L-illing,  I  hired  a  man  with  a  three  horse  sleigh,  to  carry  me  to  Canada,  and  arrived  at 
this  place  on  Saturday  evening,  14tli  Januaiy,  after  a  short  and  pleasant  passage  of 
SIXTY  TWO  days  from  Albany  !  Here  I  put  up  for  the  night  only,  c xno(  tin.r  'o  depait 
early  in  the  morning  for  Canada ;  but  receiving  some  advices  hero  froi  ^  gH;n ,  1  smcn  of 
respectibility,  which  deserved  my  attention,  I  wjls  persuaded  )..  ..pt-i  v^y  store  in  this 
village,  for  the  winter  at  least.  How  I  shall  succeed  is  yet  among  the  secrets  of  fate  ; 
but  as  yet  I  have  had  no  reason  to  repent  of  having  stopped  here  ;  for  such  is  the  en- 
couragement I  have  already  found,  that  I  think  it  probable  I  shall  continue  here." 

"I  have  now  only  room  to  add,  that  the  country  is  beautiful  and  flourishing  ;  the. 
inhabitants  wealthy  and  respectable;  the  citizens  enlightened,  affable  and  friendly; 
and  there  is  an  agi-eeable  society  of  young  people,  especially  of  Indies.    Hence  a 
Ktianger  finds  an  agreeable  reception.    I  am  the  seventh  young  man  that  is  Jiere  from 
Albany  ;  sill  old  acfjnaiutances." 


SUPPLEMENT, 


OR 


EXTENSION  OF  THE  PIONEER   HISTORY 

OF  THAT  PORTIOxN  OF   PHELPS  AND   GOllHAM'S  PURCHASE  EM- 

BRACED  IN  THE 

COUNTY  OF  MONROE, 

AND  THE  SOaTHEBN  POBTION  OP  fflOBBIS'  BESEEVE. 


:a^V 


H. 


,r\i\ 


'  0 


'K 


'a 


LIBRARY 


VM 


>o 


f#^ 


r 


(  ,  < 


I" . ,  )  Cl 


^" 


CHAPTER    I. 


'1! 

m 

*.< 

,f 

1 1 

'• 

1 

' 

. 

1 

WHEATLAND. 

That  portion  of  the  old  town  of  Caledonia  which  is  now  Wheatl 
land,  was,  as  ^vl  1  have  been  observed,  the  Pioneer  locality  — the 
spot  where  settlement  first  commenced  in  all  the  region  between 
the  Genesee  River  and  the  west  bounds  of  the  state.  In  connection 
wi  h  the  enterprises  of  Mr.  Williamson,  the  advent  of  the  Scotch 
settlers,  and  in  another  connection  in  the  body  of  the  work,  the 
tovvn  has  already  been  embraaed.  It  remains  in  this  connection  to 
ex  end  the  notices  of  Pioneer  advents  in  that  localitv,as  fur  as  the 
author  s  information   will   allow. 

.vpM^'r/f  ^^nt'^Y  ""T^  ^?  ^^^^'  ^^'""^  ^^"eca  county,  and  soon 
erected  the  mills  that  bear  Ins  name,  and  those  that  were  so  useful 

to  the  eai-ly  settlers  west  of  the  River.  He  removed  to  the  Lake 
shore,  m  Niagara  county,  in  an  early  day,  where  he  died  a  few  years 
since.  _  His  son  Jacob  Albright,  one  of  the  most  successful  and  en- 
terprising tarmers  of  that  county,  resides  at  Olcott. 

Donald  M  Vean,  who  came  a  single  man  with  the  first  Scotch 
settlers,  was  a  mill  wright ;  had  charge  of  the  early  mills  built  by 
the  Wadswoi-ths  at  Conesus.  He  erected  the  first  mill  in  Scotts- 
vU  e;  and  selling  it,  purchased  a  large  iract  of  land  which  he  <livi- 
ded  between  his  sons  ;^  they  are  Donald  M'Vean,  of  Michiiran, 
Duncan  and  Peter  M'Vean  of  Caledonia.  Mrs.  Donald  and  Mrs. 
Joseph  Campbell,  and  Mrs.  James  Cameron,  of  Caledonia,  are  his 
daughters. 

John  M'Naughton  has  been  named  as  one  of  the  advance  corps 
ot  Scotch  emigrants,  in  1799.  He  still  survives  at  the  u^e  of  80 
years.  His  surviving  sons  are  :  — Duncan  M'Nauirhton  oYMum- 
lord  and  Darnel  M  Naughton.  a  resident  upon  the  homestead  ;  Mrs. 
Duncan  M  \eanof  Scottsville,  and  lAIrs.  Merrit  Moore,  of  Church- 


ville, 


are  his  daughters 


an  unmarried  daughter  resides  with  her 


^OTI■;.  —  Prcvinnsto  lonving  tlioir  homos  in  Scotlami,  cortificatos  siinilar  to  the  fol- 
Wing  ^-ore  g.vou  to  nil  of  the  Scotch  cnigrant.s  ,vh;.  wcvo  nK-mhcH  of  tho  kir  • 
such  at  Ic-ust  as  ^vol■o  hon,  rertlishire  ;  and  it  y,-as  wortliily  bestowed  in  tliis  instmicc' 
as  !i  long  and  useful  lite  will  Ix'ar  witness  :  —  J        '■u"  ^^'       l"is  msiaucc, 

"  These  do  certify  that  t  lie  hearer  John  M'2^a.iirhton.  .ind  his  spouse.  Manwot  M' 
Bern,,,!,  are  nat.ve.ot  tlnn  uur  j.ari.sli  of  KUlin  ;  aud  luc-d  therein'  .uostlv  fr^m  tiieir 
inliuicy  ;  and  always  behaNod  m  their  single  and  married  state,  virtuously,  honestly. 


.  !■ 


'tS  < 


fn 


j 

,    9 

1 

i 

496 


riiELrs  AND  goriia:\i-s  purchase. 


I 


father.  The  mother  died  in  1844.  Mr.  M'Naushton  established 
the  first  brewery  west  of  the  River,  previous  to  1810,  and  a  distil- 
lery  which  was  the  next  one  after  that  built  bv  Oliver  Phelps  near 
Moscow.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  entrage  in  the  purchase  of 
wheat  to  be  (loured  for  the  Canada  naarket ;  cotnniencing  the  busi- 
ness pr(>vif)us  to  the  war  of  1812. 

Zachariah  Garbutt  was  a  resident  upon  the  river  Tyne  in  England, 
in  the  town  of  Winston,  county  of  Durham,  at  the  period  of  the 
French    Revolution.     Espousing  the  whig  side  in  jjolitics  in  those 
violent  i)arty  times  in  England,  when  freedom  of  speech  was  re- 
stricted, lie  subjected  liimself  to  jiroscription  and  persecution  at  the 
hands  of  his  more  loyal  neighbors.     His  windows  were  broken  in 
and  his  children  stoned  in  the  streets.     Leaving  Winston,  he   went 
into  a  retired  part  of  the  cuuntry,  where  he  remained  for  three  or 
four  years,  and  then  sought  an  asylum  over  the  ocean  in  a  land  of 
toleration,    of  political  and   religious    liberty.     Borrowing    thirty 
guineas  to  defray  expense  of  emigration,   it  was  repaid  by  liis   son, 
John  Garbutt,  with  money  earned  ujjon  a  shoe  bench,  anil  remitted 
to  England.     Arriving  at  New  York    in  17i)8,  they  remained  near 
Smg  Sing  tmtil  1800,  when  they  came  to  the  Genesee  country,  set- 
tling first  upon  sixty  acres   of  'land  in  the  town  of  Seneca.  ~  The 
eldest  son    John,  in   1803  purchased   laud  on  Allan's  creek,   which 
soon  became  the  residence  of  the  whole  family  —  the  site  of  what 
is  iiow  known  as  Garbutville.     The  three  brothers,  sons  of  Zach- 
ariah Garbutt,  were,  John,  Philip  and  William.     John    Garbutt 
who  still  survives,  was  the  first  sujjervisor  of  Wheatland;  in  1829 
he    was  a  representative   of  jMonroe  county   in  the   Legislature. 
Philip  Garbutt,  widely  known  in  business  enterprises,  the  owner  of 
the  mills   and    locality   that  bear   the  name  of  the    family,  also 
survives.     His  wife,  as  will  have  been  seen,  is  the  daughter  of  Esq. 
Shaelfer.     The  father-in-law  was  the  original  owner  of  the  mill  site 


and  inotH'iisivc'ly  ;  froo  from  all  public  scandal  known  to  us.    That  tlicroforo  wc  know 

of  no  iTah.(in  to  liiiidcr  llicir  reception  into,  oi-  rosidonco  in,  any  oontrrci^ation,  socictv 

or  family,  wlierc  God  may  cast  their  lilt.      *       *       *     »     »    "#       **   '  «       #       « >. 

[A  few  closing  lines  arc  ohliteratod.] 

"  Signed. 

High  M'nor(;Ar.,  ^linistor, 
•Iamks  M'N.Miii,  J'^Idcr, 
„,  Jas.  M'Gibdin,  Parish  Clerk." 

"  The  above  is  fact. 

CuAs.  Cami'dkij,,  Es(j.  of  Lockllordit, 
Francis  M'Nabb,  chief  of  M'Nabbs. 
J'>lui  ItoDsox,  liaron,  Bailio  to  the  Earl  of  Bradalbine." 
Dated  Fel).  1798. 

"  Do  me  the  favor  to  name  tlio  fact,"  saiil  an  early  inercliant  of  tlie  Genesee  country 
to  the  author,  "that  when  reverses  came  upon  me, 'and  1  was  tluown  uimmi  jail  limits. 
■while  those  wlio  owed  me  dehls  of  icratitude  stood  aloof  ;  a  f^eni'rous  Jieart'ed  Scotch 
fanner,  wiioni  I  had  butslii;iit!y  kiu.wu,  in  tlio  way  of  business,  souf,dit  me  out.  kindly 
invited  me  in  wharc  his  purse  for  all  iliiit  was  necWsarv  for  tlie  ci-uifort  of  myscli'or 
ttiniily.    And  you  may  add  that  it  was  John  M'Naughtnn,  of  Wheatland." 


PIIELPS   AND   GOPJUJl's   PURCHASE. 


497 


of  what  is  now  known  as  Garbiilt's  mills  and  the  land  ujion  which 
the  celebrated  pl.-ister  beds  are  located.  A  saw  n:"ill  was  erected  by 
Es(|.  Shaeilcr  in  1810  and  a  p;rist  mill  in  1811. 

The  venerable  Powell  Car])enter,  now  in  his  80th  year,  became 
a  resident  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Scottsvillc  in  1.804. 
In  1818,  by  })urchasc  from  Isaac  Scott,  he  became  the  proprietor  of 
most  of  the  site  of  the  present  village  of  Scottsville.  In  18'25  or  '«). 
Abraham  ilandford  and  Judge  Car))entcr  created  a  water  power  by 
conducting  the  waters  of  Allan's  creek  in  a  race,  1:^  mile,  and  thus 
obtaining  a  fall  of  1!)  feet.  This  was  the  commencement  of  any 
considerable  mov^ements  towards  the  founding  of  the  pleasant  and 
prosperous  village;  though  mills  had  been  erected  as  early  as  ISl."! 
by  Donald  M'Vean  and  Abraham  Ilandford.  Often  sons  of  .Judge 
Carpenter,  six  are  now  living,  three  of  whom  were  Pioneers  iu 
Michigan.  Ira  Carpenter,  of  Scottsville  is  his  son.  He  was  one  of 
the  early  Judges  of  Monroe. 

The  Rev.  Donald  Mann  was  a  nativo  of  Invcrnesshire,  Scotland  ; 
emigrated,  settling  on  tiie  40,000  acre  tract  in  Caledonia,  in  1809 ; 
ifi  1815  removed  to  what  is  now  Wiieatland,  where  he  now  resides. 
He  had  been  educated  in  his  youth  for  the  ministry,  in  the  Baptist 
connection,  but  located  in  the  new  region,  he  united  the  labors  of  the 
field,  (or  rather,  the  forest,)  with  tiie  duties  of  his  profession  ;  provi- 
ding lor  the  respectable  maintenance  and  education  of  a  large  family, 
and  at  the  same  time  itinerating  occasionally  where  i)riiuitive  and 
feeble  church  organizations  needed  his  services.  "When  we  had 
got  together  a  small  Baptist  congregation  in  Le  Roy,"  says   an  in- 

NoTK.  —  Tlio  (lisco^'ory  of  tlio  plaster,  which  has  proved  so  valimblo  an  aoqiiisif  ion 
to  a  wi(k'  rojjio'i — tht^  heels  jkihscssiiii,'  more  of  what  ''onstit\ik's  real  value  tliaii  if  tiie.v 
had  liceii  llie  riflR'.-it  jilacers  that  liave  been  found  ii])ou  tlio  slo]ii'  o  f  tlie  Sierni 
Nt'Mida  —  iiiMV  nof  lie  cuiisidcreil  an  un interest iut^reniinisccncf  :  —  It  was  accidental. 
Aa  the  y^rist  mill  drew  ni'ur  to  completion  in  the  winter  of  ISIO,  '11,  Mr.  John  Carbnt 
Went  to  Cayufi'a  for  a  load  of  jiliusler,  with  the  promise  from  Es(|.  Shaefl'er  that  it 
should  he  i^i-ound  in  tlu;  process  of  |ire]iarini,'  the  mill  stoue.s.  In  his  aliseiici\.  wliile 
Home  workmen  were  e.vcavaling  the  hank  to  procure  earth  to  iinish  the  endjaidvininit 
of  the  mill  race,  one  of  them,  a  forei',nier,  insisted  that  they  werc^  e.wavatini,'  i>laster. 
E.\]>erime,its  followed  whicli  jiroved  the  fact.  The  demand  for  it  Iteiii^-  liiil  limited, 
farmers  hininf,' lieen  slow  in  appri'ciatin^' its  value,  its  mimufacture  was  not  fairly 
underway  until  ISIS  ;  since  which  it  has  heeii  constantly  upon  the  increase  and 
the  heds  wouM  seem   exhaustless. 

Note. —  .ludgo  Carpenter  cmisrratod  from  Westchester  county  as  early  na  1704,  loca- 
ting,' in  company  with  William  Arinesley,  nein- Cash(.iiu' creek,  on  Seiu'ca  Lake,  ^[ajor 

Beujamin  Barton  was  then  residing  at  Cashouii'  in  a  1' '■■"    *'■•■  ' ■ "  *' ' 

Det)art7.ch  and  I'oudry,     Samuel  Wlieaton  had  been 
or  fom-  vears.     Afti'r  makinic !'  little  openini,'  iu  tlie  fore 
J    ■      ■'"  "  -       ■ 


.  cabin,  tlii^  successor  then,' 
in    the  ueijrldjorhood  for  three 
luildin;,'  a  jiole  cabin. 


I.U   iiMii  ^>v-uis.      iiiifi    iMiiKiiit;  a  xinur  (t[jemrii^  lo  uie  inreM,  ioio  iMiiioni;;;    a  [foii'  eanui. 

Judij'e  C;iri)enter  went  to  Pennsylvania  and  hrouiflit  a  smidl  stock  of  fiu'niture,  and  a 
younif  wife  into  the  wdderness.  Comintc  u[)  the  Susi|Uehamiali  he  workeil  llieir  pas- 
sai^'e  on  a  Durham  boat,  crossed  over  to  Catliei'iiiestown,  and  came  down  the  Lake  tu 
Cashotuf  in  a  batti'au.  The  wife  that  he  moved  into  his  ]irimitive  cabin,  as  well  a- 
himself,  are  amonff  Ihe  few  survivini;  Pioneers  of  tliat  early  ]ieriod.  There  are  pro'i- 
nlily  not  twetity  pertjuns  li\Hig'  who  were  adult  emigiiiuls  lo  IJie  Genesee  country 
jirevious  to  17'j.'>. 


i:^ 


li  II 


498 


fori 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAJl's  PURCHASE. 


I^Z  lthr;"°r""Th''''"  Mr,  Mann  used  .0  come  up  on 

ivr  i'  "r-       The  sumvinrr  sons   are :  — Alexander 


!y. 


The  mothev   uL  c  ]i  "^'^  'T^  *°"'"  unmarried  daughters. 

emi'TZ  An.     r      '  '"''^'''''  ^'  ^  ^^"ghter  of  the  early  Scotch 
emigrant,  Angus  uameron. 

me,"  TrJm '^^'  ^'r^'!'"''^  V'PS^^'',  ^"'''■g^  Goodhue,  Joseph  Black- 
mei   J(,lm  So_ge,  Elud   Goble,  Peleg  Weaver,  Marvin  Cadv  See Iv 

ageu  48  jeais     Mr.  Goodhue,  was  a  settler  at  Painted  Post  and 

removed  ^V^  .1  'f'^'''""'/^^''  ^^^'^^^ddock's  Bay.  Ir.  180G  he 
lemoedto   Wheatland,  where  he  now  resides  with  his  son    To^n 

derc  mhnts  ""'uf^'  ''^^T%  ^"^ '^^  ^y  riarrcircb 'of 
hL  "te  "son  M  ^;'r\^''^''  ^  ^rW"''  ^'"^^  ^"  the  72d  vear  of 
^eacf  'Mr  cllZ  '"?'  ^^"^.l^^^'^'"  ^age  occupy  the  home- 
sieaci.     Ml.  GobJe  was  a  resident  of  Seneca  countv  as  earlv  is  1  Ron  • 

Frink  l"V' n,'  !''''T''  ""'''''  «*'  ^^heo.tland  "his    on  '7r 
Funk    >^d  ^e  tied  in   Westmoreland,   Oneida  county,  previous   to 

Jk  aLohis  w  fi     r^'''''"r"'  f'^^  ^'^'^''^  epidenliic  in  1813,  as 

t      .        V    '  r^r'"'"'"'  ^^•^"'^'  «t  Wheatland  is  his  son. 
P.M  .    ^/^^'o^^'»g  "Pot  pioneer  enterprise   with   Joseph 

S  SL"  0?  if  ""'"\^,"  ^^'^"^^^"^'^  ^"  ^«««  We  have  alreaSy 
comm  utn  J  u  "P^r  t'^^  ^'«;y  ^^erge  of  civilization,  in  Oneida 
cou  •;  in  7««  T 'o'  a'u'  ^''^,  c°»^»^encing  in  the  Genesee 
ho  t-i^h^'  w Ion  ,;!"  .  ^^'  "'^'''t^'  Pioneers  otten  speak  of  his 
wee  Ju  l^r^  D^^^^  '""vv""''  ''"'f  '^'^  ""'^  ^^-^i^^  habitation  be- 
tueen  Judge  Deans,  in  Westmoreland,  and  Colonel  Dantorth's,  at 


a^vi.y  fro,,,  ,]„.  l,n„ks.  to  t!,e  ,  is  an  'o     "  n         ,  f  '    "'•^i"'^'    ,    """^^  ^'"  ""'^  ^''^^^■«' 

..xistcd  tl,"r,.  ;    -r  ntt;       h  .  «.  d'S    l"''^  ''"  7^"'^^  '^'"''^  ^''"  ^■■""^'  •'irti'^"lfy 
drive   tl.c..,.  ncn.ss  t  ,  ov-    n  k  .      ■,  do  .m      ■,.„"•■  """i"^' '"'  ';-"'™V  '"  ""''^■"vori-,.'  to 


in  scvo.-;,l  i„sta>,ces  on    vi  ,^     .  ;.    ^M     ]  ^'^     '^''"^'''iy'Jf  ^'^MV^  tlio  ioun,c.y ; 
Im.luv  t.,  w.f  „„„„  tlw,  .„IM  :.  '      "'.'„"  ■*■,• .™  I'.'  '^■'■''    H"  ''t1  to   I'l-eet  a  tor.-;,orary 

■  ■"  "ity 

.ito  siu.,v,  his  .ito/si;;,,  a;;?;^;;-;'s  v;:?o;;X  som'S"  t^TfT ""  "'^f 

Avciittd  worktoniakoa  l.iid..,. -l.,,  «I  i:;,,,  "ii  soli,l  icc,  to  got  thoni  over,  he 
t)iev  Moi-c,  hroke  off  id  >.„;,.  "'"';,"''*  "'ff^S:*^^'!  the  section  ofice  upon  which 
thoTails     SeL  n-  ;  ,     .    ;  Hi  '^  ''!^''  '',"'■  ""'''''"^'  '"^<^'3^  t^' »'«  precipi'tated  over 

tJie  si       -.nd  hi    i:i,t  '""^v.nir  .t  to  h.s  ^vife,  .ho  fastened  ,l„e.  e„i  of  i:   t(, 

Slus '  ;i  r  :^  ;i  r,  ;";;!i^;',  :;7^''^'^    "i;"  •'«  'r-^^i  the  ice  to  the  si,ovo  ami 

ice  from  wh L  ,     „  v     ,  I  1       '"";-"^'l'"l'l  ^'^^^'<^^^-  I"  n  tew  moments  thr  rake  of 

ortw'lt  ule*^;!  •;  ,  :  :;™,^^rtheoLrH:;VM^^^  the  Fans  .  Stoppi,,,  ..raday 
Mte  whi.h  is  noM-  f],e  ee  ,  n  of  he  it  ,•  R  *V  'I'  ''''  '"'VT''  '"■"  ''''""'  ^'I'"'^  ""-' 
woodsvoad,heAtehi,,:Shn:i,ul;:i";oii;.a!yo;Sl.^"*'    '"""™^   ^"""^'^  ^'"^ 


PHELPS   AND    G0EIIA.^['S    PUKCIIASE. 


499 


Onondarra.     In  a  letter  from  John  Tavlor,  a  State  Indian  acent,  to 

T"r^r^'"'^?,L  "''■"'  "'  ^'^'^^'  '^  '•'  mentioned  that  in  co-cmeralion 
with  Uhver  1  helps,  he  had  made  provisions  for  openin-r  .1  road  from 
Onondaga  to  Oneida,  and  that  Mr.  Blackmcr  had  contracted  to  do 
a  i)ortH.n  ot  the  work.  He  was  a  native  of  the  town  of  Kent, 
State  oi  Connecticut,  and  may  truly  he  said  to  have  heen  of  a 
lioneer  stock,  as  he  was  a  descendant  of  Peregrine  White  the  first 
born  of  white  parents,  in  New  England.  Ile'died  in  184S,  arred 
80  years.  He  was  public  spirited,  enterprising  as  the  reader  will 
mier,  a  goo*}  neighbor,  and  an  efficient  helper  in  all  that  was  tend- 
ing to  die  prosperity  of  his  locality.  He  donated  from  his  farm  tlie 
site  for  a  meeting  house,  .school  house  and  burying  ground.  Jirah 
i^phraim,  and  Oliver  P.  Blackmer,  of  Wheatland,  are  his  sons' 
i^aughters  became  the  wives  of  Jesse  Kinney,  of  Michi<ran ;  of 
Jerry  Merrill,  of  Orangeville,  Wyoming  county. 

Deacon  Rawson  Harmon  was  a  native  of  New  Marlborouc'h 
Berkshire  county,  Mass. ;  he  was  a  resident  of  Madison  county 
previous  to  1797  ;  in  1811,  he  removed  to  Clarence,  Erie  county 
but  soon  changed  his  residence  to  Caledonia,  now  Wheatland.  At 
that  period  he  had  six  sons  and  five  daughters,  nine  of  whom  are 
vet  living,  VIZ  :— Ariel,  Uawson,  Ira,  Sylvester,  Anan  and  Elisha 
Kawson,  all  residing  upon  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  home- 
stead ;  Mrs.  Horace  P.  Smith,  Mrs.  James  R.  Flynn,  and  Mrs. 
Oliver  1 .  Blackmer.  The  living  descendants  of  Deacon  Harmon 
are,  9  in  the  first  degree,  52  in  the  second,  and  17  in  the  third.  He 
died  m  1850,  aged  85  years. 

Calvin  Armstrong  and  George  H.  Smith,  were  residents  in 
VVlieatland  as  early  as  1812.  Mr.  Armstrong,  now  70  years  of 
age  has  recently  changed  his  residence  to  the  neighborhood  of 
bushviUe,  Batavia,  having  become  the  owner  and  occupant  of  the 
well  known  Pendell  farm.  Mr.  Smith  died  in  Wheatland,  at  ad- 
vanced  age  ;  he  was  a  native  of  Germany  ;  Daniel  Smith,  of  Wheat- 
land, IS  his  son. 

The  Baptist  church  in  Wheatland,  was  orcanized  as  early  as  1811 . 
O  all  the  original  members  of  it,  none  survive  but  Jirah  Blackmer, 
who  has  been  a  Deacon  and  Clerk  in  it  for  40  years.  Its  settled 
ministers  have  been :— Solomon  Brown,  Ely  Stone,  Aristarchus 
Willev,  William  W.  Smith,  Horace  Griswold,  John  L.  Latham, 
Daniel  Eldnge,  John  Middletca,  Gibbons  Williams,  Hiram  R 
Stimpson,  and  Wm.  W.  Evc-rts. 

In  observations  made  in  connection  with  Pioneer  history,  the 
author  has  been  frequently  reminded  of  the  benefits  that  have 
accrued  from  the  early  institution  oi'  public  librar'es.  The  books 
\yere  selected  at  a  better  era  of  our  literature,  of  book  making,  than 
the  present  one  ;  before  a  surfeit  of  the  worthless  trash  that  now 
untortunately  too  much  prevails  in  our  popular  reading ;  they  were 
^Jioroughly  read,  and  thoroughly  umlerstood ;  the  Pioneers  became 


500 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAll's  PUEOHASE. 


intelligent,  and  inducted  their  sons  and  daughters  into  a  course  of 
profitable  reading.  The  general  intelligence  of  the  citizens  of  all 
of  the  old  town  of  Caledonia,  has-been  proverbial ;  they  enjoyed  the 
benefits  of  a  well  selected  library,  as  early  as  1804.  It  was  the 
Pioneer  Library  west  of  Genesee  river.  The  first  books  were 
bought  at  Myron  Holle  s  book  store,  in  Canandaigua,  by  John 
Garbutt,  who  carried  them  to  their  destination  on  his  back.  Peter 
ShaefTer  waa  first  Librarian.  Tiie  library  now  consists  of  over 
1500  volumes. 

[Farther  reniinisconccg  of  Scotch  settlers,  having  reference  to  the  old  town  of 
Calcdonin,  will  bo  inserted  in  the  volume,  "Livingston  nnd  Allegany."  The  autlior 
lia«  found  it  difficult  to  separate  tlicm  as  town  and  county  divisions  have  done.] 

In  addition  to  their  purchase  of  the  "  Big  Springs,"  and  water 
power  at  Caledonia,  of  Mr.  Williamson,  in  early  years,  John 
and  Robert  M'Kay  purchased  land  and  water  power  at  what 
is  now  the  village  of  Mumford,  and  had  erected  a  saw  mill  there 
previous  to  1808.  In  1809,  Thomas  Mumford  purchased  the  inter- 
est of  Robert  M'Kay.  In  1817,  Thomas  Mumford  and  John  M'Kay 
erected  a  large  stone  flouring  mill  having  four  run  of  stones.  John 
W.  Watkins  opened  the  primitive  tavern  ;  Philip  Garbutt  the  first 
mercantile  establishment. 

Donald  M'Kenzie  may  be  regarded  as  the  earliest  resident  Pio- 
neer of  the  locality.  In  1804,  he  came  from  his  native  place,  In- 
verness, Scotland,  remained  in  New  York  and  Connecticut  two 
years,  and  coming  to  the  Genesee  country  in  1806,  resided  at 
Honeoye  one  year,  after  which,  in  1807,  he  erected  a  log  building 
upon  the  present  site  of  Mumford,  started  the  business  of  cloth 
dressing,  becoming  in  that  branch  of  business  the  Pioneer  in  all  the 
Genesee  country  west  of  the  river.  His  early  customers  were  dis- 
tributed over  a  territory  that  now  constitutes  ten  counties.  The 
venerable  Simon  Pierson,  of  Le  Roy,  in  some  published  reminis- 
cences, gives  a  graphic  account  of  his  first  milling  advent  to  Cale- 
donia. "  I  took  my  wheat  on  my  horse,"  says  the  narrator,  "  rode 
down  Allan's  Creek  7  or  8  miles,  when  I  came  to  a  dark,  dense 
forest  of  evergreens,  which  I  t(X)k  to  be  a  cedar  swamp  on  a  hill. 
Near  the  centre  of  this  swamp,  as  I  took  it  to  be,  I  found  a  small 
hut  which  I  entered,  for  I  was  very  cold,  it  being  late  in  November. 
I  found  a  good  fire,  and  the  w^orkmen  were  at  dinner.  I  found  the 
owner  liberal  and  intelligent.  He  told  me  his  name  was  Donald 
M'Kenzie — that  he  was  building  a  fulling  mill,  and  making  prepa- 
rations for  wool-carding  and  cloth-dressing." 

In  1809,  Mr.  M'Kenzie  added  to  his  business,  a  carding  machine, 
which  was  preceded  in  all  the  territory  west  of  the  river  only  by 
one  er"xted  by  Wm.  H.  Bush,  near  Batavia.  He  still  survives,  af- 
ter a  long,  active,  and  useful  life  ;  a  good  specimen  of  the  energetic 
and  persevering  Pioneers.     Few  men  are  better  versed  in  the  his- 


PlIELM   AND   GORHAJl's   PURCHASE. 


501 


tory  of  ecarly  settlement  in  all  this  region,  and  the  author  is  much 
indebted  to  him  for  written  reminiscences,  and  the  results  of  his 
retentive  memory.  He  is  now  (57  years  of  acre.  His  surviving 
sons  are  : — William,  in  California;  Daniel  R.,  in  Laporte,  Indiana; 
John,  Simon  and  Joseph,  upon  the  homestead.  Daughters  became 
the  wives  of  Daniel  M'Naughton,  of  Wheatland,  and  Hector  M'- 
Lean,  of  Rochester. 

UZf'  For  topography,  &c.,  of  Caledonia  and  Wheatland,  see  Ap- 
pendix to  supplement.  No.  1. 


RIGA. 


The  settlement  of  "  West  Pulteney,"  now  Riga,  commenced 
under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Wadsworth,  in  1805.  the  first  ten  set- 
tlers were  :— Elihu  Church,  Samuel  Shepherd,  William  Parker, 
Amasa  Frost,  Ezekiel  Barnes,  Nehemiah  Frost,  Samuel  Church, 
Joseph  T-cker,  Enos  Morse,  and  George  Richmond.  Elihu  Church 
still  survives,  a  resident  upon  the  land  upon  which  he  settled  in  his 
early  advent,  and  upon  which  the  first  tenement  was  erected,  and 
the  first  improvement  commenced,  in  Riga.  He  is  in  his  77th 
year.  Dennis  Church,  late  Supervisor  of  Riga,  is  his  son ;  daugh- 
ters became  the  wives  of  Erastus  Sprague,  of  Lima,  Dann  Hawes, 
of  Carv'ville,  Genesee  county,  Oliver  W.  Warner,  of  Lake  county, 
Ohio,  Enoch  Fitch,  of  Wilson,  Niagara  county,  and  an  unmarried 
daughter  resides  at  the  homestead."  His  first  wife  died  in  1823 ; 
a  present  one  was  the  widow  of  Matthew  Fitch,  one  of  the  second 
class  of  early  settlers  in  Riga.  Mr.  Church  was  for  many  years 
a  Supervisor  and  Magistrate  of  Ri^a. 

Samuel  Church,  a  brother  of  Elihu,  was  the  founder  of  settle- 
ment at  Churchville,  where  he  built  the  first  saw  mill  in  town,  in 
1808,  and  a  grist  mill  in  1811.  He  was  a  Captain  of  the  first  mili- 
tia company  organized  in  Riga  ;  was  upon  the  frontier  in  the  war 
of  1812,  and  participated  with  his  command  in  the  sortie  of  Fort 
Erie.  He  died  in  1850,  in  Chenango  county,  agtd  82  years.  His 
surviving  sons  are  : — Rev.  Samuel  C.  Church,  ot'Medina,  and  Rev, 
Jared  Church,  of  Tennessee;  a  daughter  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev, 
Charles  Robinson,  a  missionary  to  Siam,  who  died  on  ship  board  on 
his  return  to  this  country  in  1848.  Mrs.  Robinson  who,  with  her 
three  children,  was  returning  with  him,  now  resides  in  Medina ;  she 
was  the  first  born  in  the  town  of  Riga.  Other  daughters  are,  Mrs. 
Casey,  of  York,  Mrs.  Clark,  of  B^-ron,  and  the  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Titus  Cohen,  a  missionary  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Jesse  Church,  another  brother,  settled  in  Riga  as  early  as  1807; 
was  an  early  mechanic  of  Churchville  ;  also,  the  Captain  of  a  com- 
pany in  the  war  of  1812;  was  made  a  prisoner  at  Fort  Erie,  and 


502 


PHELPS   AND  GORTIAm's   PUKCIIASE. 


til 


I 


carried  to  Iliililhx.     He  died  in  1820  or '7.     Stoddard  Church,  of 
Ugdeii,  IS  his  son  ;  (.ther  sons  reside  at  tiie  west. 

Samuel  Sliepinnl  died  hut  a  lew  rears  since.  Beniamin  F. 
hhephard.  ol  Hica,  is  his  son  ;  his  son  Hiram,  now  deceased,  was 
the  hrstmale  child  horn  in  IliiTji. 

Ainasa  Frost  died  inanyye;n-s  since;  Nelson  A.  Frost  is  his  son; 
another  son  ve^^ules  in  iMichiu^an.  ,Mrs.  Jacoh  All.riifhf,  of  Olcott, 
JNiajrara  county,  and  the  wili'  ol'  Dr.  Dibble,  of  Rochester,  are  his 
dauirhters.  Achpmi.'di  Frost,  died  in  isno;  Dr.  Frost,  of  Medina, 
IS  his  son.  William  I'arker  removed  to  Maj.le  Uid-c,  Orleans  coun- 
ty, and  emi^n-ated  from  there  to  tlie  west. 

Those  whose  names  follow,  were  ali  residents  ol"  ]l\<sn  previous 

10  1810— most  of  them  settled  there  in  1S08,  "D  :— James  iviiowles, 

still  survives;  Paul  and  William   Knowles,  of  liiua,  are  liis  sons; 

:\lrs.  \\  arner  iJrown  and  Mrs.  Montross,  of  Pti-rf,,'  jire  his  dau^h- 

ters      Thnmas  Hill-ham  still  survives:  .Toseph  J'.mgham,  of  Alle^Ta- 

ny,  Justin  bintrliam.  ol  Michijian,  and  William  PiiKdiam,   of  UiW 

are  his  sons  ;  Mrs.  Pratt,  of  Alh',<:aiiv.  is  his  dauu'hter.     Clark  hIiH 

still   survives,   a  resident  of  Wheatland,  thouol,  his  earlv  lor.ation 

v^as  in  K Ilia.     ITalfs  Corners,  in   ^Vheatlaiul,  took  their  name  from 

him      1  homos  Hill  was  the  first  Supervisor  of  Rijra,  still  survies 

at  the  age  oi  8{)  years;  Hev.  Robert  Hill  is  his  son:  another  son, 

beorge  Hill,  resides  in  Wisconsin  :  Mrs.  Emerson,  of  Rio^a.  is  his 

'l^aughter.     Joseph  Emerson  still  survives  ;  Erastus.   Jos'epii,  and 

beorge  Enierson,  of  Riga,  arc  his  sons :  an  onlv  daucrhter  became 

the  wile   ol  John  Reed,   of  Sweden.     Eber  and   Chester  Orcutt; 

Ljcy  still  survives.     They  were  brothers  ;  the  father,  Moses  Orcutt, 

was  an  early  Pioneer  in  PittstoA^-n.     Bcnajah  Holbrook.  emi-rated 

to   Michigan  ;    Mrs.    Frederick   Davis,  of  Mount   Morris,  is  his 

daughter. 

The  rapidity  of  settlement  warranted  a  mercantile  establish- 
ment in  Rigaas  early  as  1808  ;  that  of  Thompson  &  Tuttle  :  the 
last  name(  oi  the  firm,  was  a  non-resident,  engaged  at  the  time  in 
nmning  a  big  ^yagon  upon  the  Albany  and  Ruflalo  road.  Joseph 
Ihompson,  ol  the  firm,  was  the  Pioneer  tavern  keeper:  a  part  of 
the  building  now  occupied  bv  the  Riua  Academv.  was  erected  bv 
him  for  a  tavern  house.     He  died  many  vears  since. 

Dr.  John  D.arling  was  tlie  earliest  jilivsician  in  town  ;  ho  died  in 
oaiiy  years.     He  was  succeeded  bv  ])r:  Richard  Dil)ble. 

1  he  first  death  m  town  was  that  of  Richard  Church,  in  1807.  the 
tather  of  the  brothers  who  have  been  named. 


RKMIXISCENCES  OF  ELIIIU  CIIUKCn. 


I  emi.oTntod  from  Berksl.iro  to  Phelps.   Ontario  county,  in  llOG,  and 
urchased  land  upon  Flint  Creek,  where  I  remained  until  1805.     In  that 


PHELPS    AKD   GORIIA^l's    PURCILVSE. 


503 


change   ^v.ld  lands  for  farms,    and    had   induced   by  b'otbor  sTimuelto 

PuTe2  ye'f""H'T  }  -?-l'--'J  ^>i-  to^vhatwL  th  n  WeS 
i-ulttney.  We  found  it  a  densely  and  heavily  timbered  wilderness-  the 
«ily  oceupants  other  than  ^ild  boLts.  John  Si^ith  and  his  sr^^^^^^^^^^^ 

p  ored  he  township,  and  were  pleased  with  it.  Durino-  the  next  winter  I 
selected  lor  myselt,  my  present  location,  and  fur  my  broTher,  the  site  "  Ihe 
preson  village  of  Churehville.  In  March,  1806,  I  rem^;  d  ^^^  Lt 
from  Phe  ps  to  my  new  location,  expecting  that  I  had  a  house  re'ady  fbr 
them  as  I  had  contracted  for  the  building  of  one;  but  on  anivfnf  we 
found  ourselves  houseless.  William  Parker,  Samuel  Shepherd  ad  Am^s^ 
Fro  t,  lad  preceded  me  a  few  days,  with  their  familie,  and  were  oTc^ 
part  of  the,  surveyors' camp,  where  myself  and  family  w^re  hospi  ubh  a  - 
muted  as  jom  occupants;  and  a  crowded  household  we  had-2S  of  us  al 
together-al  m  one  small  cabin.  We  called  it  t!>e  "  Hotel,"  and  tJutt  it 
tlie  name  to  the  stream  upon  the  banks  of  which  it  stood  Isaac  EH  Im 
and  David  Farwell,  then  of  "  Springlleld,"  now  Wheatland,  hear  nV- tl  t  I 
was  houseless  generously  came  and  helped  me  erect  one.  whm  up 
^e  body  of  It  in  one  day;  had  it  ready  to  move  into  on  the  fourt  da/ 
The  floor  was  of  split  basswood,  the  roof  of  cedar  shingles;  no  boaX 

Tf  v"  •  s^"  TZTT"":'  '  "'^  ''''^r  '"^^^^^^  ^"  Ehsha'FaruS  for 
VI  •  ,  r'l  ,  f^  "P"^  *'"'^y  commenced  a  pioneer  life,  a  small  specimen 
of  wluch  I  had  already  witness..d,  and  been  a  part  of.  ii^  Phelps. ' 

summer^.!  T  .f'1-,?  .-'^^  ''"'"«  "^  ^«°«'  '"aised  small  patches  of 
summci  crops.  In  the  fall  ot  that  year.  I  had  fiftv  acres  cleared  which 
I  sowed  to  wheat.     I  had  got  in  debt  in  clearing  land  and  in  bu  1  I.'k,  and 

ough  I  had  an  excellent  crop  of  wheat,  it  ,vas  difficult  to  pay  debts  S 
It ,  It  would  not  con.mand  money.  1  exchanged  some  of  it  for  labo  w  th 
new  comers  In  803, 1  took  wheat  to  Canandaigua:  there  w  no  p  a 
and  no  sale  for  it  there;  no  exchanging  of  it  for  ^tore  trade.     I  remm'ed 

to  Geneva,  at  a  cost  of  12i  cents  per  bushel,  and  paid  a  debt  lowed 
there  for  a  barrel  of  whiskey  with  it;  the  wheat  fin.lly  nettino  me  m 
cents  per  bushel,  or  one  gallon  of  whiskey  for  six  bushels  of  whea^     w! 

busS  *     Tn  ^1  .     IH  '''^'  ""'Z^''  '''''  ""^  ^'^«'-''^"^'  Pncc,  31  cents  per 
bushel        In  the  cold  season  of  181G,  when  summer  crops  were  oeneral- 

&'"  T  the  fdf 'r'  \f  """f  T'  ''''''  "'"  ^"^  '^-'^"-^  wheu^rop  in 
fn  "So  [    ,     '  ^  ^?^^'''y  '''^"'^''  ^'■^P  ^°  ^«"d  anJ  Hatch,  Rochester, 

In  some  of  the  earliest  years,  Mr.  Wadsworth  sent  some  pot-ash  kettles 
mto  the  township,  and  the  manufacture  of  black  salts  and  pot-asli  was  com- 
mence.l.  It  proved  a  great  help  to  the  new  settlers;  enabled  them  to  pr^ 
cuie  some  of  the  common  necessaries  of  life,  when  wheat  would  not. 

*  Extinct  of  a  letter  from  ."^Ir.  Wmlswoitli  to  Col.  Trom  d.ito<]  in  ISO^  •     •■  it  ; 

XoTK.-Tlie first  four  pot-ash  kettles  that  Mr.  Wadswortli  in-oourod  iu  All,-inr  for 
the  new  settlcmeuts,  co.t  $10  each  ;  trau.purtaUou  to  Uie  lailing  place  at  clJu^S' 


If   i 


1 

1: 

1 

ii 

■^'"'i 

.in 

m 

■)(»4 


PITEirs  AND  GORHASfs   PURCHASE. 


TIio  first  town  meoting  we  attended  was  in  Ogden,  at  the  house  of  Esq. 
VVillcy,  in  1807,  Then  the  town  of  Northampton  embraced  the  nortliern 
towns  of  Monroe,  west  of  the  river;  or  "  sottk-rnents,"  and  "districts,"  as 
they  were  tlien  termed.  We  made  choice  of  two  Supervisors  in  su-ices- 
sioii,  but  their  election  was  a  nulHty,  neither  of  tliem  being  freeliolders; 
tVee-liolders  were  scarce  in  tliat  early  day.  Wo  finally  compromised  the 
matter  by  appointing  delegates  from  each  settlement,  to  appoint  town  ofH- 
cers.  The  proceeding-  was  not  exactly  legal,  but  no  objection  being  made, 
it  all  went  off  well  enough. 

Our  first  religious  meetings,  previous  to  the  organization  of  the  Con- 
gregational church,  wore  held  in  my  barn,  it  being  the  first  framed  barn 
erected  in  town.  I  think  Elder  Reed,  a  Baptist  missionary,  was  the  firfet 
to  visit  our  settlement.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Phelps  and  several  Methodist  cir- 
cuit preachers,  visited  us  in  early  years. 


Judiic  Heniy  Brewster,  now  a  resident  of  Le  Roy,  at  tlie  :id- 
vanced  au'c  of  77  years,  was  one  of  the  Tionecrs  of  Riga.  Though 
laboring  under  the  physical  infirmities  incident  to  old  age,  his  men- 
fal  faculties  are  unimpaired  ;  as  a  well  drawn  up  and  intelligent 
account  of  his  early  advent,  which  he  has  furnished  for  this  work, 
attests.  His  surviving  sons  are; — Henry  A.  Brewster,  Rochester, 
Edward  Brewster,  Builalo,  Albert  Brewster,  Le  Roy.  F.  W.  Brew- 
ster, Brockport ;  a  daughter  is  iMrs.  Norris,  of  Stratford,  Conn. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  IIEXllY  BREWSTER. 


My  father  was  a  farmer  in  New  London  county,  Connecticut,  town  of 
Prescott.  As  with  most  ^ew  England  farmers,  the  Revolutior.,  its  per- 
sonal services  and  sacrilices,  its  incidental  burdens,  was  the  occasion  of 
depression  and  embarrassment.  2\.s  soon  as  I  was  old  enough  to  labor, 
ray  services  were  required  upon  the  farm,  so  unremittingly  as  even  to  de- 
prive me  of  the  advantages  of  education,  beyond  what  could  be  acquired 
before  I  was  twelve  years  of  age.  I  married  at  the  age  of  twenty-three 
years,  and  unfortunati'ly  bought  a  ffirm  and  settled  upon  it,  in  one  of  the 
poorest  mountain  towns  of  the  county  of  Berkshire.  Unable  to  sell  it,  I 
was  obliged  to  cultivate  the  ungenial  soil  of  the  Berkshire  mountains  for 
ten  of  the  best  years  of  my  life. 

The  duy  of  deliverance  came,  however: — In  1805,  I  met  with  a  large 
handbill  sent  out  by  James  Wadsworth,  Esq.,  of  "  Big  Tree,"  pioposing 
to  exchange  each  alternate  range  of  lots  of  land  in  "  West  Pulteney  town- 
ship," for  improved  farms  in  the  county  of  Berkshire.     Daniel  Dewey, 

Esq.,  of  Williamstown,  and Hopkins,  Esq.,  of  Great  Harrington,  were 

named  as  the  agents  in  Berkshire,  who  would  give  applicants  all  needed 


BiRige,  lor  till.'  itiur,  §156  :25.    Tliis  was  in  1M)7.    In  IHUS,  be  bnuglit  24  kcttlos  in 
Albiiny,at  $35  eucli ;  cost  of  transportation  tmt  little  less  than,  in  tlic  preceding  yeai'. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKirAM's  PURCflASE. 


505 


information      The  farms  were  to  l,e  taken  at  appraised  value,  and  the  wild 
land  given  in  exchanov,  at  H  per  acre. 

In  October  I8O0.  Mr.  8amuel  Baldwin,  a  neighbor  of  mine,  and  myself 
mounted  our  hor.es  and  camo  to  see  liie  Q.n.^^^e  country,  a  .d  csS  v 
West  Pul  eney.  Arriving  nt  Avon,  a  guide  Imd  been^'  videdC  r 
Wadsworth  to  conduot  us  to  our  destination.  Ueacl.in/tlir'  I]  mo  /; 
se  tlenu-n,"  in  East  Pulteney.  we  went  through  the  Zds  t  the  s  ! 
m-s  cabin  in  We.t  Pu Iteney.  where  we  were  lodged,  fed,  and  providc'd  wUh 
maps  and  a  guide,  while  we  made  a  pretty  th").ou..h  explur'Uion  of.  « 
township  We  found  that  several  of  our  neighbors  fi/m  Bert  ire  I  3 
been  m.  [those  named  by  Mr.  Church,]  had  Visited  the  to w,  '^7  p t 
chased  and  exchanged  lands;  but  all  .hat  was  doing  to  prepare  fo    seUle 

Baldwm  and  myself  selected  850  acres  each,  the  quantity  which  th^  an- 
praised  value  ot  our  farms  in  Berkshire  entiti  kI  us  to.     After  this  we  vi  S 
od  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  ascending  it,  viewed  t!ie  Fa!   ,    S  Ra  id  • 
and  the  present  site  of  Rochester.     All  was  a  dreary  wihlernestin  which 

d  a  ely  about  the  oM  Allan  mdl.     There  was  a  narrow  and  crooked  w  "oa 
pa  h(.   the  east  side  of  the  nver,  and  such  it  remained  for  several  ye-.rs 

the     ver,  made    n.m  the  timber  of  my  lands  in  West  Pulteney. 

We  then  visited  "liig  Iree,"  where  we  were  hospitably  entertained  b^ 
Mr.  Wadsworth.  our  land  exchanges  arranged,  and  the  deeds  nreo  m.f 
which  we  took  with  us  to  Albany  to^"  be  signed  by  Col  Tro  p  Velt' 
each  of  us,  purchased  several  lots  upon  credit  ^  ' 

In  the  fall  of  1800,  I  re-visited  tiie  country  to  make  preparations  for  the 
removal  o  my  family.  At  the  hotel  in  Can^Kulaigua,  .LL  I  was  r  Idn! 
mg  over  the  Sabbath,  I  met  with  Col.  Troup.  \'here  bei,."^  X 
worship  ,n  the  village,  we  spent  the  day  in  company.  ObservlnrtI  afhe 
took  a  lively  inte.  est  in  all  that  related  to  the  Settlement  ot  the'  cm  try 
md  especially  in  al  that  ndaled  to  public  worship,  and  a  stri  t  re'  rft^o 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  I  ventured  to  suo4st  to  him  the  hinnv  • 
fluence  it  would  have  upon  our  new  set.lementTn  U'es  T^  1  en Ti f  he 
would  set  apart  or  donate  lands  for  religious  and  educational  mLose  • 

Tow  isl  in      HrSl   r%."  "'""  P"'"^-^^  ""  '■'''  '•"'•  -'"'^--t  oTtl  e 
township.     He  fell  in  with  my  views,  saying  to  me :— "  Go  on  and  or-aniza 

a  t-ehgious  society,  elect  trustee's,  and  select^  two  one  hundred  acre  lots- 

on    fur  the  support  of  the  Gospel,  and  another  f  a-  the  support  of  schoo   _ 

call  on  me  at  Albany  on  your  return,  and  I  will  deliver  you  the  title  dee  L  " 

Duimg  my  stay  in  the  settlement,  a  meeting  of  the  Pioneers  t  ok   pi    'e 

few  m  number,  and  measures  were  adopted  toavailou.>elvesof  the  dona  ion' 

ihere  were  then  hve  families  in  West  Pulteney,  and  about  fifteen  heads 

of  families  were  making  arrangements  to  settle  there.     At  the  mceti  e   i? 

was  agreed  to  take  all  the  necessary  legal  steps  in  the  form:  tion  of  a  fd 

gious  society:  one  of  whg^^^s^the^  that  notice  uf  intention 

NorK.-Iu  a  letter  frcm  Mr.  Wa.lswoi-tli  to  CI.  Troup,  in  IH.I.J  i,7s;;;:;idi^7M^ 
fine  pr(,sp..cts  h,.  had  „f  settlin-   West  Piiifei.ev     he   iienr  ,,  ,     \i      ,  '    »      "  •  , 

Brewster  as  likely  ,.,  prove  a  v.duublc  a..iZ^6n  tl:  tl  "^w  l^ta;;;:!!  "'''^""  '"^' 


i 

I  ■ 

i   ! 

,'     r 
,'■  i 


•fs-^  '.'i 


WiV-i^ 


506 


PIIELPS  AND   GORIIASl'a    PUTlOriASE. 


--•"^ 


slioiild  1)0  read  nt  tluj  "close  of  public  worship,  three  Sabbaths  in  sicces- 
sioM,"  nl  ilic  iiMKf  and  pldci!  to  ..lect  to  organize  audi  suciotv.  Wo  ap- 
puiiiicd  a  meiMiii^'  thr  e  Siii/oaths  in  succesM"ii,  at  t!-.  li-diouse  of  Anuwa 
I'rost.  Doacon  iVelioniiali  Frost  und  myself  were  ih'^  only  prof.ssurs  of 
religion  in  llio  fiftile  n  aL;  we  comlucted  the  reading  uikI  -j.ray.'r  ii.!;elin.'s. 
LviTV  pei-soii,  yonng  and  i.Id,  aitunded  the  meetings.  On  liie  day  appoint- 
ed for  the  orgamzaiion  of  the  society,  Xehoiniuii  Frost  was  chosen  niodura- 
t<)r,  and  mysc-lt  .seeretary.  Nidieniiah  Frost,  Samuel  Church,  Aniasa 
JJ^rust,  Samuel  Daldwin,  Klilu,  Churcli  and  myself,  were  cliu.sen  trustee!!. 
Tlie  society  was  ealh-d  the  "  First  Congregational  Society  of  West  Pulte- 
ney,  m  the  county  of  Genesee."  Tlio  hnds  W(!ro  secured,  and  devoted  to 
the  objects  designed  by  the  donor,  or  donors,  as  Col.  Troui)  acted,  of 
course,  for  Ins  |)iincipals. 

In  less  than  three  ye;irs  after  the  organization  of  the  societ\',  a  church 
was  lonjK'd,  and  the  U-v.  Allen  llollister,  from  the  county  of  Dutchess, 
was  settlrd  as  its  pastor.  The  church  and  society,  thus  early  organized, 
have  unitorinly  supp(jrted  a  pastor,  up  to  the  present  time,  without  any 
missionary  aid.  1  am  the  only  one  living  of  the  original  members  of  that 
church,  and  I  do  not  know  of  any  of  the  original  members  of  the  society 
living,  exoe|)tElihu  Church,  E-cj.,  and  myself 

1  moved  my  family  from  Herksiiire  to  the  then  new  region  of  the  Genesee 
country,  in  Alay,  1H07.  Tin;  town  of  Riga  had  a  rapid  and  permanent 
settlement,  the  papulation  being,  with  few  exceptions,  from  New  England, 
We  saw,  perliaj)s,  less  of  the  harsher  features  of  pioneer  life,  than  most  of 
new  settlers.  We  were  tolerably  well  accomodated  with  a  grist  and  sa\/ 
mdl;  the  substantial  necessaries  of  life  were  obtained  at  ac()nvenient  dis- 
tances,  nndat  fair  prices;  the  lack  of  a  market  was  a  serious  drawback. 
Before  the  completioi  of  the  Erie  Canal,  in  one  year,  I  raised  three 
thousand  bushels  of  wheat.  After  harvest,  the  nominal  price  was  from  .•)! 
to  87^  cents  per  bushel.  I  tried  the  experiment  of  transporting  Hour  to 
Northampton,  Conn,  by  sledding.  For  this  purpose,  I  had  seventy  bar- 
rels  manufactured  from  the  best  <juality  of  wheat,  rurchasino-  six  yoke 
ot  oxen,  1  put  th(  in  upon  two  sleds,  and  two  spans  of  horses,  each  upon  a 
sleigh.  With  the  lour  teams,  I  transported  my  70  barrels  of  flour;  was 
on  the  road  twenty  days;  sold  my  flour  at  8t3  per  barrel,  and  my  oxen  at 
a  protiL;  all  for  cash  in  hand.  My  teamsters  cost  me  nothino-  but  their 
board  going  and  coming,  us  they  v.ished  to  visit  New  England;  and  that 
was  a  part  of  my  own  object;— upon  the  whole,  the  experiment  succeeded 
pretty  well.  We  were  about  twenty  days  on  the  road,  going  down.  1  sold 
the  balance  of  my  crop  of  wheat  the  next  June,  for  50  cents  per  bushel. 
It  went  to  the  Canada  market. 


N0TE.-I11  a  letter  to  Mr.  Tronp.  .Intod  Jnntmrv.  1807,  Mr.  Wndsm-rtl.  snvs  :- 
TMuMi  I  ••oninieiiml  mvitiiiir  settlement  tu  West,  I'ulteuev,  it  was  literallv  a  wiLlei- 
iiess  witlmut  a  loii,.  passu,-  throu-h  it.  It  liad  lu'eii  tor  sal,'  ten  vem-s,  ^uu\  M..t,  ii  s,'!- 
tier  liii.  '^uuo  up..,,  lie.  t,aci.  bales  l„„l  l„.i.,i  enil.a.Tassc.I  hv  the  el.e;,,.  liinds  ol'  the 
HollMi,,!  (.omiiimy  ;  a„il  yet,  i,..Iwilhvlai,aii,ir  ll,ese  ..l.stacles;  it  has  beeome  the  imisl 
r.^speetable  setth'ieent  west  of  ti,..  (i-'iir-eo  i-iver."  In  a  lettci'  }n,i,i  sa,n,..  t.,  saiee,  in 
May  tollo«-ii,-.  It  IS  i-ei„;e-k:..l  :— "  Mv.  M  ■ail  has  oreote  I  a  saxv-mill  ..„  Jilaek  Creek  : 
tuik;  im:\v  harns  Lave  been  creeled  in  West  I'ulteuev.  There  I.h  imf  tliree  frame  barns 
11'  Caiedouia.  1  '  '      " 


PiTELPS   AND  GORIIASl's   PUIlCnASE. 


r)07 


Less  than  a  century  has  produced  such  a  clmniro  in  tl.o  aspect  and  con- 
dition  ot  all  this  n.-ion  as  is  hardly  to  be  cnnlitcd  by  those  who  havo  not 
resided  in  it;  and  Imrdly  to  be  realized  by  tliose  who  have.  Even  those 
who  are  wont  to  <'  take  careful  note  of  time,"  have  been  unable  to  keep  up 
witli  progress  and  improvement.  Forty  years  have  champed  R„<:h'.stcr 
from  a  wild.'rnoss  to  what  it  now  is;  and  Ri-a  sho^vs  what  has  been  done 
in  a  iitti."  more  than  forty  years  by  the  hardy  enterprise  of  New  Knoland 
yeomanry;  about  half  of  the  tiie.d  destitute  of  the  advanta-res  of  a°nar- 
ke  .  A  l.oavy  timbered  wilderness  has  been  eonvert.'d  into  a  well  cultiva- 
ted,  well  fenced,  wealthy  farming  town;  unsurpassed  bv  any  town,  in  any 
region  of  country,  in  the  way  of  neat  and  convenient  farm  hous.'s  and 
barns,  and  in  the  general  appearance  of  rural  happiness  and  iiido[)endenco 

Alter  observations  made  in  travelling  more  or  less  in  twenty  States  of 
the  Uni.jn,  I  regard  the  greater  portion  of  western  New  York,  in  point  of 
soil,  climate,  and  in  all  things  which  go  to  make  up  the  character  of  a 
countrv,  as  tlie  most  desirable  spot  of  earth,  in  which  i  could  reside  as  a 
larmcr. 


An  excellent  example  was  set  hy  the  venerable  Pioneer,  Elihu 
Uiurch  bsq.,  in  the  spring  of  1850.  He  invited  to  his  ample  and 
liospitable  (IwellinfT,  all  the  Pioneers  of  Riga,  and  t'lcy  had  u  plea- 
sant, social  time  of  it.  Old  times  were  reviewed,  anecdotes  and  re- 
miniscences related  ;  the  memories  of  their  departed  friends  and 
neighbors  passed  in  review;  ol  1  acf|uaintances  revived  and  friend- 
ships renewed  ;  toasts  and  sentiments  offered  ;— in  all  things,  it  was 
an  agreeable  and  happy  meeting.  Present,  as  -in  everv  good 
work,  having  reference  to  pioneer  times,  was  the  enthusiastic,  kind 
hearted  Scotchman,  Donald  M'Kenzie.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  such 
social  parties  will  he  multiplied. 

Among  the  reminiscences  related,  was  that  of  Mrs.  Emerson, 
who  said  that  on  one  occasion,  when  their  wheat  was  ripe,  her  hus-^ 
band  '•  cut  it  with  a  sickle,  drew  it  out  of  the  field  upon  an  ox  sled 
threshed  it  with  a  flail,  cleaned  it  witli  a  hand  fan.  drew  it  to  Ro- 
Chester  and  sold  it  for  31  cents  i)er  bushel."     Elilm  Church,  Eso 
related  the  adair  of  the  cold  bath  in  Black  Creek,  in  the  winter  of 
1807.     llimsell  and  brother  Samuel,  Amasa  Frost,  Samuel  Shep- 
herd, and  their  wives,  were  on  their  way  to  visit  their  nei<rhbor 
.lehiel  harnes.     Crossing  the  stream  on  their  ox  sled,  the  hind  "board 
come  out  as  they  were  raising  the  steep  bank,  and  the  whole  party 
were  m-enched  with  water,  in  a  cold  night,  two  miles  from  the  near- 
est house. 

A  resolution  was  passed,  worthy  of  especial  note  :— It  was  in 
substance,  that  the  male  Pioneers  present,  attributed,  under  Provi- 
dence, a  largo  share  of  the  success  that  had  crowned  their  efforts 
to  the  heroic  fortitude,  self-denial,  fidelity  and  energy,  of  their  "  ex- 
cellent Pioneer  wives." 

The  Pioneers  present,  all  entered  their  names,  ages,  and  the 


r    '  *:  1 

,'    ''  t  ■ 

:        1  ■ 

^  j 

J 

')08 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM's    PURCHASE. 


periods  of  their  arlvents.  A  review  of  the  list,  and  a  reference  to 
other  incans  of  observation,  induces  the  conclusion,  that  there  is  no 
town  HI  the  C;enes<.'e  country,  where  there  is  so  large  a  proportion 
ot  the  Pioneer  settlers  survivin<r. 

The    first    town   meeting   wns   held   at   the   house    of    Ilenrv 
Uaidener,  m  J 800.     Thomas   Hill    was   chosen   Su])ervisor,  and 

Joshua  Howell,   town    clerk.     The   ot!ier   town  oflicers  were: 

Eleazer  T.  Slater,  Jes^se  Church,  Israel  Douirlass,  Thomas  liinrr- 
ham.^  Jacob  Cole,  Isaac  C.  Griswold,  Aniasa  Frost,  Henry  Waiden- 
er,  Thomas  Gay,  Warner  Douglass,  Daniel  Dinsmore,  George  Rich- 
mond, .Solomon  Blood.  Elihu  Church  was  Supervisor  in  1811, 
12,  '13;  and  Horatio  Orton,  town  clerk  in  those  years. 


OGDEN. 


John  JMurray,  a  merchant  in  New  York,  was  an  early  proprietor 
of  T.  3,  west  of  Genesee  river,  formerly  Fairfield,  now  0-rden. 
William  Ogden,  of  New  York,  was  his  son-in-law;  consequently, 
one  of  the  heirs  of  the  estate  :  and  thence  the  name  the  town  bears.' 
The  sale  and  settlement  of  the  township  was  embraced  in  the  nu- 
merous agencies  of  James  Wadsworth.  Soon  after  1800,  he  made 
himself  acquainted  with  the  valuable  tract,  and  took  preliminary 
stejis  to  bring  it  into  market.  Fixing  the  price  at  82  per  acre,  in 
1802,  he  sold  farm  lots,  in  the  town'shij),  to  Benajah  Willev.  Abra- 
ham Colby,  Jolm  Gould,   John  Webster,  Sally  Worthington,  Benj, 

Freeman, Snow,  Daniel  Spencer. 

The  Pioneer  of  the  tovvnshii)  was  George  W.  Willey,  who  still 
survives  at  the  age  of  83  years.  He  is  living  with  his  "third  wife, 
and  of  nine  children,  but  three  survive  : — George  Willey,  of  Michi-' 
gan,  Mrs.  Elisha  P.  Davis,  of  (^hurchville,  and  Mrs.  Jehiel  Castle, 
of  Parma.  Mr.  Willey  moved  in  his  family  from  East  Iladdam,' 
Conn.,  in  1801.  His  route  from  Avon  was  via  Scottsville  antl  the 
Ilanover  settlement,  where  Joseph  Carey,  Samuel  Scott,  and  John 
Kimball,  had  located,  and  to  which  poiift  they  had  opened  a  road. 
Beyond  that,  Mr.  Wadsworth  was  opening  a*^  road  to  "Fairfield," 
but  had  it  but  partlv  completed.     Mr.  Wiliev  had  been  in  the  vear 


before,  and  built  a  log  house,  and  made   a  small   openinc-, 
panied  b}  '^'"'     '  '         ....."' 


Di 


aecom- 


hnirliam,    wlicm  he 


o        ,  -   Had  found  settled  on  Jilack 

Creek,  and  persuaded  to  change  his  location.  Each  erected  lo'r 
houses,  the  first  tenements  in  the  township  ;  living  in  a  rude  canij^ 
and  procuring  their  provisions  of  the  new  settlers  south  of  them. 
When  they  had  the  logs  ready  for  their  houses,  they  went  in  difler- 
ent  directions,  to  Braddock'.s  Bay,  the  Landing,  Scottsville,  and  the 
Hanover  settlement,  for  help  to  raise  ;  procured  in  all  about  twenty 
men.    Mr.  Willey  remembers  that  lie  came  very  near  not  being 


log 


PITELPS    AXD    GOim.VM's   PURCHASE. 


509 


present  at  the  raising  of  his  own  house  ;  for  in  his  tour,  invitincr  the 
raisers,  he  got  lost  remained  in  the  u-oo.Is  all  mixht,  and  his  return 
Wi.s  thus   delayed   until   after  the  raising  had  commenced.     Mr. 
Wa,hu'oiih  hadot  ereda  premium  of  six  bushels  of  wheat  a  barrel 
o[  whislvey,  and  a  barrel  of  pork,  for  the  first  (hveljing  raised  in  the 
townshi}) ,   and  was  himself  present   at  the  raising";  sharin<r   the 
camp  ot  Messrs.  Willey  and  Dillingham  over  night.lxit  gettin.  lit- 
tie  s  eep;    or  the  backwoodsmen,  intent  upon  a  frolic,  ufed  up"  the 
Whole  night,  lor  that  |)urpose,  insisting  occasionally  that  he  should 
participate  m  their  ru.le  sports,  which   he  knew  well  how  to  do 
when  occasion  rerpnred:  and  a  log  house  raising,  away  olf  in  the 
wilderiH-ss,  was  no  place  to  be  a  non-participatU  in  whatever  was 
proposed.     Dillingham  moved  his  family  in  soon  after,  but  crettin<^ 
onesome,  moved  back  to  Black  Creek.     vVfter  the  raising  Mr   VViU 
ley  was  taken  sick,  was  removed  to  Geneseo,  and  reco'veriiiT    re- 
turned to  Connecticut  late  in  the  fall,  coming  out  with  his  lUmilv 
the  next  season,  as  has  been  mentioned.     Before  his  arrival  with  his 
iam.lv,  Lphraim,  Abraham,  Timothy,  and  Isaac  Colbv,  two  of  them 
with  tamihes  ha(   built  a  log  house   and   moved   in."'    In  the  same 
year^  .Tosiah  Mather,  Jonathan  Brown,  Henry  Ilahn,  and  William 
±1.  fepencer,  settled  in  the  town. 

At  the  Pioneer  Festival  in  Rochester,  in  18-19,  the  medal  pro- 
cured tor  that  purpose,  was  awarded  to  Mr.  VVilley,  as  the  oldest 
lesident  Pioneer  in  attendance. 

William   B.  Brown  settled  in  Ogden  in  ISOG  or  '7  ;  was  from 
l^ynn.  Conn. ;   located   near  the  present  village  of  Soencerport  • 
married   '"  early  years  the  sister  of  Mr.  Willev;  still  survives  at 
the  age  o    (>Q.     He  has  been  one  of  the  Judges  of  Monroe  county ; 
a  CoIoupI  0    mihtia  ;  was  upon  the  frontier  in  the  war  of  181-i,"in 
CoondAfchinsons  regiment.     Rev.  Daniel  Brown,  the  father  of 
Ju<  ge  Brown,  settled  m  Ogden  as  early  as  1807  or  '8.     He  i.reach- 
ed  the  first  sermon  m  the  village  (now  city)  of  Rochester;  ilied  in 
1  ittsfc.rd,  in  1845  aged  84  years.     William  Brown,  of  Ogden,  is  a 
son  <)   his;  a  daughter  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Lemuel  Brooks. 
ot    Churchville.      Daniel  Arnold  in    1805;    died  in    early  years; 
Daniel.   Aaron  and  l-^noch  Arnold,   of  Ogden,  and  Ebenezer  Ar- 
nold, ot  Boi-gen,  are  his  sons  ;  a  dauglifer  of  his   became  the  wife 
ot  Sainuel  Latta,  ot  Greece.     David  W^andle  was  one  of  the  ear- 
liest; (lie<   some  25  years  since  ;  no  descendants  rcsidiu'r  in  town. 
J!mr,>s  Baldwin  was  a  settler  in  early  years;  removed  to  Royalton, 
Niagara  county,  where  he  .lied  a  few  years  since,  and  where  many 
o|  his  tami ly  now  reside.     James  Patfingill,  Jarvis  Ring,   Stephen 
Cridley.  Oliver  Gates,   were  other  early  settlers  :— Mr.  Pattin-dH 
died  al)out  ten  years  since;  Benjamin,  Reuben,  Osgood,  and  Moses 
aimgilL  u(  (3gden.  are  his  sons  ;  adau-hter  is  the  wile  of  Nathaniel 
iin  hn,  ot  ()g<len.     Mr.  Gridley  is  still  living.     Mr.  Gates  .lied  15 
or  10  years  since :  Stephen  and  llenrv  Gates,  of  Garden,  are  his  son^ 


!i 

'  i   ; 


li.     i 


I  4 


ium 


510 


PIIELrs  AND   GOUnAM's   PUECIIASE. 


Daniel  Spencer  from  East  Haddam,  Conn.,  settled  in  Orrden  in 
1804.  Ills  tann  einl)raced  the  present  village  of  Spencerport.  He 
died  in  1835,  aged  f.l  years  ;  his  first  wife  was  a  sister  of  Mr.  Wil- 
ey ;  Joseph  A.  and  Libbeus  Spencer  are  his  sons.  He  was  Col- 
lector ot  the  old  town  of  Northampton.  Austin  Spencer,  his  hrotiicr, 
settled  m  the  town  in  1808,  locating  near  his  brother.  He  still 
survives  at  the  age  of  (J7  years.  He  was  the  Supervisor  of  the 
town,  before  and  after  the  organization  of  Monroe  county ;  and  for 
twenty  years  n  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

John  P.  Patterson  settled  in  Ogden  in  1810.  He  was  the  first 
Supervisor  of  the  town,  and  afterwards  the  Sheritl'  of  Monroe. 
He  emigrated  to  Illinois,  where  he  died  a  few  years  since.  Samuel 
Ivilbourn,  now  ot  Brockport,  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Sheriff  Pat- 
terson, and  settled  in  Ogden  about  the  same  period  ;  was  an  early 
supervisor  of  the  town,  and  a  Justice  of  the  Peace. 
r,  ^'H^i^-u  ^'^''g'*^"^  meeting  in  the  town,  was  held  at  the  house  of 
lisq.  Willey,  in  1805;  Revs.  Mr.  Mitchell,  .Tenks,  Van  Epps, 
Cratchell,  Lane,  were  early  Methodist  circuit  preacher.^  who  visited 
the  settlement.  The  first  settled  minister  was  the  Rev.  Ebenezer 
Everett.  Dr.  Gibbon  Jewett  was  the  first  physi^'ian,  and  practiced 
lor  niany  years.  He  died  at  Parma  Corners  "about  15  years  since. 
i  he  first  school  Was  kept  by  a  sister  of  Esq.  Willev,  who  became 
Uie  wife  of  Judge  Brown.  Benajah  Willey  built  fhe  first  framed 
house  and  barn  ;  pretty  much  all  the  settlers  who  came  in  in  1804 
raised  a  few  crops  in  1805.  The  first  born  in  town,  was  John 
Colby,  a  son  of  Abraham  Colby. 

The  settlement  of  the  town  was  pretty  much  arrested  during  the 
war  of  1812  ;  but  after  the  war,  was  rapid,  until  the  whole  was  set- 
tled. JMr.  Wadsworth  recommended  the  township  to  his  New 
England  fi-iends,  as  one  of  the  best  in  the  Genesee  country  :  and 
well  he  might.  The  soil  is  uniformly  of  tho  best  quality  ;  and  what 
IS  a  little  remarkable,  there  is  perhaps,  not  50  acres  of  waste  land 
in  the  townshij). 

Charles  Church  was  the  first  and  the  principal  merchant  in  0<r- 
den  for  over  thu'ty  years.  He  died  in  Rochester,  in  1850,  where 
his  widow  (who  IS  a  descendant  of  the  Pioneer  of  Bloomfield,  Dea- 
con John  Adams.)  now  resides.  He  left  but  one  son,  a  minor ;  a 
daughter  is  the  wife  of  F.  T.  Adams,  of  Rochester.  Fairchiids  and 
Richards  were  also  early  merchants  in  Ogden. 

«n ''^"•L*^'\^''^  ^''^"'^  i'pttlers  of  Ogden  were  from  Haddam,  Conn. 
When  Mr.  Wadsworth  had  resolved  upon  commencing  the  settle- 
ment, he  visited  that  part  of  New  England,  and  in  Haddam  a  pub- 
lic meeting  was  called  to  hear  his  description  of  the  new  town  of 
"iMirfield."  It  was  called  the  "Genesee  meeting."  Following 
this,  Daiiiel  Arnold  came  out,  saw  the  township,  and  reported  favor- 
ably.    Emigration  soon  commenced. 

The  settlement  of  the  town  was  carried  on  under  the  auspices  of 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's    PURCHASE. 


511 


Mr.  Wadsworth,  until  1823,  when  Messrs.  IMurrav  anrl  O^^rlen  an- 
pointefl  Mr.  Willey  tlieir  local  a,<ront,  and  lie  cr)niinu"(l  t<.  act  as 
then-  agent  until  the  township  was  all  sold  and  paid  for.  The  father 
o{  Mr.  Willey,  (Benajah  VVillcy)  who  it  will  be  oljserved  was  the 
first  purchaser  m  the  township,  settled  in  it  in  1800.  He  died  in 
early  years. 

The  late  Wm.  H.  Spencer,  as  will  have  been  observed,  located 
first  in  Ogden.  lie  built  a  saw  mill  in  1805,  which  furnished  the 
first  boards  used  in  that  region. 


PARMA. 


"  Gore  in  Parma,  north  of  Fairfield."—  This  was  the  desicnation 
given  by  Mr,  Wadsworth,  under  whose  at^ency  it  was  sold  and 
settle(l,  to  all  the  south  part  of  the  town  of  i'arnia,  on  either  side  of 
the  Ridge  Road.  Those  who  first  purchased,  or  took  contracts  for 
land,  upon  this  tract.commencing  in  1805.  and  in  the  order  named, 
were:  — Abner  Brockway  .Tr,,  James  I'^frbert,  Jonathan  Ogden', 
IIoi)e  Davis,  Lazarus  Church,  Samuel  M.  Moran,  Daniel  Bmwn, 
Bezaliel  Atchinson,  Jarvis  Ring,  Tillotson  Ewer.  It  is  not  to  be 
presumed  that  all  these  became  settlers.  The  reminiscences  of 
two  Pioneers,  as  given  to  the  author,  will  embrace  the  names  of  most 
of  the  settlers,  and  most  of  the  early  events :  — 


v.. 


REMIXISCEXCES  OF  LEVI  TALMADGE. 


I  was  a  resident  of  Wolcott,  N.  H.  In  1803,  James  Wadsworth  vi.'ited 
that  town,  called    a  public  meeting,  gave  lis   a  description  of  the  Genesee 

country,   and  urged  us  to  emigrate.     Thomas  VViard,  Benni  Dishop, . 

Stebi)ins,  Seymour  Welton  and  Abel  Curtis,  with  their  fomilics,  and  Ash- 
bel  Atkins,  John  Curtiss,  and  myself,  unmarried  men,  formed  an  eniigant 
pnrty.  There  was  38  persons  in  all.  We  came  with  seven  wagons,  form- 
ing a  considerable  cavalcade  ;  were  21  days  on  the  road.  Gencsco  was 
our  desriination  ;  when  we  arrived  there  we  were  all  quartered  in  some  log 
houses  that  belonged  to  Mr.  Wadsworth  ;  were  jovfully  received  by  the 
settlers  ;  we  liked  the  country  ;and  all  were  cheerful  and  happy. 

I  worked  out  by  tlie  month  for  a  year  or  two  ;  was  engaged  for  some 
time  in  a  trading  excursion  with  James  Rodgers  who  had  settled  in  Canan- 
daigua  in  an  early  day  ;  we  traded  with' the  Indians  in  Allegany  and 
Cattaraugus.  I  resided  in  Bergen  from  ISO'J  until  1811,  in  which  last 
year,  1  came  to  Parma,  and  purchased  the  tavern  stand  and  the  small  im- 
provennuit  of  Hope  and  Elislia  Davis.  Thiy  had  been  Pioneers  at  Parma 
Corners  :  had  built  a  eoinibrtablo  bi.ick  hou^L-.  Ilupe  died  ia  lb4ij  ;  bit* 
widow  still  survives  ;  Elisha  Davis  removed  to  Riua. 


512 


PHELPS  AND    GOEHAJl's    PUKCnASE. 


1  here  was  settled  at  Pnrma  Corners  before  tlie  close  <,f  1811,  beside 
«ie  Dav.ses  and  myself  :_  Augustus  Mather;  he  died  four  years  since ;  his 
widow  sull  survives ;  Mrs.  Amos  VVebs.cr  of  Parma  is  lu's  daugiter.  Lendell 
Curtiss;  emigrated  to  A  ichigan,  som.,-  years  since;  Kinnieone  Roberts  died 
whoSjri""'  ,  Mo^'y  •"'  ''  ^^''-  ^'''''''  "f  OKd<".  Joshua  Whitney, 
r  /  i    i  '^"',  "  ^"'^  ^'"^  '''''  '^>'"  ^"  Salmon  creek ;  he  emN 

g  ated  to  Michigan  where  he  now  resides.  These  were  all  at  the  corners  uid 

iln    n     Wl'' ?"     ''T'^''';   ,'^"^''':''  ^'"''    '>^^'l  removed  from  the  Allan 
mills  at  Kochcster,  and  resided  on  the  Ridge  east  of  tlie  vill  ge 

Our  hrst  meirhants  at  Parma  corners,  were  Joseph  Thompson  and  David 

luttle;  tlie.r  successors  were,  John  Rochester  and  Harvey  Montoomery; 

then-successor  wasW.lham  M'Knighf,    now  of  Rochestei-      Dr.  Gibbons 

Jc»ett,  was  our  first   phy.s.can;  Gibbon  II.  Jewett,  of  i'arma,  is  his  son; 

h     vas  an  early  superv.sor  and  magistrate.     John  D.  Iliggins  was  the  first 

to  Rath.     Dr.  John  Scott  practiced  here  in  several  early  years. 

/oyed  Stevens  settled  in  Parma  in  ]8i;j  or '14;  was  a  merchant  and 
distiller;  a  supervisor  and  magistrate;   died  12  or  14  years  since 

beitlementw'ns  entirely  suspended  during  the  warof  1812;  some  left,  but 
none  came ;  and  yet  the  beating  up  of  recruits,  the  marching  of  soldiers   the 

transportation  of  supplies  for  the  army,  made  brisk  times  upon  tiie  Ridn-e  Road 
It  was  a  constant  state  ,.f  e.xcitement  and  alarm,  and  little  was  doiTe  in  the 
way  of  iinin-ovements  by  those  wlio  remained  in  the  country  Hope  Da- 
vis the  early  I  loneer  I  have  named,  raised  a  volunteer  comminy,  and  went 
to  the  Trontier;  >yas  at  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Line,  and  in  several  other 
engagement.s.  I  have  a  cannon  ball  t  at  Aveighs  si.xty-eight  pounds,  that 
was  tired  from  the  Mritish  fleet,  off  the  mouth  of  Genesee  River.  I  saw 
where  it  struck,  and  went  and  picked  it  up. 


The  early  tavern  keeper,  .Air.  Talmn.lge,  resides  upon  a  fine 
farm  a  mile  west  olPanna  Comers;  is  cliildless  ;  his  wile,  wno 
M-a.sMlie  widow  of  David  Franklin,  whose  sudden  death  is  noticed 
by  iMr.  I'ier.son,  died  m  1812. 

_  Samuel  Castle  settled  hi  Parma,  north  of  Rid-re,  in  1810  and  vvas 
joined  next  year  by  his  lather,  Abraham  Castle.  The  old  .rcitle 
.nan  d.ec  m  18P2  Ili.s  surviving  sons,  other  than  the  one  named, 
are  :-Jeh,el  Castle,  of  Parma  ;  Isaac  Castle,  of  Greece.  A  dau-di- 
ter  ol  us  became  the  wile  of  Arnold  Markham,  a  brother  of  tlie 
earlv  I  loneers  in  Avon  and  Rush.  Samuel  Castle  has  been  one  of 
tlie  Judges  ol  Alonroe  count  v. 


IIEMIXISCENCES  (IK  SAMUEL  CASTLE. 


Our  purchase  of  land  when  we  came  in,  was  of  Birdseye  &  Norton; 
the  location  had  upon  it  a  small  improvement  that  liad  been  made  by 
Michael  Heach,  a  previous  occupant,     lie  had  been  a  salt  boiler;  had  sev- 


PIIELPS  AND  GORIIAm's  PURCHASE.  513 

wlr'"'Sfn''   •■"'"'^^, /"^p.«^'';  T^S  by  endeavoring  to  get  stronger 
^v,  tor.     ]3eac!,  removed  to  Put^ford.  died  several  years  smce  in  Clarendon 

Koad  to  t  e  L;  ke  ,t  was  called  the  "  Canawaugus  ilocfd;"  another  road 
d  from  I5raddock's  Bay  to  "Deep  Hollow  Bridge."  What  w  '  ciS  d 
^le  Canawauous  road  is  now  the  main  road  from  Parma  Cor,  er  toPunu 
Centre  and  Un.onvil  e.  The  inhabitants  at  that  period  nor  h  cf  Rid,  en 
Parma,  other  that,  those  in  the  immediate  Bralidock's  Bay  settlement 
were:-Alpheas  Madden,  near  Parmi  Centre;  died  hero,  lis  funj  J  re- 
moved; Timothy  Madden,  a  little  west  of  Castle's  Corners  died  5  o^r  20 
years  since;  Sdas  Madden,  of  Parma,  is  his  son;  Mrs.  Joseph  Randal     of 

Parma,  ,s  h,s  daughter^     Hicks;  died  in  early  years     Van  Rm^se 

lear  and  Be-.jamin  Hicks,  of  Parma,  are  his  sons  Joshua  iSon 
Jeremiah  Perry;  died  here.     Nehemiah  Weston.  !"»  ^I'cKson, 

In  1810  there  was  no  framed  house  or  barn  in  Parma,  north  of  Rid^e 
excep  m  the  Braddock's  Bay  settlement;  there  was  but  0^11^  at  K 
m.  Coiners.     It  was  very  sickly  north  of  Ridge,  in  all  the  early  years; 

nouTtoni'T'   '"r^"   "i'^'^'^,  T""'  ^'^^^«  would  not  be  w'eli  one 
enough  to  take  care  of  the  sick;  deaths  sometimes  occurred  for  the  want 

a  -u  n,'-o  ""'"^  r'^'Ti  f  '^''  r"^-  ^  ''^"'^  '^'''^  ^^J'^"  -ffli^ted  with  the 
dkl  l^av  Tl,  ■T^'^  ^""'1  '^'  '""''"''y  ^^'^^'^  I  8-ot  well  enougli;  many 
^e  Poll  A  ''?^:''f,^''^  ^«  P'--'^^i  >"o«t  at  Braddock's  Bay.  and  about 
the  I  ends.     A  spirit  of  kindness  prevailed  among  the  new  setlers.  a  sym- 

rn2f!v'''f'"'n''''"'t'''^'"*^^=  '^''''  ^^'^'^  "^'^^J  i»  settlement;  a  little 
and  take  care  of  the  invalids  day  .nd  night.  The  land  north  of  Ridoe 
was  heavily  timbered,  wet.  It  was  so  hard  beginning,  that  men  who  had 
no  means,  could  not  take  up  land  ami  pay  for  i1;  molt  that  attempted  to 
do  so,  failed;  were  obliged  to  sell  their  improvements  for  what  the?  could 
get.  1  knew  of  one  man,  however,  who  persevered  in  this  way,  taking  up 
OV.1"';  "^"^^  small  improvemen-s,  and  selling  out,  until  he  became  thL 
owne  of  a  good  farm.  The  proprietors  of  the  land  were  very  indulgent ; 
had  It  been  otherwise,  but  few  of  the  early  settlers  could  ever  become  free- 
holders ihere  was,  m  the  earliest  years  of  settlement,  no  market  when 
the  settlers  had  any  thing  to  sell;  in  1810.  they  had  began  to  better  their 
condition  by  the  manutacture  of  pot-ash  and  black  salts. 

During  the  war,  settlement  was  mostly  suspended;  some  left  who  did 
not  return;  others  would  move  off  at  periods  of  excitement  and  alarm,  and 
return  aoain  A  smgular  circumstance  occurred  with  one  of  our  nei-h. 
borsatthe  battle  of  Queenst..n:-Jo,seph  Stoddard  was  shot  in  the  fo°re- 
head ;  the  army  sui^-eons  extracted  a  ball ;  ],e  came  home,  and  another  was 
extracted;  the  two  balls  having  made  but  one  perforation  of  the  skull 


Parma  Centre  is  three  miles  north  of  Parma  Corners ;  there  is  a 
post-othce,  two  meeting  houses,  two  stores,  several  machine  shops 
and  a  tavern  house  and  dvvellinixs.     Unionviile  is  two  miles  north 
ol  Parma  Corners  ;  there  at  that  point,  two  meeting  houses,  a  store, 
several  machine  shops  and  dwellings.     The  village  has  started  on 


i:' 


^1  H 


f 

1 

1  sH 

Illl 


514 


PIIEirS    AND    GORHAJl's   PURCHASE. 


the  farms  of  Jnson  Tyler,  and  Jonathan  Underwoorl.     The  last  of 

manv 


Pion 


eers. 


II 


e  IS  a 


in, 


Avhorn,  is  especially  remembered  by 

bachelor,  nearly  70  years  of  no;e.  'lie  had  a  Inrire  improved  far 
and  in  an  early  day  raised  large  crops  of  rirain.  In  seasons  of 
scarcity  he  would  withhold  from" those  who  had  money  to  purchase, 
and  trust  it  out  to  his  neighbors  who  stood  in  need  of  it.  Let  those 
old  neighbors,  or  their  descendants,  see  that  marble,  as  well  as 
history  records  this  fact. 

The  town  of  Parma  was  erected  in  1808.  At  the  first  town 
meeting  in  1809,  Gibbons  Jewett  was  elected  Supervisor,  Justin 
Worthington,  town  Clerk;  other  town  officers  :  —  Jarvis  Rino;, 
Jonathan  Underwood,  Abraham  Colby.  Daniel  C.  Arnold,  Joshua 
Wickson,  Elisha  U.  Brown,  Josiah  Mather,  Benjamin  Freeman, 
Ephraim  Colby,  Hope  Davis,  Stephen  Atchinson. 

The  north  part  of  Parma  was  called  by  Mr.  Wadsworth,  "  Brad- 
dock's  Bay  Townshii)."  It  was  surveyed  in  1790,  by  Joseph  Colt. 
Upon  the  original  surveyor's  map,  many  lots  are  marked  as  sold  to 
"Thayer,"  and  afterwards  it  is  noted  that  they  are  "released  by 
Thayer  to  Lady  Bath."  It  would  seem  that  Mr.  Wadsworth's 
agency,  in  the  township  commenced  in  1800,  or  rather  that  he  first 
turned  his  attention  to  the  sale  and  settlement  of  it  in  that  year.  — 
In  September,  of  that  year,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Troup :  —  "I  have 
just  been  down  to  Braddock's  Bay  Township.  Almost  every  man, 
woman  and^  child  was  sick  with  the  fever ;  some  of  them  were 
actually  suffering.  I  supplied  them  with  some  articles  of  necessity. 
I  am  afraid  the  settlement  will  be  abandoned."  How  changed !  The 
region  which  the  enterprising  patroon  of  new  settlements  then 
spoke  of  with  so  much  despondency  —  where  men,  worn  down  by 
disease  and  all  the  trials  incident  to  back- wood's  life  ;  is  now  one  of 
health  and  prosperity.  It  v.'ould  take  from  $40  to  800  per  acre,  to 
induce  its  owners  to  "  abandon"  it  now ;  and  most  of  them  are 
under  no  necessity  of  quitting  it  even  at  that  rate. 


GREECE. 


In  a  preceding  portion  of  the  work,  the  early  advent  of  William 
Hencher,  the  lu'oprietors  of  the  "  -^0,000  acre  tract,"  and  a  few  oth- 
ers, in  what  is  now  Greece,  has  been  noticed.  It  remains  in  this 
connection  to  speak  of  jiioneer  events  there  at  a  later  period. 

Messrs.  Troup  and  Wadsworth  would  seem  to  have  contem- 
plated the  making  of  the  mouth  of  the  river  a  commercial  point, 
soon  alter  Col.  '^'roup  succeeded  to  the  agency  of  the  Pulteney 
estate  ;  it  is  often  a  subject  of  discussion  in  their  correspondence  ; 
but  it  was  not  until  a  few  years  before  the  war  of  1812,  that  any 
movements  were  made  to  that  end.     Samuel   Latta  was  the  first 


gust. 


PIIELrS  AND  GORnAl\l's  PUKCnASE. 


515 


permanent  settler  there,  as  a  local  agent  for  the  Pultenev  estate, 
and  the  locality  having  heen  made  a  port  of  entry,  he  was^  appoin- 
ted a  collector  of  customs,  and  had  also  a  small  mercantile  estal)lish- 
ment.  The  Latta  family  were  early  settlers  at  Geneva ;  Mrs. 
Benjamni  Barton  of  Lewiston,  was  a  member  of  it.  Samuel  Lat- 
ta died  in  Greece  ;  his  widow  is  now  ]Mrs.  Beal,  of  that  town ;  John 
Latta  of  Ijroclqjort,  is  his  son.  George  Tiatta,  now  the  owner  and 
occupant  of  the  fine  farm  on  the  lake  shore,  near  Charlotte,  was  a 
younger  brother  of  Samuel;  became  a  resident  at  Charlotte,  in  ISU. 

Erastus  Spalding,  who  had  resided  at  or  near  Geneva,  settled  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  under  the  auspices  of  Col.  Troup,  some 
time  before  the  war  of  1812,  lie  built  and  opened  the  first  hotel; 
a  building  now  standing  on  the  bluff,  a  litde  uj)  the  river  from  the 
present  steam  boat  landing ;  had  a  small  trading  establishment ; 
built  the  first  vessel  at  the  point  — the  schooner  Isabel,  which  was 
captured  by  the  Bnitish,  in  the  war  of  1813  — and  was  the  first  to 
commence  the  purchase  of  butt  staves,  a  business  that  became  one 
of  considerable  magnitude  at  that  point.  Mr.  Spalding  afterwards 
became  the  owner  and  occupant  of  the  farm  on  tne  river,  which 
embracedthe  eligible  plat  of  ground  now  called  Lake  View,  near 
the  city  of  Rochester.  His  son,  Lyman  A.  Spalding,  was  one  of 
the  earliest  merchants  of  Lockport  and  has  been  for  many  years 
one  of  the  most  enterprizing  business  men  of  W.  N.  York ;  other 
surviving  sons  are.  Holmes  Spalding  of  Michigan;  Mark  Spalding 
of  Lockport,  and  Frederick  Spalding  of  Rochester. 

Frederick  Bushnell,  was  established  as  a  merchant  at  Charlotte, 
previous  to,  and  during  the  war  of  1812.  Samuel  Currier  was  an 
early  tavern  keeper  at  Charlotte,  and  had  some  connection  with  the 
lake  commerce.  R  is  mentioned  as  an  extraordinary  fiict,  that  he 
was  the  husband  of  seven  wives,  five  of  whom  are  buried  at  Char- 
lotte.    He  was  drowned  in  the  Genesee  River,  below  the  Falls. 

The  first  steam  boat  that  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  Riv- 
er, was  the  Ontario,  in  1810  — Capt.  Eli  Lusher  was  commander. 

John  Mastick,  who  afterwards  settled  at  Rochester,  was  first 
located  at  Charlotte,  previous  to  the  war;  was  the  Pioneer  lawyer 
o|  all  this  local  region.  Giles  H.  Holden,  Esq.,  now  a  resident  at 
Charlotte,  settled  there  at  the  close  of  the  war.  He  remarks  :  — 
■'As  late  as  1815,  there  were  but  kw  settlers  at  Charlotte.  Sick- 
ness and  the  war  had  been  the  prhicipal  hindrances.  Wuen  1  came 
there  were  many  deserted  tenements  in  Greece,  where  the  Pioneers 
had  either  died,  or  had  left  the  country  on  account  of  sickness,  or 
in  fear  of  British  invasion.  For  many  years  after,  the  ague  and 
fever,  and  the  billious  fever  were  very"^  general  in  July  "and  Au- 
gust. In  1819,  diseases  were  most  i'atal  —  many  died  —  there 
were  instances  of  three  and  four  deaths  in  the  same  familv.  The 
prevalence  of  disease  was  attributed  to  the  low  grounds  on  the  riv- 
er and  lake ;   to  tJic  ponds  and  marshes,  of  which  there  are  over 


u   I 


i 

i" 


i ; 


1 

i        t  H^ 

•,»i 

h 

s;   '  •' 

V        i 

1. 


Ki' 


51 G 


rilELPS  AND  GORIIAlt's    PURCHASE. 


4000  ncrcs  in  the  town  of  Greece.  I  nttrilmte  it  rather  to  the 
clearing  up  of  land,  the  letting  in  of  the  sun  upon  wet  lands,  the 
consequent  decomposition  of  vegetable  matter;  li.r  now  that  lands 
are  cleared  and  dry,  we  have  little  of  disease,  and  yet  the  ponds  and 

^ouiitiT ''"'''^  ^' '"'''"'""  "'  ^''''^'  '""'''^  '"  ^''^  '^'^•''>'  settlement  of  the 
_  Immediatelv  after  the  war  there  was  a  considerable  accession  of 
inhabitants  at  Charlotte;  the  purchase  and  shi,,pin^  „f  luml)er  and 
pot  ash,  and  a  small  business  in  the  way  of  shippin- (lour  an.l  <rrain 
made  it  a  pretty  b-isy  place  ;  but  as  Rochester  gradually  sprung  up, 
business  declined  there.  "^    '       =■    ' ' 

Tlie  mouth  of  the  river  was  an  exposed  jwint  during  all  of  the 
war  of  1812  ;  in  the  fore  fact  of  the  war,  the  enemy  had  vastly  the 
superiority  in  naval  torce   u[)on   the  lake  :  and  in  fact,  durin<r  the 
entire  war,  there  was  too  little  to  prevent  their  landing  where^they 
chose,  between  Oswego  and  Niagara ;  a  fact  howev^er,  that   they 
were  not  at  all  times  aware  of    At  the  mouth  of  the  river  there  was 
but  httle  to  attract  them,  and  Rochester,  as  will  be  inferred,  was  of 
nomagmtude  that  would  have  made  its  capture  either  glorious,  or 
prolitab  e.     Although  there  were  several  instances  of  discmbarkinrr 
and  enibarkmgot  American  armies  at  Charlotte,  and  of  temporary 
encampments,  there  was  no  regular  force  established  there  during 
the  war      J  he  defence  of  the  position  mainly  devolving  upon  the 
local  mi litia,  and  volunteer  companies,  who  at  some  pe^-iods  were 
exempt  rom  going  upon  the  Niagara  Frontier  in  consequence  of 
anticipated  exigencies  nearer  home. 

Sir  James  Yeo,  the  British  commander,  made  his  first  appearance 
oft  the  mouth  of  the  nver,  in  June,  1813.  He  had  contemplated 
an  attack  upon  Oswego  but  the  weather  proving  unfavorable,  he 
cruis  d  up  the  lake,  anchored  oft'  the  mouth  of  Gcmesee  River  and 
sent  a  r)arty  on  shore.  Their  entire  errand  was  plunder ;  no  resis- 
tance was  oftere<l,  for  there  was  no  military  organization  to  offer  it. 
1  he  only  restraint  that  was  put  upon  a  few  captured  citizens,  was  the 
preventing  theirgoing  out  t<.  warn  the  inhabitants  of  the  nei-rhbor- 
nood  of  their  presence. 

In  the  store-house  of  Frederick  Bushnell  there  was  a  quantity  of 
salt,  whiskey,  and  jn'ovisions,  ^^•l,ich  they  took  off;  in  a  business 
A  ay  hoNV'ever,  for  they  gave  to  the  clerk,  George  Latta,  a  receipt 
for  the  proi-erty.  The  landing  was  made  in  an  afternoon  ;  they 
remained  over  night  keeping  cut  sentinels,  and  quietly  retired  early 
in  the  morning;  probably  g(>tting  an  intimation  that  an  armed  force 
was  colecting  at  Ilandford's  Landing.  A  body  of  armed  men 
mat  Had  collected  there  marched  down,  arriving  at  the  Charlotte 
landing  just  as  the  invaders  were  embarking  on  board  their  boats- 
pome  shots  were  fired  upon  them,  but  from  too  great  a  distance  to 
be  ellcetive. 

Toward  the  last  of  September,  of  the  same  yeftr,  both  the  British 


PITELPS   AXD    GORILUl's   PURCHASE. 


517 


and^^ertcnn  fleets    were  at  the  upper  end  of  the  lake,  Conimo- 
do.     (  hauncey  making  trequont  demonstrations  to  Sir  James  Yeo 
ot  hKs  rea.hness  to  contend  for  the  supremacy  of  the  hd<e,  hut  the 
latter  rlcclmnig,  and  gra.lually  making  his  wav  down  the  hike. — 
Arriving  ofl  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  River  the  fleet  was  becalm- 
ed niwl   ay  ahnost  motionless  upon  the  water.     The  inhabitants  at 
Uiailotte  supposed  the  fleet  had  anchored  preparatory  t..  another 
landing  expresses   were  sent   into  the   country;  men  armed  and 
unarmed  flocked    from  the  back-wood's  settlements,  and  in  a   few 
Hours  a  considerable  number  of  men  collected  ready  to  fi<r|,t  or  to  run 
as  ciiances  of  mvasion  should  make  it  expedient.     While  anxiously 
watchmg  the  Br  tish  fleet.  exi)ectiug  every  moment  to  see  their  boats 
coming  tovvard  the  shore  a  light  breeze  sprung  up,  and  soon  after, 
me  tteet  ot  Commodore  Chauncey  was  seen  rounding  Bluff  Point 
It  was  a  welcome  advent,  was  hailed  with  joyous  shouts  from  the 
sliore  ;  at  a  moment  when  a  weak  force  had  supposed  themselves 
about  to  engage  with  a  vastly  superior  one,  succor  had  come  — a 
champion  had  stepped,  or  rather  sailed  in,  quite  equal  to  the  task  of 
de  ence,  in  fact  seeking  the  opportunity  that  seemed  to  have  occur- 
red.     Commodore  Chauncey  brought  his  fleet  within  a  mile  from 
the  shore,  and  when  it  was  directly  opposite  the  becalmed  fleet  of 
he  enemy,  he  opened  a  tremendous  fire  upon  it.     At  first  a  sheet  of 
flame  arose  from  the   American  fleet,  and  then  a  dense  cloud  of 
smoke,  that  rolling  off"  before  a  light  breoKe,  blowing  ofl"  shore,  as 
completely  shut  out  the   British  fleet  from  view,  as  if  the  curtains 
of    night  had   been  suddenly   drawn;  while   the    American   fleet 
remained  in  full  view.     The  fire  wa,;  returned,  but  as  the  breeze 
increased  both  moved  down  the  lake,  continuing  to  exchange  shots 
until  after  dark.      The  fire  upon  the  British  fleet  was  prettv  efTect- 
ive,  unti  by  its  superior  sailing  abilities  it  had  got  out  of  theVeach  of 
Commodore  Chauncey  s  guns.     The  British  fleet  was  a  good  deal 
disabled;  and  an  officer  and  ten  men  were  either  killed  or  woun- 
ded     A  vessel  of  the  American  fleet  got  a  few  shots  through  its 
fuilf,  but  no  one  was  either  killed  or  wounded  on  board  of  it      "  Sir 
Jaines  Yeo,  ran  into  Amherst  Bay  where  the  American  fleet  was 
unable  to  follow  him  on  account  of  the  shoals."* 

The  next  visit  of  Sir  James  Yeo,  with  his  fleet,  to  the  mouth  of 
Genesee  river,  was  in  May,  1814.  In  anticipation  of  such  an 
event,  in  addition  to  other  organizations  for  defence  in  the  nei<rh- 
borhood,  Isaac  W.  Stone,  one  of  the  earliest  Pioneers  of  Uoch- 
ester,  had  been  commis.sioned  as  a  captain  of  dra<Toons,  had  en- 
listed  a  company  of  fifty  men,  and  was  stationed  at  Charlotte;  and 
flie  further  measure  of  defence  had  been  the  sending  to  captain 
Stone,  by  the  orders  of  General  P.  B.  Porter,  from  Canandaigua, 
an  18  and  a  4  pound  cannon.      The  18  pounder  had  been  taken 


!    ,   tl 


T  !' 


618 


rin':Lrs  and  gorham's  ruRcnAsi:. 


iM'4 


down  to  the  mouth  of  the  rivor,  and  tho  1  ].oundpr  planted  upon  a 
bafferv,  or  hivast  work,  called  "Fort  IJcndfr;'  wliic-h  the  citizens 
had  thrown  up  on  the  River  road  to  impede  the  crossinir,  hy  ili(>  in. 
vaders,  ol"  the  bridge  over  Deep  Hollow.    The  fleet  was  (irst  "descried 
by  captain  Stone  and  the  citizens  of  Charlotte,  a  litfe  after  sunset, 
upon  which  expresses  were  sent  into  tht>  settlements  in  dillerent  di- 
rections, calling  for  volunteers.    In  what  is  now  the  city  of  lloches- 
ter,  there  were  then  32  men  capable  of  bearing  arms.  'These  were 
organized  during  the  forejiart  of  the  night,  mikI  armed  with  nniskets 
that  Jiad  been  deposited  with  llarvcy  Ely  &,  Co.  ;  or  rather  30  of 
them,  one  refusing  to  volunteer,  and  another  i)eing  held  in  reserve, 
with  a  cart,  to  tidic  off  the  women  and  children';  so  few  in  num- 
ber, that  the  means  of  conveyance  was  (piite  ample.     The  formida- 
ble force,  marching  through  deep  mud,  and  in  rain,  arrived   at 
Charlotte,   at  2  o'clock    in    the   morning.     They  iuul   constituted 
Francis  Urown  and  Elisha  Ely  their  olliccrs.     In  addition  to   the 
force  of  ca])tain  Stone,  there  was  stationed  at  Charlotte,  a  volun- 
teer company,  under  conmiand  of  captain  Frederick  Jiowc ;  the 
men  ])rincipally  citizens  of  what  is  now  the  towns  of  Gates  and 
Greece;  and  Col_.  Atkinson's  regimeiit,  from  what  is  now  the  north 
western  towns  of  Monroe  county,  were  cither  there  previously,  or 
as  soon  as  tlie  exigency  re(piire(l.     The   only  fortification  at  Char- 
lotte,  was  a  breast  work,  ui)on  the  bluff,  near  the  old  hotel,  so  loca- 
ted as  to  command  the  rbad  leading  up  the  bank  from  the  wharf 
Ttwas  composed  of  two  tiers  of  ship  timber,  with  a  space  between 
the  tiers  filled  in  with  barn  manure. 

The  hastily  collected  defenders  of  their  country  were  so  impatient 
to  meet  the  invaders,  that  before  any  demonstrations  were  made 
from  the  fleet  toward  shore,  a  volunteer  party  went  out  in  an  old 
boat  that  had  been  used  as  a  lighter,  just  after  day  light,  in  a  heavy 
fog,  to  reconnoitre ;  the  fog  suddenly  clearing  away,  they  found 
themselves  within  range  and  reach  of  the  guns  of  the\vhole  British 
fleet.  A  gun  boat  from  the  fleet  jait  out  after  them,  but  they  suc- 
ceeded in  making  good  their  retreat. 

All  tilings  remained  in  a  state  of  suspense  until  about  ten  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon,  when  a  ilag  of  truce  was  seen  to  leave  the  British 
fleet,  and  make^  toward  the  shore.  At  the  retjuest  of  captain 
Stone,  captainsFrancis  Brown  and  Elisha  Ely  went  to  receive  it. 
with  orders  not  to  let  the  party  who  bore  it  enter  the  river,  or  dis- 
einbark,  but  to  communicate  with  them  from  the  Lake  shore.  For 
this  purpose,  they  went  out  upon  a  fallen  tree,  a  short  distance 
above  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  tied  a  white  handkerchief  to  a 
stick,  as  a  signal.  The  British  boats'  crew  approached,  proposed  to 
land,  as  is  usual  with  the  bearers  of  flags  of  truce,  but  the  orders  of 
captain  Stone  were  tenaciously  obeyed.  While  the  parley  was 
going  on,  a  small  party  of  urmcLl  men  a{)j)roached,  anxious  to  watch 
the  progress  of  events.     The  British  olHcer,  a  stickler  for  all  the 


h 


PHELPS  AND   GOKHAm's  PURCHASE. 


519 


rules  niul  iTcriilafioMs  of  war,  onquircd  :—"  Ts  it  your  custom  to  re- 
ceive a  (1:.^  of  irure  uiulcr  anus  Y'  Tn  which  ciiptnius  IJrown  and 
-Ny  replied  :— "  ^  ou  must  excuse  us,  sir;  we  are  not  soldiers,  but 
citizens  The  armed  men,  however,  were  reciucsted  to  retire, 
when  the  Untish  oHicer  disclosed  his  husiness.  It  was  to  tender 
iho  iissuiance  of  Sir  James  Yen,  that  if  all  the  public  i)ro|)erty  vvas 
surrendered,  private  profjcrty  should  he  resp(>ct(!d.  To  favor  his 
mission,  he  presented  a  paper  si,-^r,„.,l  by  several  citizens  of  Oswef^o, 
tlie  purport  of  which  was,  that  as  the  government  had  left  lanre 
quantities  of  stores  and  munitions  at  that  place,  without  any  ade- 
quate lorce  to  protect  tliem,  thev  had  concluded  not  torisk  their  lives 
and  pro|x>rty  in  the  defence.  The  message  and  the  paper  was  for- 
warded to  captain  Stone,  whr  decided  at  once  that  the  citi/en  sol- 
diers assembled  at  the  mouth  of  the  C^enesee  river,  could  not  follow 
the  preccileni  of  their  countrymen  at  Oswego.  "  Go  back  and  tell 
the  oflicer,"  said  he,  "that  he  may  say  to  Sir  James  Yeo,  that  any 
puljlic  |)roperty  that  may  be  liere,  is  in  the  hands  of  those  who  will 
delend  it." 

Soon  after  this,  a  gun  l)oat,  sloop  rigged,  of  from  {)0  to  100  tons 
bun  en,  .sailed  out  from  the  fleet,  approached  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
fired  a  six  pound  shot,  which  compliment  was  returned  from  the  18 
pounder  on  the  American  battery.  The  gun  boat  then  fired  15  or 
20  08  pound  shots  ;  but  one  of  them,  striking  the  store-house,  doin" 
any  damage.  "  '^ 

Soon  aiter  this  occurrence,  Peter  B.  Porter  arrived,  and  assumed 
command.  Another  ilag  of  truce  came  from  the  British  Hect  at  4 
o  clock  P.  M,  bringing  a  perem])tory  demand  from  Sir  Jajiies  Yeo, 
that  the  public  property  be  delivered  up;  and  the  threat,  that  if  the 
demand  was  not  complied  with,  he  would  make  a  landing  with  his 
marines  and  400  Indians.  To  this,  Gen.  Porter  replied,  through  his 
aid,  Major  Noon,  that  he  would  endeavor  to  take  care  of  any  force 
thai.  Sir  James  ielt  disposed  to  send  on  shore  ;  accomi)anying  the 
reply  with  an  intimation  that  a  third  Hag  of  truce  sent  upon  the 
.same  errand,  could  not  be  respected.  The  demand  for  the  surren- 
der of  the  public  property  was  not  repeated;  and  nothing  farther 
occurrc(l,  but  an  occasional  shot  from  the  fleet,  which  did  iio  harm. 
Many  of  the  heavy  balls  thrown  on  shore,  were  picked  up,  and  have 
been  preservetl  to  this  time,  as  memorials  of  the  event. 

The  whole  force  collected  for  delence,  vvas  at  most,  800  ;  a  num- 
ber entirely  insufficient  to  contend  with  one  which  could  have  been 
iurnished  Irom  the  British  fleet.  The  reason  why  Sir  James  Yeo 
sailed  down  the  Lake  without  executing  his  threat,  was  probably  an 
over  estimate  of  the  strength  of  the  American  force  ;  many  ingen- 
ious maneuvres  having  been  resorted  to,  well  calculated  to  i)roduce 
that  result.  Or,  he  may  very  wisely  have  concluded  that  a  victory, 
won  with  even  a  small  loss  of  men," would  have  been  a  barren  one" ; 
for  with  the  exception  of  a  small  amount  of  public  property,  there 
was  little  in  all  the  locality  to  encourage  or  provoke  invasion. 


I      ' 


i  1  :  '.Ji 


I  :  ■li: 


r  '  1  !^ 


1 


hi 


^1 


0 


PIIKL 


f;LPs  AND  oonirAji's  rvRcirASJK. 

OATKS. 


arJ  L     i       T  TV'^  '"  '^''  l^'''''^^"^  touns  ,.f  (ialos,  Greece 
ami  the  city  o    Uochestor  on  the  west  si.le  of  the  River    had  a 

o    thRiv    'l       -'T'"'  ^'•'■•'"""P'"".  once  e.nhnu'n.  all  ZIl 
1,      •,,  •       •  ''"■|.^'".'J^'  ^^'''  "'"-^  '•^••'•"•'''1  in  territory.     The  iVech-.M- 

vi^sSl.     s''''''M"''"^r''^;''^'''^-^'''-'-    Hartor"        n 
vent!;    1       ■     *'"■';■  ^^T'  ^''''''''^^'  ^'^■•"""^•>  t'"''i<'r.  I  aac  \  =u„le 

MnV  •"''^,.'^'— J ''•;•""«  Kniff,  Richanl  Clark,  John  Williams 
Mathew  D.n.m.ck  Moses  Clark,  Nathaniel  Til, hies  Al,.]'' 
ihonias  Lee,  Charles  llarlord,  Frederick  Rou-o   F  ..  ,      i>   i  ' 

Asahel  Wdkinson,  NaU.aniel  .1.,^^;  aI^s^^^!  ^  w"  ^  Zl; 

iNiU       fcan.Kd    Latta   was    supervisor;  the    hountv   unon   r-,nlr 

:r ;:  «;:;"""";■:;  '"'vr'""-;' ,',';  •"-  -ki"''!  i"'r. i:l 

nn  ,.nMi  ?■  1^  1— >^acheus  Colbv  was  suiicrvisor  •  hountv 
on  lattle  snakes  was  increased  to  V2i  cents.  1812  -  Toh  /m  ich 
;8^!!'Ji::S  j}«f-l^ounty  on  wolves  w^s  r^l::!;!^  ^1^! 
cWk.  i/^rli  =:!l";f.^"i--™-.  Jo'^"^-    Rochester,  town 


-    --.^v-v.,^   >nio  oci  Ull    HI   i«:;iij. 

1  revious  to  the  close  of  the  war  of  iMio  „^«,i,         ,  .     . 

e«,m^,      „?"'?"■  "I'","'",!'"  »»>ne,l  in  c.mec.io,,  ,v  ,1  ear  y 

an  impiovenient  of  al)out  30  acres  on  fh'if  mnA  ...wi  i    -if      i 

= t/Xirrrr'^'',  ^^-  ^^^'--  ^i -ilJ:;!^  'ri^e 

^Xh^v•s  nur  i       V'l     "p/r  '\^.«'"'»^ncement  upon  the  farm 
\VSarUtir  II  ^h  ''"'■''   ^^'''^^'   '"    ^^^«;  now  owned  by 

i       Id      'isn        ■-''"""  ""'^  a  commencement  upon  th^ 


Mr.  M 


ason,  and  comn 


In  181U.  William  Williams 
lenced  inii)rovements 


the 


upon 

ulvanccd  heyoiid 

luncey  larm. 


I'lUai'8    AND    GOitllAM's    rirRCHASE.  521 


I'EiVFIELD. 

commissary  flcpurtment  •  -iff  •  •     f  ,.1  ^'"T"  ^  ''^'l''^' '"  ^^e 

field.     Hediedin    H4  »     t  .         '^'^'^i' ^' ^^^'^^   settlement  of  Jiloom- 
lit^,  dunn^ t;I  '  ,  ^^;  ; t;;:^;^  ^^^^^  ^'^--  a  Ion,  and  active 

ters:_Mrs.  Judge     in    o?  Bl  i  t   l1     T"  ""ri^r '     ^^^"-^- 

The  permanent  settlement  of  Penfield  commenced  in  isni      Tn 

i«in.  ""^  1''^"^  "I  village.  1  he  former  died  in  1810  the  lotforin 
1810;  sonsot  both  reside  in  l^enfield  Th<.  Jf\L  I  '^"^^'" 
II  1804  wore—  Tn«inh  T   K  u         k     •  ,     ^^"'^'3  who  came  m 

Y  yii!.,no,  was  at  cue  period  the  keeper  of  thf>   l<'nr,i„  t''  • 

Pataya.     Both  of  .ha  'brother,  sut-vivl  °' ito'-Bet.;  Xd"  In 


i' 


'.»' 


'       i 


I  ; 


"  1 


li 

J 

:m 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAJl's  PURCHASE. 


I  ft; 


1835.  arroH  73  years  ;  Mrs.  David  Baker  Mrs.  Luke  Thompson,  Mrs 
John  I).  Scovell,  are  his  <lau'jfhfiM-s.  Tie  was  a  captain  in  the  Rev- 
olution, in  the  Jerscv  lin".      Afrs.  I'addock  still  survives. 

hi  1800,  Capt.  Wni.  M'Kinslcr  opened  tlie  first  store  of  goods, 
with  which  he  connpclcd  a  distillery.  Me  was  from  Hudson,  the 
son  of  the  Col.  M'Kinster  whosi'  life  was  saved  hy  Joseph  Brant 
(lurii  _ix  the  horder  wars.  Mr  Fdlows  ^.^avo  the  author  an  interest- 
inn;  aeconnt  of  J}rani's  visit  to  lIuiUoii  in  ISO.').  He  was  on  iii?, 
uay  to  iMnzland,  and  had  stopped  there  to  .^^ei'  Daniel  Penfieldjn 
reference  to  some  land  tides  on  the  Grand  iiiver  in  Canada.  Tlie 
business  delaved  him  fi'r  two  we(d<.-'.  in  which  time  he  received  much 
attention  from  tht;  citiz'-nsof  Hudsun,  many  of  the  men  ot  the  Rev- 
okition  calling  upon  him.  who  had  met  him  in  the  battle  field, ^ or 
learned  to  dread  him  as  the  master  spiirit  of  horder  warfare.  Col. 
M'Kinster.  who  lived  at  1/ivinuston  Manor,  w.Mit  down  to  Hudson, 
and  the  two  had  a  happy  mi'eting.  It  was  t!ie  lirst  time  they  had 
met  since  Brant  had  saved  the  Col's,  life.  An)ona;  the  rest  who 
came  to  see  him  was  a  lixiuacious  Dutchman  who  had  known  him 
before  the  Revolution.  In  a  boasting  and  rather  uncivil  way,  the 
Dutchman  told  him  if  he  had  met  him  in  the  border  wars,  he  would 
have  put  a  stop  to  his  career.  Brant  i)arried  the  attack  with  a 
pleasant  anecdote:  —  ".And  if  you  had  met  me,'"  said  he,  "it  would 

have  been  with  you  just  as  it  was  with  your  neighbor ■.     He 

had  boasted  just  as  you  are  boasting  now.  In  a  skirnnsh  1  happened 
to  meet  him";  he  took  to  his  heels,  and  hardly  stopped  to  take  breath 
until  he  arrived  in  Albany,  where  a  fire  h;'  just  broke  out,  and  the 
Dutchmen  were  in  the  streets  crying,  "  raunt!"  "braunt!!"^ — 
(fiire!  fire  !  )  Stop))ing  short  he  exclaimed  in  amazement :  —  "  The 
d — d  Indian  has  trot  her(>  before  me!'  " 

While  in  Hudson  Brant  was  free  to  say  that  he  regretted  having 
espoused  the  liritish  sirie  in  the  Revolution  ;  and  that  in  another 
contest  such  would  not  be  his  pf)sition. 

Capt.  M'Kinster  was  upon  the  i'rontier  in  the  war  of  181-2,  in  com- 
mand of  a  company  at  the  battle  of  Queenston.  In  1814  Jacob 
B.  lb-van  became  hi"s  liu'iiness  partner;  the  firm  was  continued  un- 
til 18-io,  until  Mr.  :\rKinstrv  returned  to  Hudson.  Mr.  Bryan,  who 
was  the  early  P.  M.  of  Peiifield,  continued  the  business  untd  1841  ; 

dioxl  in   1813. 

Dr.  \'an  Dake  commenced  the  practice  ot  medicme  ni  I  enfield 
in  1801,  died  in  1810:  Dr.  Rich  in  1808,  died  in  1814.  Dr.  Arms 
m  1810;  removed  to  .Michigan  in  1833.  where  he  died  in  1838. 

Dr.  Oliver  Reynolds  eounnenced  piactice  in  the  village,  m  1815; 
in  1S18  removed  to  what  is  now  Webster,  where  he  now  resides. 
Dr.  Daniel  Durfee  settled  in  the  east  i)art  of  the  town  m  1818, 
where  he  still  continues  the  practice  oi  his  profession,  at  the  age  of 
70  years.  , 

the  first  settled  miaister  was  the  Rev.  Asa  Cai'iienter,  as  early 


PHELPS   AND    GORII All's    PUKCIIASE.  o23 

!}l/'^*^i«J-'   '''''''  ^''^  ^''•""^''  ^^'^'^-'^   IVesbyteriau  church.     He 

UlCfl    111  loJ<^. 

Mr.  I'eiifield  erected  a  jurist  and  saw  null,  at  the  Falls  of  the 
Iromlequo.t  .n  1805.  As  has  been  observed,  he  did  not  become  a 
resident  until  181].  In  1813.  Henry  Ward  (who  has  been'uln'ed 
in  connection  with  reminiscences  of  Tryon  Town,)  became  his 
cerk-  continuing  as  such  until  18-1.  Mr.  I'enfield  erected  a  tlourin.^ 
mil  at  an  expense  of  ,S15,000.  It  is  now  owned  by  J.  B.  Roe  In 
18db,  James  Iv.  Livingston  erected  a  stone  tlourin<r  mill  at  an  ex 
pense  ot  $30,000,  which  is  now  owned  by  Samuel  Millei' 

1  here  has  gro\vn  up  in  the  locality,  a  pleasant  rural  vilh.cre  hav- 
ing a  1  the  signs  ol  enterprise  and  pro.sperity ;  of  which  much  more 
could  be  .said,  but  it  is  only  primitive  things  that  come  ^vithin  the 
design  ot  this  work. 

Henry  Fellows  was  the  son  of  Gen.  John  Fellows  ;  (see  pace  174  ) 
After  graduating  at  Williams' College,  he  studied  law  with  Peter 
iTin  '"i  •'  '^;.^^"^''f.hook.  In  1800  he  was  adi,  'tted  to  practice, 
and  settled  in  Canandaigua,  where  he  remained  until  1812,  when 
he  removed  to  Penfield,  where  he  still  survives,  the  occupant  of  a 
hnelarm,  a  successtul  agriculturist  and  horticulturist,  exhibitincr  but 
little  ot  physical,  and  nothing  of  mental  infirmities  usually  conse- 
quent upon  the  age  at  which  he  has  arrived.  He  was  at  one  period 
a  member  otthe  State  legislature,  as  all  will  remember,  who  are 
conversnnt  with  the  political  history  of  the  State.     He  is  the  father 

pJnrM  'Vf'';"-i"  ^''"^'^^''''  «'■  ^^Irs.  Danlel  E.  Lewis,  of 
1  enheld,  Airs  John  L.  Livingston,  of  ShortsN .  -,  Mrs.  John  Van 
rSusKirk,  ot  JXevvark. 

It  was  not  until  1805  or  '0  that  settlement  commenced  in  north 
part  of  present  town  of  Penfield,  and  what  is  now  Webster  In  those 
years  and  .soon  alter,  there  went  into  that  neigliborhood,  John  Shoe- 
ci%alt  Isaac  Strai-lu,  Daniel  Harvey,  Deacon  Foster,  Paul  Ham- 
mond,  Wi  ham  Mann,  William  Harris,  John  Letts,  Samuel  Pierce, 
Michnel  Dunning,  Justin  Walker,  William  Straight,  Gerard  Dun- 
ninii,  Rulus  Herrick,  Robert  Woodhull,  Brooks  Mason. 

Ah:  Shoecratt  was  a  native  of  Ulster  county,  a  Pioneer  upon  the 
Mohawk  {irevious  to  the  Revolution,  an  active  partisan  in  the  Bor- 
der wars  ;  w:is  in  Sullivan's  expedition,  and  helped  bury  the  man<ded 
remains  ot  Lieut.  Boyd.     In  the  command  of  a,  picket  guard,  near 
Mieriy  V  alley,  he  with  one  Broidhoad   was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Indians,  and  carried  to  Chemung.     While  their  Indian  guards  were 
asleep,  they  made  their  escape,  killing  several  of  their  captors.     In 
the  war  of   Ihpj.  he  was  upon  the  frontier,  in  command  of  a  com- 
pany ol  Silver  Greys ;  Jclm  Shew  was  his  lieutenant.     He  died  in 
1833,  aged  77  years.     Peter  and   John  Shoecraft,  of  Penfield   are 
his  sons  ;  two  other  sons  and  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Fox,  reside  in  Michi 
gan.     Mr,  Letts  was  the  jnoneer  tavern  kcejjer,  uj.on  the  stale  road  • 
still  survives.     The  Dunnings  were  enterprising  pioneers :  it  is  per- 


u 

i 

••l,    I 


I  i, 


r 


\"ui\ 


s  , 


I--; 


5-24 


PHELPS  AND    GORHAjfs    PURCHASE. 


Iiaps  worthy  of  record,  that  Michael  built  the  first  cider  mill  in  all 
that  region. 

William  Mann  is  the  son  of  John  Mann,  the  founder  of  Mann's 
mills  on  the  Irondequoit,  in  Pittsford.  He  settled  whore  he  now 
resides  in  1808,  upon  100  acres  his  father  purchased,  and  upon 
which  he  had  erected  the  first  saw  mill  in  all  that  region.  William 
Mann  added  a  grist  mill  in  1813.  A  life  of  industry,  perseverance 
and  endurance,  has  been  that  of  most  of  all  the  early  Pioneers ; 
even  where  all  this  has  been  common,  there  are  some  things  in  the 
history  of  William  Mann  worthy  of  note.  Possessed  of  but  a  slight 
frame,  with  apparently  a  i'eeble  physical  constitution,  his  life  has 
been  one  of  constant  and  persevering  toil,  uninterrupted  by  sickness. 
Taking  charge  of  his  own  saw  mill  in  an  early  day,  he  has  been 
known  for  weeks  to  have  no  .■•leep,  except  during  the  intervals  of  the 
sets  of  his  saw  for  each  board  ;  in  the  labor  of  the  field,  he  has  been 
earliest  and  latest ;  foremost  at  logging  bees  or  raisings,  where  hard 
work  was  to  be  encountered  ;  and  even  now,  there  is  with  him  but 
little  falling  off,  or  suspension  of  labor.  The  reader  will  be  glad  to 
learn  thatcouifort  and  competence  is  the  reward  of  all  this  ;  but  he 
seems  to  work  on  as  if  he  did  not  know  how  to  stop. 


MEMINISCEjS'CES  of  WILLIAM  M.\NX. 


In  most  of  North  PcntielJ,  what  is  now  Wobster,  the  forest  was  heavy* 
the  ground  wet,  and  it  was  hard  beginning'.  The  new  settlers  used  to 
change  works;  many  of  them  could  not  command  a  team,  and  had  to  work 
for  their  neighbors  to  procure  team  work.  "  Bees"  would  be  made  to  help 
the  weak  handed ;  all  were  friendly ;  sickness,  privation,  liardship,  created 
unity  and  mutual  regard  for  eacli  other's  inter'st  and  weU'art.  JNer  and 
other  wild  game  were  nlenty ;  salmon  in  the  spring  and  fall  would  come 
several  miles  up  the  Four  Mile  creek.  No  money  could  bo  obtained  in  the 
earliest  years  ;  in  fact,  our  lirst  resources  for  a  little  money  and  a  little  store 
trade,  was  when  the  brothers,  Comings,  and  Amos  Dunning,  and  Amos 
Harvey,  started  asheries,  and  nuide  market  for  ashes  and  black  salts.  The 
RidL^e  Road  was  an  Indian  trail.  It  was  not  cut  out  so  as  to  be  passable 
for  wagons,  until  a  little  whde  before  the  war  of  1812.  There  was  great 
scarcity  of  food  after  the  (old  summer  of  lylO.  I  had  ten  acres  of  rye, 
stout  and  early ;  live  acies  of  it  was  cut  and  eaten  before  the  remainder, 
or  any  other  grain  in  the  neighborhood  was  cut.  In  1807,  Amos  Stone,  of 
Pittsford,  harvested  wheat,  threshed  and  carried  it  to  Mann's  Mills  to  be 
ground  in  good  condition,  o)i  the  Alli  of  July.  A  peach  tree  was  planted 
on  my  farm,  in  1807j  it  lived  and  bore  peaches  imtil  1849.  Solomon  Ful- 
ler, in  IBOG,  built  a  small  mill  on  the  Irondequoit,  in  Brighton;  used  the 
old  mill  stones,  and  mill  irons  of  the  Allan  mill  at  the  Falls;  I  have  one  of 
the  gudgeons.     The  tir^t  school  in  North  Penfield  was  organized  in  1810, 


PIIELPS    AND    GORIIAm's    PURCIFASE.  5^5 

WY  ^'^'^r^'^,'''''';''.  »f-'igl>borhoc.d;  Wm.  Harris,  a  Scotchman,  was  the  first 
eacher.     Methodist  circuit  riders  were  our  first  ministers.     The  1  ev  So 
Ion  Pierce  organized  a  Methodist  church  in  1812 


W 


the  Lnghsh  as.soc,at,on  the  Salt  Works  tract,  3000  aci^s.  There 
was  upon  the  tract,  about  two  miles  north  of  Webster  Corner  a 
salt  spring  that  vvas  first  known  as  a  much  frequented  deer  lie  ^'-^^ 
As  agents  tor  the  proprietors,  Stephen  Howard  and  Stephen 
S^:iTi  ':\f  ^  ^^^"  «0  ieet  deep  and  obtained  tolerablv  stron  J  w  . 

ec  for  t  wi  l'v7'''  T  '"^^  '"'f  '^  "  -""'•  ^'"^^''^3-  was  manun'i;.tur- 
ed  toi  a  Wide  region  o    new  settlements.     The  price  was  Si  00  ner 

hushel.     Christopher  Prentice  succeeded  How'ard  and  SpraTe  ^Ts 
agents  ;  as  early  as  1809  or  '10  the  business  of  salt  manufacture  fe! 
.no  the  hands  o    Daniel  Hudson  and  his  son-in-lavv,  Joel  Tlaye 
The  property  iell  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Groicr,  the  n  anufictu.e  of 
sal    was  suspended,  and  the  lands  reserved  tc.llu-nlsh  timl    r  for  s.d 
boihng  forms  now  a  landscape  of  beautitui  highly  cultivaS  farms 
i  he  first  town  meeting  in  Penfield,  was  held"  in  1811.     William 

OtlTi        T   "^''^  '^"P«-i->'%    «'-ooks   Mason  town  c le 
Otl  er  town  officers  .--Nathaniel  Case,  Charles  P.  Moore,  Josiah  T. 

WiM  fsn  '  n-''''/±  ^^''f'"'^''  ^'''^'^  ^^'''  ««"i^^'^i"  Tripp 
S  . ll'?'"''  I  f  T'  T'''°"'  ^'''''^'^'  T.  Shaw,  Reuben  Bailfy 
bid?.,  "'r^^  ^'^•'^P'^''"''''^'^''^  '^'"  exhibit  pioneer  names,  and 
mdicate  where  settlements  were  made  as  late  as  1811  :-John 
Strogor  Gurdon  Lewis,  David  Camp.  Stephen  Butler,  Pelecr  Ross 
w'lY  ^^'\«-' Enos  ILu.j  s,,,,.^^^^.,  pi^,.^l_  EbenezorSpearrDavid 
S'n"'  J/f  ^P'\"«'-^:«y'  Z'^^th  Eldridge,  Elisha  Smith,  Rufus  D 

M  ^h  b-V^'^'  ?/'"7^'''  '^'^'^'^  ^''■^'''^''  E"'^''-'^  <'=^««'  John  Pierce 
Michael  Hibnor  Reuben  Brace,  Zaccheus  Horton,  Abner  Brown,' 
Wm.  Cole,  Jonathan  Carpenter.  Willian.  Spear  was  Supervisor  in 
in  1838  The  townof  Web.ster  was  taken  from  Penfield 

Brooks  Mason  was  an  early  Judge  of  Ontario,  a  Justice  of  the 
icace,  and  m  other  respects,   a  prominent   Pioneer.     Hussell  B 

Mis.  Andrew  Lincoln,  of  Pennton,  is  a  dautditen 


•^i7!"'~/'  '■'■''*  ^'^^™'^'^'f' '^"""   Yankeu  rionocr  wnntwl   nothiii.Hnit  nn   " -.vn  u 
Ijmhld  MM.l  au^ur,  a  .  rau-in.r  knil\.  an,!  .jn..l<  plan.."  to  bu  Id      „  M       h  use     M 
Main,  iKU   not  as  nnu'l, ;  ),nt  l.ninir  a  l„.llnwH  and  anvil  ),..  mad.  1  is  o  v     dmi.loti' 
.iugur,s  and  plane  iron.,  witl.  which  he  Ix.ilt  not  only  fra.no  bu  ii  g     ,       .illf 


)    -I 


i  1 
t  I 
.    1 


i 


I     ! 


; 

i_ 

1 

i 

'i  ] 
J  : 

V 

526 


PHELPS   AND  GOKIIA^iL  S    PURCHASE. 


Tlio  village  of  Webster  has  grown  up  on  the  farm  of  Dr.  Oliver 
Reynolds.  The  earliest  merchants  there,  were  Stearns  &  Coltiss  ; 
the' permanent  ones,  William  .-md  Timothy  Corning. 


I'lTTSFORD. 


The  names  of  tlie  first  eight  heads  of  families  will  be  found  on 
page  431.  They  were  priiicii)ally  from  Salem,  Washington  coun- 
ty. Israel  Stone  died  in  early  years ;  his  widow  became  the  wife 
of  Paul  Uichardjon,  and  after  his  death  that  of  Moses  Barr :  she 
died  a  few  years  since  at  an  advanced  age,  Eri  Stone,  of  I'itts- 
ford  is  a  son  of  Israel  Stone.  Simon  Stone  died  15  or  20  years 
since.  Orrin  Stone,  of  I'ittsford,  is  a  son  of  his.  Jesihel  (not  .To- 
seph,  as  on  page  4.'H.)  Farr,  died  soon  after  1812  :  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Farr  was  the  first  that  occurred  in  "  Stonetown;"  Jesihel  Farr,  of 
Pittsfnrd  is  a  son  :  a  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Caleb  Nye.  Silas 
Nye  came  into  the  new  I'cgion  at  an  advanced  age  ;  had  h(dd  a 
commii^sion  in  the  Revoh.lion :  he  was  the  first  supervisor  of  the 
town;  died  in  early  years.  Tlis  surviving  sons  are,  Nathan  and 
Silas  Nye,  of  I'ittsford.  Nathan  who  is  now  78  years  of  age,  has 
been  a  suj)crvisor  of  the  town,  and  justice  of  the  peace.  A  daugh- 
ter of  Silas  i\ye  the  elder,  becanie  the  wife  of  one  of  the  brothers, 
Becliwiths,  early  merchants  in  Palmyra  :  another,  the  wife  of  Carmi 
Hart,  of  Pittsford.     Thomas  Cleland  died  soon  after  1830,     Josiah 

Gimminson  did  not  become  a  permanent  resident,  neither  did 

Dodge,  who  was  one  of  the  pro])rietors  of  the  town.  Alexander 
Dunn  was  a  son  in  law  of  Silas  Nye. 

Other  Pioneers,  as  early  as  1790,  and  mostly  before  1800:  — 
Anson  Stone,  John  Stone,  Ann  is  Stone,  Samuel  Stone,  Daniel  Per- 
rin,  (the  father  of  Darius  Perrin,  P.  M.  Rochester.)  Caleb  Hopkins, 
Wm  Acker,  Noah  Norton,  Thomas  Billinghurst,  Wm.  Agate,  Rich- 
ard Welsh,  Nehemiah  Hopkins,  Robert  Holland,  Henry  Bailey, 
JarcMl  liarker,  Elilui  Doud,  Nathan  Calhoun,  Ezra  Patterson,  Ben- 
jamin Weeks,  Daniel  Brown,  (an  early  liaptist  preacher,)  Israel 
Canfield,  Benjamin  Miller,  William  Hill,  Robert  Holland.  Wm. 
Acer,  was  the  father  of  John  Acer,  the  widely  known  landlord  of 
Pittsforil;  Ezra  Act'r,  of  Pittsford,  is  a  son;  daughters  became  the 

wives  of  Theron  Noble,  Dwellie  Clapp,  and May.     Caleb 

Hopkins  was  breveted  a  Colonel  in  the  war  of  1812,  had  com- 
mands upon  the  Niagara  frontier,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cenesee 
River;  was  an  active  and  efficient  ])artizan  in  all  the  trying  crisis; 
Marvin  Hopkins,  late  sui)ervisor  of  Pittsford  is  his  son.  Nathan 
Calhoun  still  survives  at  the  age  of  73 ;  lias  been  a  sujiervisor  ot 
the  town  8  years,  a  magistrate  30  years  ;  is  the  father  of  eight 
daughters,  0  of  whom  have  become  ^vives. 


WIELPS    AND    GOllirAM's    PrHCIIASE. 


52*7 


►Simon  Stone  2(1,  a  connexion  of  the  numerous  family  of  thai  nime 
who  wore  pioneers  m  the  lociilitv,   w:is  the  primitive  kuvver.     He 
WIS  loeiited  HI  jH-actice  soon  alter  1800;  filled  the  office  of  super- 
vise, and  Justine  ol  the  pence  :  he  died  1 5  or  16  vears  since.     Wm. 
Cr.  1  ayior  was  the  next  practicing  lawyer,  locatinjr  in  early  vears  • 
he  emigrated  to  the  west.     Ira  Bellows;  who  has  been  so  lone  ideii- 
tihed  with  the  locality,  yet  suryiyes,  in  the  practice  of  the  profession. 
1  lie  (Mrly  physicians  were,  Dr.  .Tohn  Rav  and  Dr.  Daniel  Rood  • 
.succeedinsr  them  were,  Dr.  Acliill<-s  G.  Snn'th,  and  Dr.  Hartvveli 
Carver.     Dr.  Carver  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  John  Carver  who 
came  over   in  the  M.'ivtlower,  and   of    Jonathan  Carver,  the  ear- 
ly western  explorer,     lie  was  a  -rraduate  of  Yale  Colle-H-,  .settled  at 
littsloid  soon  alter  the  war  of  1812.     Althoimh  makinir  that  hi.s 
hailinir  place,  a  spirit  of  eiiK-rprise  and  adventure,  has  made  him  a 
traveller  in  Europe,  a  resident  in  New  Orleans,  in  Florida,  and  in 
iViiiinesota;  lew  men  are  more  widely  known,  or  have  obtained 
more    prolessional  celebrity.      Though  a  waiiderinu   bachelor,  he 
would  seem  to  be  becoming  a  fixture  now,  as  he  is  buildin-r  th,"  m,. 
iquo  dwelling  place,  that  may  be  observed  uiion  the  outskirts  of  the 
pleasant  rural  village  of  I'iitsford. 

Allhough  Israel  Stone  in  an  early  day,  did  a  little  in  the  mercan- 
tile way,  the  first  considerable  mercantile  establishment  was  founded 
by  U'--  A^  G.  Smith,  Nathan  Nve,  Caleb  Hopkins  and  John  Acer 
Samuel   Hildreth,  a  brotiier  of  the  Hildrelh's  of  Vienna,  was  an 
early  merchant,  tavern  keeper  and   stage  proprietor ;  foundiii"-  the 
first  line  ot  public  conveyance  from  Caiiandaigua  to   iJoeliT'ster, 
an(   with  others,  the;  first  on  the  Riga  road  from  Rochester  to  Can- 
andaigua;  his  widow   survived  until   recentiv;  John  Ilildivth,  of 
littsloid  IS  a  son;  Mrs.  Babcock  and  Mrs.  Richardson  ol'  Tittslord 
are  his  daughters.     Augustus  Elliott  was  an  early   merchant  and 
distiller  ;  and  in  an  early  day  erected  an  iron  forue  in  IVnticid.     lie 
was  the  lounder  of  the  fine  private  mansion  that  was  alterward^  oc- 
cu;)it  d  by   James  K.  Guernsey. 
_  Glover  Perrin  who  is  inentioned  as  the  pioneer  of  Perrinton.  <rot 
tired  ol  his  solitary  life   there,  vacated  his  log  cabin  soon  after  The 
death  ot  his  friend  Caleb  Walker,  and  became  the  pioneer  landlord. 
lie  died  childless  :  .John  Acer  was  his  successor. 

Pittsfoid  village,  ill  ])oint  of  time,  may  be  said  to  have  been  a 
lioneer  locality  next  to  Canandaii-ua.  aiid  as  early  as  Geneseo 
Avon,  Palmyra  and  Lyons.  The  fine  bluir  which  forms  its  site,  at 
the  base  of  which  was  a  valuable  spriim,  drew  the  attention  of  the 
early  .adventures  to  the  spot.  There  were  lonu  years  in  which  the 
principal  business  of  a  wide  region  was  transacted  there  ;  and  thouuh 
It  IS  now  oneot    the  out  posts  of  an  (wershadowing  city,  time  was, 


(and   lliat  w 


fe 


w  settlers  in   tl 


itiun  tiie  memory  of  hundreds  who  survive,)  when  the 


o{'  that  city,  thought  themselves  out  in  tl 


mall   openings  of  the  dense  forest  on  the  site 


\e  world  again,  when  they 


[^ 


f-kf, 
I-  I 


"^, 


V 


ft    •! 


M  '. 


I'. 


528 


PHELPS   AND   GOPJIAm's  PURCHASE. 


had  reached  ihat  vilhifre,  where  there  were  dry  streets,  comfortable 
pubHc  and  private  dwelliiiirs,  merchants,  mechanics,  lawyers,  and 
doctors,  and ''stated  prea'jhino;." 

The  town  of  Northfield  was  organized  in  1701.  It  was  then  all 
of  what  is  now  Piftsford,  Penfield,  Perrinton,  Henrietta,  Brighton. 
Irondequoit,  and  Webster.  The  first  town  meeting  was  in  1790. 
It  was  "opened  by  Phineas  Bates."  Silas  Nye  was  chosen  super- 
visor, John  Ray  town  clerk.  Other  town  othcers,  Noah  Norton, 
Caleb  Hopkins,  Glover  Perrin,  Jonas  Sawen,  Jesihol  Farr,  Aaron 
Stone,  Ezra  Patterson,  Samuel  Bennett,  Henry  Bagley,  Alexander 
Dunn,  William  Acer,  Paul  Richardson.  In  1798,  tlic  name  of  the 
town  was  changed  to  Boyle.  In  1813,  the  town  of  Boyle  was 
divided  into  three  towns,  Penfield,  Perrinton  and  Sniallwood  ,  and 
in  1811  the  town  of  Brighton  was  erected  ;  and  in  the  same  year, 
what  is  now  Pittsford  and  Henrietta,  was  made  to  constitute  a  town 
which  was  called  Pittstbrd.  Henrietta  was  erected  in  1818.  There 
was  no  such  town  as  "  Stonetown  ;"  this  was  the  early  designation  of 
the  settlement ;  as  in  the  case  of  "  Boughtontown,"  "  Pittstown,"  &c. 

A  school  was  organized  in  what  is  now  Pittsford,  as  early  as  1794  ; 
a  Congregational  church  in  18(»9. 

John  Mann,  saw  the  Genesee  country  immediately  after  the  close 
of  the  Revolution  — as  early  as  1784. '  A  resident  of  New  Jersey, 

in  company  with  Allen  N"ixon  and Scritcbfield,  he  came 

through  the  wilderness  from  the  Delaware  River,  following  the 
Indian  trails  to  Niagara  River.  Failing  to  make  some  contempla- 
ted arrangements  with  Gov.  Simcoe  in  Canada,  for  a  settlement 
there,  the  i)arty  returned  to  New  Jersey.  Upon  the  Genesee  river 
they  made  the  acquaintance  of  Eben  /.er  Allan,  who  offered  to  ob- 
tain for  Mr.  Mann  the  Indian  grant  ol  .')00  acres  of  the  present  site 
of  the  city  of  Buffalo,  for  the  horse  he  rode.  Mr.  Mann  visited  the 
country  again  in  1803  in  company  with  his  son,  Wm.  Mann  of  Pen- 
field.  He  found  al  that  early  period  a  sister  of  his  wife  —  a  Mrs. 
Field  —  wiio  had  settled  with  a  large  f\unily  of  .sons  and  daughtei-s, 
in  a  small  Indian  village  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wiscoy,  in  Allegany 
county.  In  1804  Mr.  Mann  moved  his  famly,  consisting  of  a 'wife 
and  ten  children,  to  Victor,  and  renting  land  of  Enos  "Boughton, 
raised^  500  bushels  of  wheat  for  his  own'share,  which  he  exchanged 
with  Zachariah  Seymour,  of  Canandaigua,  f  r  ihe  hundred  acres  of 
land  in  Penfield,  upon  which  his  son  "now  resides.  In  1805  he 
bought  of  Simon  Stone  fifty  acres  of  land  on  the  Irondequoit  near 
the  great  embankment,  upon  which  Mr.  Stone  had  erected  a  small 
grist  mill  and  saw  mill  soon  after  1790.  Mr.  Mann  re-buill  the  mills 
in  1812.  As  "  Stone's  mills"  and  "  Mann's  mills,"  they  were  known 
in  early  years  throughout  a  wide  region.  Millwrights  of  the  pre- 
sent day  may  learn  something  of  the  oxpediciUs  of  the  early  period 
in  which  the  sawmill  was  built;  ot  what  "  necessity,  the  mother  of 
invention,"  used  to  accomplish  ;  from  the  fact,  that  the  saw  used  in 


PIIELPS   AND  GORIIA]M  S   PURCHASE. 


529 


Mr.  Stone's  primitive  mill  was  made  by  Samuel  Bernett,  a  black- 
smith, by  welcliiij.  together  old  scythes.  Mr.  Mann  died  1824,  aged 
75  years.  His  son,  other  than  the  one  already  noticed  in  connec- 
tion with  Penlield,  is  Jacob  Mann,  of  Pittsford  ;  daughters  became 
wives  of  Wm.  B.  Jobson,  of  Canandaigua,  Calvin  R.  Cheeny,  of 
Michigan  ;  Mrs.  Asahel  Baker,  of  Iowa. 

Stejihen  Lusk,  whose  early  advent  is  noticed  in  connection  with 
Brighton,  became  a  resident  of  Pittsford  in  1807,  establishing  there 
a  j)rimitive  tannery,  and  continuing  it  for  many  years.  He  is  now 
the  occupant  of  a  fine  farm,  a  mile  east  of  the  village  on  the  Victor 
road. 


rERRINTON. 


It  has  little  of  pioneer  history  distinct  from  that  of  Pittsford,  with 
which  its  territory  was  blended  previous  to  1810;  and  it  is  one  of 
those  localities  from  which  the  author  has  been  favored  with  no 
account  of  its  early  settlers.  It  will  be  observed  that  its  original 
proprietor  made  a  commencement  there  as  early  as  1790,  and  died 
in  that  year  at  Canandaigua;  his  companion,  Glover  Perrin,  leaving 
sf»on  after ;  it  was  several  years  before  its  settlement  was  again 
attempted.  Among  the  earliest  settlers  were,  Jesse  Perrin,  Asa 
Perrin,  Ecbvard  Perrin,  Major  Norton,  John  Scott,  Levi  Treadwell, 
Richard  Treadwell,  John  Peters,  and  Gideon  Ramsdell. 


With  reference  to  the  uplands  of  Victor,  Mendon,  Pittsford,  Per- 
rinton,  Penfield  and  Irondequoit ;  oak  openings,  and  to  a  small  ex- 
tent, pine  plains,  a  marked  change  has  occurred.  It  was  an  inviting 
soil  when  settlement  commenced  ;  far  easier  beginning  upon  it,  and 
making  more  speedy  returns  for  labor  expended,  than  the  heavily 
timbered  lands.  But  long  years  of  discouragement  and  stinted 
crops  succeeded.  The  sandy,  light  soil  became  almost  unproduc- 
tive, in  some  instances  thtir  cultivation  was  abandoned,  and  the 
vallies  and  intervals  became  the  chief  dependence.  In  Victor,  as 
late  as  1820,  uplands  were  sold  as  low  as  from  $'S  to  $0  per  acre. 
Since  about  that  period  a  chansre  has  been  going  on,  until  from  the 
poorest,  these  lands  have  become,  if  not  the  best,  equal  in  value  to 
any  in  all  this  garden  of  the  State.  Their  prices  now  range  from 
$40  to  'S80  per  acre;  in J'ittsford,  farms  have  been  sold  this  sum- 
mer as  high  as  f SO.  Tunc,  and  each  successive  cultivation,  im- 
proves the  soil. 

Omitting  any  speculations  or  any  theories  of  his  own,  the  author 


530 


rilELrS   AND    OOIOIAM  S  I'UKCIIASE. 


Mr.  Wm.  C.  Dryer,  ot    Victor,  a  lui.uuf  intdli-.Mice  uii.l  auvM 
ol.s,.rvaf,(.n,  s;,ys  1  mt  tl.c  IVcq.u'nt  l)urnincr  over  of  these  opcuin.rs 
that  pr(-c(>d,'(l  sctflomont  an<l  cultivation,  |„hI  rendered    inert  aiTd 
unproductive  the  surface  soil,  while  it  had  been  niakin- deposites  in 
tliosul.-sod,  ot  someot   the  mo«t  essential  elements  of  ve.retafion 
which  deeper  plowui^  has   I.ee.,  developing  and  other  of  improved 
cultivation,  m.kmg  ayi.ilable.    The  late  Timothv  Hacluis.of  Le  l{oy 
and  ^ockp..rt.  (one  ol  nature's  student.s,  as  well  as  one  of  l-.er  "  nohle- 
men,  )  a  li-w  y,.ars  before  his  denth,  in  conversation  with  the  author, 
was  citing  the  lact  that  the  first   board  of  commissi.,ners,  sent  out 
byourgmvrnmentto  explore  the  peninsula  of  Michi-aii,  ma.le  ;, 
report,  which  is  upon  record,  in  substance,  that  it  was  unfit  for  hab- 
itation or  cultivation  and  woul.l  never  repay  the  co^t  of  survev  and 
sale.       1  hey  jud,ir<«d,  '  said  he,  "that  the  heav-ily  timbeie<l  lands'were 
ge.ierally  too  wet  for  cultivation,   an.l  that  the  burr  oak  openincrs, 
which  predominated,  were  unproductiv  barrens,  lu'cause  they  sifw 
upon  thein  but  stinted  herbage,  and  a  feeble  undergrowth  of  shrub- 
beiy.      i  here  was  m  the  soil  rich  and  abimrlant  elements  of  a-rri- 
culture,  as  time  and  experiment  has  .lemonstrated,  but  it  was  intlic 
sub-soil  ;  the  surface  s<.il  had  been  depleted  by  fire,  and  deteriorated, 
or  poisoned   by  the  acids  of  the  oak  and   chestnut   leaves      This 
remark  is  applicable  to  the  same  kind  of  lands  in  our  own  reo-ion  • 
tl^ie  new  settlers  could  at  first  realize  but  stinted  crops  upon  tliem.' 
Even  now,  wherever  the  oak  or  chestnut  leaf  has  fallen  and  decayed 
tor  a  long  succession  of  years,  it  requires  time  and  cultivation  to 
make  the  soil  productive." 


JVIEXDON. 


Township   11,  R.  5,  what  is  now   Mendon.  containincr  'jgoiO 
acres,  was  the  last  sale  made  by  Phelps  and  Corham  previo'us  to  the 
sale  w^h  to  Sir  Wm    Pulfc.n,.y  and  his  associates.     The  purchasers 
were      Franklin  and   Bougbton,"  or  the  entry  of  sale  is  to  them. 
Ihe  tou-nship  was  soon  subdivided,  an<I  .Teivmiah  Wadsworth  be- 
came  the  owr.cr  of  1 1.000.     Other  large  early  pr.mrief,»rs  of  the  re- 
mainder of  the  town  were,  Catlin  &  Fe;  ris,  VVaddington  &  Pcpoon. 
Jonathan   Bal  .      Ebenezer  Barnard,  of  IlartfonI,  Conn.,   became 
the  owner  o(  ha  t  of  the  Wadsworth  tract.    The  whole  1 1,000  acres 
was  settled  under  the  auspices  p.i>vMpally  of  James  Wadsworth, 
either  as  owner  or  agent.     Tlu  Ball  trac^  was  sold  to  Augustus  and 
1  eter  B.  Porter,  and  Zel  ulon  Norton.     Zfliulon  Norton  '^from  Ver- 
mont, was  the   Pioneer  in   the  township,  erecting  mills  as  eaviv  as 
1791,  on  the  Honeoye  Falls.     He  died  in  18 J i  ;  his  son  Ezra,  upon 


whom  the 

two  years 
Sales  ot 
the  11,00( 
year,  sales 
Williams, 
Williams, 
not  all  of  y 
tli''y  paid 
Hickox.  a! 
1701.  Ot 
fore  the  ch 
Samuel  L 
Klijah  licl 
atider,  Ge 
wives  of  I' 
side  at  the 
years ;  his 
settler  at 
Capt.  Tr 
a  century 
could  be  s 
hrii^fness  f 
and  J'iller 
stead,  aiu 
Ainaziah, 
lienjamin 
Nathan  \ 
Mendon,  ; 
viving  sor 
residing  u 
a  daughte 
sons  of  Si 
.fudge  Jol 
Iji'yan. 

Other  e 
ters,  Jacr 
Sims.  ]i 
ot'  Marvii 
ters  of  Bl 
an  early  n 
as  do  in  f 
usual  in  < 
son  of  Jo 
The  ea 
der  of  K 
He  wa.s 


PHELPS  ATSTD    fiOTlHAM  S  PURCHASE. 


531 


wliom  flic  care  of  the  mill  and  farm  devolved  in  early  years,  died 

two  yciifs  y)revious. 

S;ili;s  of  farm  lots  were  commenced  by   James  Wadsworth,  on 
the  11,000  acre  tract,  in  June,   170.'{ ;  in  that  and  the  succecdin;^ 
year,  sales  were  made  to  "Dan  Williams,  Cornelius  'J'icat,  Elijah 
Williams,  Henjamin  I'arks,  lihene/.er  llafhhun.  Ilufus  I'arks,  Nathan 
Williams,  Moses  Everett,  Wm.  Hiekox,  Lorin  Wait,  Ueuheu  Hill;" 
not  all  of  whom,  it  is  presumed,  became  actual  settlers.     Tic  ])rices 
tlu'v  paid   were   from   61    2r»   to  S'-i   pcv  acre.     Treat,    Williams, 
Hickox.  and  Parks,  "all  from  Berkshire."  were  actual  settlers  in 
1701.     Other  earlv  Pioneers  in  the  tovvtishij),  in  succession,  all  be- 
fore the  close  of  1800,  were,  John  Parks,  Jonas  Alhm,  Joseph  Hryan, 
Samuel  Lane,  Charles  Foote ;  and  soon  after  1800,  Moses  Rowell, 
Elijah  fieland.    Charles  Foote,  of  Mendon,  and  Elias  Foote,  of  Alex- 
ander, (ienesee  Co.,  are  sons  of  Charles  Foote;  dauj^hters  became 
wives  of  Fnos  Blossom  and  Gains  Lane ;  other  sons  and  dauirhters  re- 
side at  the  west.    C'apt.  Treat  died  in  1848,  at  tfie  advanced  a<re  of  81 
years;  his  wife,  whose  first  husband  was  Benjamin  Paimer,  an  early 
settler  at  Palmyra — father  of  Ceo.  Palmer  of  JJuffalo — died  in  1849. 
t'apt.   Treat  was  not  only  an  early  settler,  but  for  more  than  half 
a  century  was  a  protninent  citizen  of  the   town,  of  whom   much 
could  be  said,  as  in  lumdreds  of  other  instances,  if  the  necessary 
l)ri(!fness  of  these  sketches  would  allow  of  it.     Dr.  John  Jay  Treat 
and   J'illery  Treat,  of  Rochester,    Nelson   Treat,  upon   the  home- 
stead, arul  Joseph  Treat,  residinfr  at  the  west,  are  surviving  sons. 
Ainaziah,   Calvin,   and    Thomas  Parks,  of  Mendon,  are  the  sons  of 
[{enjamin  Parks.     Joseph  Williams,  of  Canandaigua,  is  the  son  of 
Nathan   Williams.     Rufus,   John,  Benjamin,  and  James  Parks,  of 
Mendon,  are  the  sons  of  John  Parks,  who  still  survives.     The  sur- 
viving sons  of  Capt.  Jonas  Allen  are,  Ethan,  in  California;  Daniel, 
residing  upon  the  homestead  ;  and  George,  a  magistrate  in  Mendon  ; 
a  daughter  is  the  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  Milton  Sheldon.     Of  eight 
sons  of  Sanniel  Lane,  but  one  survives,  Gaius  Lane  of  Rochester. 
Judge  John  Bryan,  of  Michigan,  is  the  only  surviving  son  of  Joseph 
Bryan. 

Other  early  settlers  of  Mendon  :  —  Marvin  Smith,  Henry  Shel- 
ters, Jacob  Young,  John  and  William  Dixon.  John  Moore,  John 
Sims.  Benjamin  of  Mendon,  and  Isaac  Smith,  of  Rush,  are  sons 
of  Marvin  Smith.  Lyman  Shelters,  of  Mendon,  and  Cabot  Shel- 
ters of  Bloomfield,  are  sons  of  Henry  Shelters,  Jacob  Young  was 
an  early  and  enteryn-ising  manufacturer  at  the  Falls;  now  survives, 
as  do  ill  fact,  a  larger  number  of  the  early  Pioneers  named,  than  is 
usual  in  other  localities.  Amos  Dixon  at  the  Honeoye  Falls,  is  a 
son  of  John  Dixon. 

The  early  physician  was  Dr.  Knickcrbacker,  who  was  the  foun- 
der of  Knickcrbacker  Hall,  Avon,  now  a  resident  of  Rochester. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Harvey  Allen,  who  is  yet  in  practice. 


i 

'1    ; 
1 

r , 

V, ! 

! 

K    f 

)        ' 

•>i 

'   \  \  .  ' 

f»  i 

!> 

t' 


■ 

in 
I" 


l,i 


532 


PIIELPS    AND    GORIIAm's    rURdlASE, 


Dr.   Wm.  Rrown  was  the  early  physician  in  East  Mendon,  is  now 
a  resident  ot  rembroke,  Cenesee  county. 

^^  Zebulon   Townsend  was  an  early  settler  on  what  was   called 
Abraham  s  riains,"  still  survives,  at  the  a^e  of  75  years.    Surviv- 
uig  sons  are:  — Geo.   P.  Townsend,  an  Attorney,  in  Penfield,  Jo- 
seph  B.  ol  Mendon,  Jeremiah,  Seth  and  Gideon,  of  Maren™,  Mich 

'^'\"\r      L''  i''Vl  ^^-  ^^""'"'^  '-''"'^  ^^''-  Oi-ra  Case,  of  Honeoye  Falls 
and  Mrs.  S.  N.  De^roli;  of  Maren,  o,  are  liis  daughters. 

Innothy  IJarnard,  who  was  the  brother  of  the  e.  rly  land  propri- 
etor,  (l)ut  not  resident,)  named  above,  removed  from  the  city  of 
Hartlord— cxchaiitrinnr  a  comfortable  home  for  a  log  cabin  in  the 
new  i;egion--in  1808.     He  died  in  1847  or  '8,  aged' 1)1  years.    It 
IS  a  singular  fact,  that  although  he  brought  a  large  family  into  the 
new  country,  and  his  descendants  in  the  second  degree  became  nu- 
merous, his  was  the  first  death  that  occurred  in  the  whole  family 
circle.     He  was  an  early  Judge  of  Ontario,  and  in  other  respects  a 
prominent  and  useful   citizen.     He  was  the  father  of  Daniel  D 
Barnard,  the  U.  S.  Minister  to  Prussia,  of  Timothy  and  Henry 
Barnard  who  reside  on  the  homested. 

Among  the  reminiscences  of  the  early  settlers  of  Mendon,  is  that 
of  an  oak  stump,  on  the  farm  of  Capt.  Treat,  nine  feet  in  diameter 
1  he  tree  was  supposed  to  have  been  cut  down  by  the  Indians.  On 
tne  Jarm  ot  Mr.  1  arks,  a  section  of  a  hollow  sycamore  was  cut  off 
6  feet  in  length,  through  which  a  pair  of  oxen,  of  ordinary  size,  was 
driven  in  their  yoke.     John  Stimpson,  a  trapper,  caught  on  Capt 

fTJ  T'  '"^  '''°'''^'  ^"  ''"^  "'g'^^'  ^"^»'  which  he  received  a  bounty 
01  bJO-  a  large  sum  ot  money  in  those  primitive  times.  Wolves 
pursued  Capt  Treat  one  night  for  miles ;  and  nothing  but  the  supe- 
nor  speed  of  his  horse  saved  him  from  becoming  an  inhabitant  of 
an  older  settled  country,  '••  where  wolves  cease  from  troul)linfr "  Dr 
Joe  Brace,  the  early  physician  in  Victor,  was  going  from  Norton's 
Mills  owards  home,  on  the  old  Indian  trail.  When  near  what  is 
novv  Miller  s  corners,  his  horse  suddenly  stopped,  and  looking  ahead 
ot  him  he  saw  in  his  path  a  huge  i.anther,  crouched  and  i^eady  to 
spring  upon  him.  An  attempt  to  turn  around  would  have  been  fatal. 
With  much  presence  of  mind  he  suddenly  spread  his  umbrella,  and 
shaking  it,  the  animal  walked  otf. 

The  town  was  organized  in  1813.  Jonas  Allen  was  the  first 
supervisor;  Daniel  Dunks  town  clerk.  A  Baptist  church  was  or- 
ganized in  180!)  ;  the  first  pastor,  the  Rev.  Jessee  Brayinan  ;  a  Con- 
gregationalchurcji  inlSlTor  '18,  the  first  settled  minister  the  Rev. 

eivm7fom,',']w./''i"^''''r'"'°"  "*■  *H"  En.pk7sMZ"  is  a  designation  oc^i^ni^ 
K  r  ,       /  T  '":   •'''■''''^''''■''f  ^'"''"^^y'  '■•'^^''■'  vauntingl/j,m-hap.s;  l.ut  it  li  li 

SvlJ  fh  our  imtional  oxiston.e  conunonced.  and  for  I.mi-  rears  nfr,.- 

rSviMn  '.!''!•'•  '  "f  ^^^^■■^"'^'"'  "';  H'^'  ^'"'^^'''  *'='f^'^  ;  ^  ^'"^t  MasUT  General ; 
Ld  h<f  amepeSd  ^  ^-'^•''''•''"'- "'"l  I^'cuteuant  Governor  of  our  State;  atone 


Nathaniel 
Hams,  Wir 
( ;ady,  of  ]\ 
the  frame 
owned  am 
Urook  was 


Jeremia 
'ian  and  \ 
I'holps  ani 

The  aut 
itive  settle 
ally  in  the 

Joseph  . 
was  one 
which  nov 
tiful  sweei 
with  the  C 
the  hands 
ilv  of  thai 

'In  1801 
township, 
county,  M 
as.  Jacob 

The  fa: 
(laughter, 
county,  w 
tario,  for  ( 
a  member 
the  war  ol 
upon  the 
county,  a 
of  Rush, 
sors  of  INI 
ollices  ga' 
ol"  Comni 
He  was  c 
case  with 
long  and 
the  wife  ( 
wife,  whc 
cob  Adan 


Ion,  IS  now 

vas  called 
!.  Surviv- 
Mifield,  Jo- 
1^0,  Micli- 
Joye  Falls, 

ind  pro])ri. 
he  city  of 
bin  in  the 
years.    It 
y  into  the 
!came  nu- 
)le  family 
respects  a 
I3aniel  D, 
1(1  Henry 

)n,  is  that 
diameter, 
ians.  On 
as  cut  off, 
size,  was 
on  Capi. 
a  bounty 
Wolves 
the  supe- 
ibitant  oi' 
ig."  Dr. 
iVorton's 
•  what  is 
iig  ahead 
ready  to 
een  latal. 
ella,  and 

the  first 

was  or- 

;  aCon- 

;he  Rev. 

•casionally 
but  it  lias 
'SCO  Coun- 
L'ars  jitVcr- 
■  Gcnoral ; 
tc ;  at  oni! 


PHELPS    \ND  GORIIAJI'S   PURCHASE. 


533 


Nathaniel  Taylor.  The  early  mechanics  were  :  —  Nathaniel  Wil- 
liams, Wm.  Hickox,  Nathaniel  Bryan,  Samuel  Lano  ;  (Jen.  Chalotte 

( 'ady,  of  Miciiigan,  was  the  first  merchant.     Elliott  erected 

the  frame  of  the  first  saw  mill  on  the  Irondecpioit ;  the  mill  was 
owned  and  finished  by  Jonas  Allan.  The  first  grist  mill  on  i'ond 
Brook  was  built  by Haze. 


RUSH. 


Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  was  the  purchaser  of  5,000  acres,  and  "Mor- 
'ian  and  his  associates,  of  4,750  acres  of  what  is  now  Rush,  of 
I'holps  and  Gorham. 

The  author  is  unable  topive  the  years  in  which  each  of  the  prim- 
itive settlers  came  in,  but  those  named  were  the  earliest,  and  gener- 
ally in  the  oi'der  named. 

"Joseph  Morgan,  who  had  first  settled  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
was  one  of  tlie  earliest  settlers  of  the  tov\n,  his  farm  the  same 
which  now  constitutes  the  horaested  of  Joseph  Si1)ley —  the  beau- 
tiful sweep  of  flats  and  upland  at  the  junction  of  the  Honeoye  creek 
with  the  Genesee  river.  The  properly  i)assed  from  Morgan  into 
the  hands  of Spraker,  one  of  the  well  known  Mohawk  fam- 
ily of  that  name,  who  died  there. 

"In  1801,  to  the  few  settlers  that  were  previously  located  in  the 
township,  there  was  added  a  considerable  number  from  Frederick 
county,  Maryland:  —  The  families  of  Philip  Price,  Chrystal  Thom- 
as, Jacob  Stull,  John  Bell, Otto. 

The  family  of  Philip  Price,  consisted  of  seven  sons  and  one 
(laughter.  The  sons  were:  —  John  Price,  of  Gorham,  Ontario 
county,  who  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  county  Judges  of  On- 
tario, for  one  or  two  terms  a  representative  in  the  Legislature,  and 
a  member  of  the  State  Convention  of  1831.  Peter  Price,  who  in 
the  war  of  1812  was  a  Lieutenant  in  a  volunteer  corps,  and  served 
upon  the  Niagara  Frontier.  He  was  an  early  Judge  of  Monroe 
county,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  for  18  years  was  the  supervisor 
of  Rush,  and  for  several  years  chairman  of  the  board  of  Supervi- 
sors of  Monroe  county,  improving  the  opportunities  that  judicial 
otlices  gave  him,  by  study,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  court 
ol"  Conimon  Pleas,  of  Monroe,  and  ultinrttely  in  the  Supreme  Court. 
He  was  emphatically  a  self  made  man,  and  what  is  not  always  the 
case  with  self  made  men,  the  work  was  well  done.  He  died  after  a 
long  and  useful  life,  in  Feb.  1848,  leaving  an  only  daughter  who  is 
the  wife  of  A.  D.  Webster,  a  merchant  in  West  Henrietta.  His 
wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Nathan  Jeffords,  ,4111  survives.  Ja- 
cob  Adam,  and  Philip  Price,  emigrated  to  Michigan  in  1824.     Geo. 


It 

634 


PIIELPS  AND  GORIIAll's   PURCHASE. 


The  dauiih- 


Prico  resides  in  Rush  on  the  homestead  of  the  Aiinilv. 
ter  was  tiie  wife  of  Jacob  !Stull 

The  survix-iny  sons  of  Jacob  Stull,  are:- John  P.  8tull,  George 
StuI  ,  Jam,,.s  Sluli  al   residents  of  Rush.     Chrystal  Tho.nas,  died  m 
844      lie  erect^ed  the  hrst  saw  mill  in  Rush,  on  Stonv   Rrook.  i,. 
1805       Jacob,  Cfn-ystal,  and  David  Thnn.as  are  his  sons.     M,j 
Mook.  ot  Henrietta    IS  a  dauirhter.     John  and  Frederick  Bell  of 
Kush,  are  the  sons  of  the  early  emigrant  from  Maryland,  John  jjell 
In  ad.iilion  to  these  that  have  been  named,  there  were  settled  in 
Rush  previous  to  180(5,  Thomas  Daily,  who  still  survives.     The 
Harmon  family,   who  were   afterwards  early  settlers   in  Svveeden 
and  onumal  proprietors  of  a  lai;ire  portion  ol'  the  villa-e  plat  of 

of  J  ush.  Joseph  M  lar  and  ;  the  father  of  Peter  iMFarland,  of 
Kush.  /(>phaniah  JJranch.  A  large  family  of  (JolTs,  of  which  the 
early  and  widely  known  Elder  G'ofK  was  a  member       • 

Jaseph  Sibley  caine  to  the  Genesee  country  in  1804  — in  1800 
located  ni  Jiush      He  was  from  Renssealer  countv,  N.   V      Like 

witb'  inl     t       •'  '  k"  '"''\  ■:"l^-^'"^^"-^'-«-  l^e  came  into  the  wildernes 
with  little  to  aid  him  in  his  enterprise;  but  with  an  in.Jomitablt 
spin    of  perseverance,  he  looked  at  its  ruuged  features  undismayed, 
and  bo l,t  V  and  successfully  wr.^.tled  through  long  years  with  all  of 

iStUud' lirSlj'"""""-     '^''  ^""^'^^^"^'  ''^^'^'^'  --^'S^  -^ 

"  Tlio  iixc  tlint  w.indroiis  iiistniiiient, 
TiiMt  like  tlii^  hilisinan,  ti-niist'orms 
Ucst'i'ts  to  liulcls  ami  cities," 

and  first  in  one  locality  and  then  in  .aiother,  made  openincrs  in 
he  f-M-est  ;  and  now  m  his  declining  years,  favored  with  almost'un 
interupted  health,  and  a  sound  constitution,  he  is  enjoying  the  frui  s 
of  his  h.bors-,s  settled  down  m  the  midst  of  bnii;  highly  culti- 
vated fields,  constituting  one  of  the  many  large  and  beauliful  ilrm^ 
in  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Genesee.  "^auiiiui  laims 

In  1812  he  changed^his  residence  from  Rush  to  Riiin,  an.l  was  one 
o  the  first  to  commence  clettring  a  farm  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Churchville ;  and  after  that  was  a  resident  of  Chili,'  louiidii,.  tl  e 
mdhng  establishment  on  Bh.ck  creek,  now  owned  by  D  Co ne 
When  in  anticipation  of  the  declaration  of  war,  Gov  Tomnkins 
ordered  drafts  from  the  militia,  he  was  one  of  the  sk-  hundre .1  vob 
unteers  that  supplie.l  the  necessity  of  a  drt.ft,  and  promptly  marched 
to  tlie  frontier,  under  tl '    .•/-.., '—    i 


supervisor  of  Genesee  and  Monroe 


le  command  of  Col  Swift.     H 


lature  ;  for  five  years 


a  canal  superintend 


a  member  of  the  State  L 


e  was  an  early 


eijis- 


the  collector  of  the   port  of  Ge 

and  Samujl  Church,  of  Riga,  to  whom  I 
survives;  a  nioie  lliun  usual  nioiiuliiyJi 


int;  and  more  recently 


Miesee.     His  wife,  the  sister  of  Elihu 
le  was  married  in  1807,  still 

iiw 


lis  prevailed  with  their  i; 


The  dauiih- 

ull,  George 
nus,  died  ii, 
■  iJrook.  in 
oils.     Mrs. 
di  Bell  of 
John  jk'll, 
a  settled  ill 
ives.     The 
I  Svveeden, 
^'e  pjiit  of 
i  Ilartwell, 
'ariand,  of 
whieh  the 

—  in  1800, 
Y.  Like 
wddeniess 
idoinitablt 
idisinnved. 
vith  all"  of 
urage  and 


penings  in 
ihuo.-jt  un- 
ihc  fruits 
hly  culti- 
iliil  larms 

d  was  one 
rhood  of 
idinti;  the 
D.  Cope, 
.'oinpkins 
Ired  voj- 
niarched 
an  early 
e  hems- 
recently 
of  Elihu 
807,  .still 
eir  large 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAJI  rf   PURCHASE. 


535 


family  of  sons  and  daughters;  of  a  family  of  ten  children,  most  of 
whom  hecame  adidts,  hnt  three  siu'vive  : — Horace  J.  Sil)lry  a  stu- 
dent of  law  ill  lloclu'ster ;  Mrs.  John  P.  Stull,  of  Hush  ;  and  Mrs. 
James  M'Ciill,  of  t'incinnatti. 


REMINISCEXCK.S  OF  JOSEPH  SIBLEV. 


AYIicn  I  came  to  Rush,  in  1800,  th(?re  was  no  surveyed  road  in  the 
township.  The  fall  previous,  .Mr.  VVaJsworth  hiid  contracted  with  Major 
Mnrkliam  to  cut  out  a  wuail's  road  as  fur  as  the  line  of  lluiiiicilii;  but  it 
wa-i  several  years  before  it  was  carried  any  farther.  Tho  lirst  surveyed 
road  tl>rough  the  town  and  West  Henrietta,  was  the  State  roal  from  Ark- 
port  to  llie  mouth  of  the  (Jeuesee  river.  A  road  was  surveyed  from  the 
line  ot  Meiuioii  thne.inh  the  "Golf  settlement,"  in  1807;  and  in  1808,  a 
brid;;e  was  built  by  tho  volunteer  labor  of  sotllers,  over  the  lloneoye,  near 
where  State  road  crosses,  In  180!),  a  bridge  was  built  over  tiie  Honeoye, 
in  West  Unsh,  on  r.ver  road,  by  the  town.  In  1817,  the  bridge  on  the 
State  road,  vveut  otV  in  a  freshet,  and  about  the  same  periud,  Austin  VVing, 
a  broliiur  of  Dr.  Wing,  of  Albany,  was  drowned  in  crossing  the  stream. 

There  were  large  patches  of  rushes  both  on  Hats  and  upiaiuLs,  along  the 
river  and  the  lloneoye  Creek;  the  locality  was  called  "Hush  liottom  " — 
thence  the  name  of  tiie  town.  Cattle  would  winter  well  and  thrive  on 
the  rushes;  the  Wadswortha  would  send  large  droves  here  to  winter,  and 
many  were  sent  from  Lima,  llloomtield,  and  Victor,  ibe  rushes  finally  run 
out  by  being  repeatedly  fed  down. 

The  greatest  amount  of  sickness  and  death  that  I  knew  of  in  any  locali- 
ty in  tli(!  Genesee  country,  was  as  late  as  18'2!,  in  the  settlements  along 
on  Black  and  Sandy  (Jreek.  The  prevailing  disease  had  all  the  distinctive 
character  of  the  yellow  lever,  ami  in  a  dense  population,  vvoull  have  been 
equally  as  fatal.  It  was  principally  owing  to  the  erection  of  mill  dams, 
and  consecpient  flooding  of  timbered  lands.  When  the  mill  dams  were 
drawn  oil,  the  sickness  subsided.  In  one  of  tho  earlier  years,  when  Riga 
and  Chili  were  one  town,  it  was  ascertained  that  00  died  in  apopuhuion  of 
less  than  3,000.  At  one  period,  in  a  population  of  83,  within  the  distance 
of  It  miles  alonii' on  the  Hrntklock's  Bay  road,  G3  were  sick,  principally 
with  billions  inlermittents.  In  many  seasons,  along  on  the  river,  the  per 
cent  of  sickness  was  greater  than  has  ever  prevailed  in  any  of  the  large 
cities  of  the  United  States,  not  excepting  even  the  seasons  of  cholera. 
This  was  the  case  in  many  of  the  early  years.  1  have  seen  instances 
when  entire  families  would  be  prostrated,  deaths  would  occur  wiihout  any 
medical  aid,  and  sometimes  even  without  nursing.  Physicians  would  be 
worn  out,  over-run  with  business;  often  it  would  be  twenty-four  hours  af- 
ter they  received  a  call  before  they  could  attend  to  it. 

In  1805,  crops  were  very  light,  and  before  the  harvest  of  180G,  there 
M^as  much  suflering  for  food;  wheat,  went  up  to  $2  50  per  bushel.  The 
season  of  1804  i.ad  been  very  wet,  espec'ally  along  about  corn  harvest; 
aud  the  seed  corn  planted  in  1805,  seemed  to  have  lost  in  a  great  measure 


536 


PHELPS    AND   GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 


l! 


•  Its  germinating  principle ;  much  of  it  rotted  in  the  ground.  The  harvest 
of  1806  was  an  abundant  one;  many  fields  of  wheat  were  fit  to  cut  on 
the  4th  of  July.  Wheat  and  corn  became  a  drug;  neither  would  sell  for 
store  trade,  nor  could  they  be  bartered  for  the  ordinary  necessaries 
of  life.  I  chopped,  cleared,  and  sowed  to  wheat,  twenty  acres  the  first  year 
I  commenced  in  Rush.  I  harvested  from  6  to  700  bushels,  but  could  sell  it 
for  nothing  that  I  wanted,  except  in  a  few  instances.  I  gave  a  blacksmith 
m  JJloomfaeld,  a  bushel  of  wheat  for  putting  a  small  wire  baii  into  a  tea 
kettle.  Leather,  wheat  would  not  buy :  and  so  we  had  to  go  barefoot. 
This  state  of  things  produced  a  large  amount  of  distilling,  and  whiskey 
became  far  too  cheap  for  the  good  of  the  new  country.  The  seasons  of 
1807,  '8'  '9,  '10,  '11,  were  productive,  but  that  of  1812  was  unproductive 
and  they  grew  worse  until  1816  inclusive.  In  that  year,  most  of  the' 
wheat  was  not  fit  to  cut  until  September;  the  corn  crop  was  almost  entire- 
ly lost;  but  little  summer  crops  of  any  kind  were  raised.  From  the  6th  to 
the  12th  of  June,  there  was  frost  every  night.  I  sold  pork  that  year  for 
$10  percwt.,  fresh;  and  beef  for  $6.  The  harvests  of  1817,  '18  were 
tolerable  ones:  from  1819  to  '24,  they  were  universally  prolific.  In  1819 
wheat  went  down  to  31  cents  per  bushel.  ' 

In  early  years,  there  was  none  but  a  home  market,  and  that  was  mostly 
barter:— It  was  so  many  bushels  of  wheat  for  a  cow;  so  many  bushels  for 
a  yoke  of  oxen,  &c.  There  was  hardly  money  enough  in  thee  ountry  to 
pay  taxes.  In  the  way  of  clothing,  buckskin  breeches  and  those  made 
from  hemp  grown  upon  the  river,  were  quite  common.  A  young  man 
would  then  have  to  work  six  months  for  such  a  suit  of  clothes  as  he  could 
now  buy  for  $12.  Few  wore  shoes  or  boots,  except  in  winter.  I  have 
seen  men  who  are  now  wealthy  farmers,  barefoot  long  after  snow  came, 
lie  price  of  a  common  pair  of  cow-hide  boots  would  be  $7,  payable  in 
wheat  at  62  cents  per  bushel.  Judge  Peter  Price  told  me  that  the  first 
horse  he  ever  owned  in  Rush,  he  paid  ten  bushels  of  corn  for  shocincr 
As  a  matter  of  necessity,  l-.or:-.es  mostly  had  to  be  used  without  shoeino-. 
When  we  began  to  have  a  few  sheep,  n  cost  usn  great  deal  of  trouble  t"o 
keep  them  from  the  wolves;  the  coarsest  wool  was  worth  50  cents  per  lb 
and  cash  at  that.  Woolen  shirts  were  a  luxury;  the  most  common  ones' 
were  oi  flax  and  hemp. 

Along  in  years  previous  to  the  war,  there  was  extensive  liemp  culture 
on  the  river.  The  Wadsworths  introduced  it,  raising  much  themselves,  and 
turnisiungseed  for  others;  upon  their  Honeoye  farm,  in  1811  18  acres  of 
hemp  were  raised.  Samuel  M.  Hopkins,  and  his  brother,  Mark  Hopkins, 
were  largely  er  iged  in  the  business  at  one  time,  at  whiit  is  row  Cuyler- 
ville.  Ihe  principal  market  was  at  Albany.  It  finally  became  a  losing 
business;  cultivation,  harvesting,  preparation  for  market,  transoortation,  cost 
too  mucii.     It  was  abandoned  after  an  experiment  of  a  [c\v  years 

Game  was  very  plenty  :-The  hills  of  Rush,  Avon,  Caledonini  Wheat- 
land, valleys  and  uplands,  were  favorite  ranges  for  the  deer.  In  the  win- 
ter of  1806,  '7,  a  deep  snow  came  suddenly  in  December— a  thaw  suc- 


Note.— In  1816,  iho  uutlior  paid  some  Indian  women  at  Monnt  Monis,  $2  per 
tjuft.nci  tor  a  oiiu  liurwu  wngon  load  of  corn,  and  helped  pound  it  outinthc  biu'guin. 


PIIELPS    AND    GORHA^l's   PURCHASE. 


537 


ceeded,  leaving  the  openings  pretty  much  bare,  but  there  was  eight  or  ten 
inches  of  snow  left  in  the  woods,  which  was  suddenly  crusted  over.  This 
drove  the  deer,  in  large  flocks,  into  the  openingr^.  They  were  in  good  con- 
dition, and  we  could  easily  kill  all  we  wante  i.  The  Indians  of  Canawau- 
gus  had  tine  sport,  and  laid  in  stores  of  venison.  In  all  the  early  years, 
those  Indians  were  frequently  upon  the  trails  that  went  down  to  Ironde- 
quoit,  the  Falls,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river.  On  their  return, 
their  ponies  would  be  loaded  down  with  the  spoils  of  the  chase,  the 
tish-hook  and  spear. 

The  winter  I  have  spoken  of,  was  generally  a  very  severe  one ;  toward 
the  last  of  March  and  beginning  of  April,  ihere  was  a  heavy  fall  of  snow ; 
through  Canandaigua,  Phelpstowa,  and  in  all  that  region,  it  was  from  four 
to  five  feet  in  depth ;  on  the  river,  three  and  half  feet.  AH  the  roads  were 
entirely  blocked  up.  A  thaw  carae  suddenly  and  swept  the  flats  of  the 
river  throughout  their  whole  exl«.-nt.  It  was  a  singular  fact,  t  the  robin, 
remained  in  the  country  throw  mt  this  generally  hard  winter,  in  the 
winter  of  1808,  '9,  another  de^  ,  ow  and  crust  occurred.  The  wolves 
and  dogs  made  terrible  havoc  i:  ..ong  the  deer;  the  poor  creatures  would 
take  to  the  roads,  and  flee  into  farmers'  yards  for  refuge.  Venison,  in  the 
way  of  meat,  was  a  great  help  to  new  settlers.  I  have  never  heard  of  a 
regiou  where  deer  were  so  plenty. 

In  the  winter  of  1815,  we  had  a  general  wolf  hunt,  or  drive,  as  it  proved 
to  be..  The  inhabitants  of  the  whole  region  turned  out,  and  surrounded 
all  the  swamps  in  Gates,  Chili,  Wheatland,  aud  Caledonia;  sounded  horns, 
fired  guns,  halloed,  shouted,  and  raised  a  din  of  discordant  sounds. 
Many  deer,  bear  and  foxes  were  killed;  the  wolves  fled,  and  after  that, 
there  was  but  few  seen  in  this  region. 

Ducks  were  abundant  in  the  river  and  tributary  streams  in  early  years. 
There  was  the  wood  duck,  another  species  bearing  a  strong  resemblance  to 
the  common  tame  duck,  shell  drakes,  dippers,  or  divers;  and  occasionally, 
the  real  canvass  back.     Wild  geese  would  come  every  fall  and  sprino; 

Pigeons  would  in  some  seasons  come  in  large  flocks,  and  seriously  injure 
the  newly  sown  crops.  I  have  known  an  hundred  dozen  to  be  cauoht  m  a 
net  in  one  day.  In  1812,  they  made  a  roost  in  a  cedar  swamp  on  Dugan's 
creeli.  They  occupied  the  trees  of  seventy -five  or  eighty  acres;  there 
were,  in  some  instances,  as  many  as  thirty  nests  on  a  single  tree.  The 
young  squabs  were  brought  away  by  the  inhabitants  in  cart  loads.  When 
the  young  ones  loft  the  nests,  they  would  go  off  and  remain  about  the 
neighborhood  in  flocks  by  themselves,  and  it  was  several  months  before  the 
old  and  young  ones  mingled, 

The  black  squirrel  was  a  great  nuisance  in  early  yeara  I  have  ?een 
thirty  on  a  single  tree.  They  would  sometimes  destroy  whole  fields  of 
corn.     They  have  bcv3n  gradually  diminishing. 

The  advent  of  ihe  crow  in  this  region  was  in  1817.  They  had  been 
preceded  by  the  raven,  then-  natural  enemy,  as  I  am  led  to  infer.  The 
crow  made  cautious  and  gradual  approaches ;  at  first,  they  flew  over,  then 
ventured  to  light  on  the  tops  of  the  highest  trees,  in  which  position  muc 
would  seem  to  be  detftrmininp'  if  it  were  safe  to  locate.  It  was  F.nme  w.i 
before  they  became  permanent  residents,  and  had  fairly  expelled  the  r^ 
34 


"1 


]!  ' 


538 


PITELPS  AND  GORHAm's   PUECIIASE. 


In  after  years,  wlien  a  raven  would  venture  to  revisit  tlie  region,  tlie  crows 
would  seem  to  be  gntbered  here  and  there  iu  council,  to  determine  how 
^ulVoTr;:::  "  '-  '''''''-  ^'^  --P-^^-  ^^  '•-  — >  --  the  re" 
In  the  earliest  years,  there  were  a  few  turkey  buzzards  upon  the  river, 
b  they  soon  disappeared.  A  constant  revolution  has  been  goino  on 
Mi  h  birds,  annuals  and  quadrupeds;  old  settlers  Inive  been  disappeaHn^, 
b  d  dn'Tf  ^"r^^^«--  Tl^ere  is  scarcely  a  year  in  which  some  Strang 
I  ..J, .u  ^.4c.rj.irfaa  nM  become  a  permanent  resident. 


Ehsha  Sihley,  a  brother  of  Judge  f^ibjov,  -vas  amonn-  ,he  enrjv 

ley,  VVilIiam  feible}-  Kcj  Jeremiah  Siblov,  of  Ilus!,.  Elisha  Sibley, 

•    S^^t     ""T^'r  ^- '•''''''  S''>'^-y'0<'t^'-'^veland,  and  Martin  and  Joseph 

^'^I'^y- o*  ^^/chignn.     Daughters  became  the  wives  of Holt 

ot  1  ush  Calvni  Norton,  of  Groveland,  and  Jehiel  Markhain 
_  Llnathan  Perry  was  a  settler  in  Rush,  as  earlv  as  ] SOU.  He  vva« 
in  service  (  unngthe  Revolution,  and  came  to*' this  region  in  Sulli- 
van  s  expedition.  At  some  period  during  the  Revolution  he  had 
made  the  acquaintance  of  La  Fayette,  and  was  recognized  by  hin. 
at  Rochester,  in  his  tour  through  this  region  in  1825.^  He  died  in 
1848  ;  his  wKlow  still  snirvives      His  surviving  sons  are,  John  Perry 

a Ll  ivr''t'"'"'  "'i  r  'T'  ^  T^'^^'/'''  ^^"^'''  ^^''-  ^^-^than  Green 
and  Mrs.  feturgess  ol  Rush,  are  his  daughters. 

iVnjamin  Campbell,  who  afterwards  was  a  merchant  and  miller 
m  ^iochester,  ^yas  an  early  merchant  in  Rush  :  soon  after  the  war 
ot  181 J  lie  ,s  now  a  resident  of  Builalo.  John  Webster  and 
Miner,  were  early  merchants. 

as?8n  ^' n"'""'  ^\t']',''' ■  '"  f,'''>'  '''""'^''  Pliysician-as  earlv 
as  1811.     He  was  killed  by  the  lall  ol  a  tree,  fifteen  or  twenty  year's 

S  ll'  M  "'1  ''^  *'?V"J?f^"''  -^^^  A.s,semb!y  from  Monroe,  is  a  ^on 
ot  his  ,  Mrs.  Jeremiah  hibley,  ol  Rush,  and  Mrs.  Robert  Martin,  of 
Irlenrietta,  are  hi.s  daughters. 

loi^f  ^°?!''"^^  SmithVommenced  practice  soon  after  the  war  of 
8 U  and  IS  vet  a  practicing  physician  in  the  toxvn.     He  married  a 
daughter  ot  the  early  Pioneer,  Col.  Wm.  Markham. 

ihe  irst  rehgiou.  society  organised  in  ]{ush,  was  of  the  Baptist 
oidei ;  their  early  settled  clergyman.  Elder  (ioti:  They  erected  a 
stone  church  about  If^yo  Elder  Badger  organized  a  christian  so- 
ciety  in  early  years.  A  Lutheran  society  was  organized  in  early 
ycar.s;  and  built  a  church  about  IS.'JO. 

The  town  of  IJush  was  organized  in  1818.  The  first  town  meet- 
ing was  lield  at  the  house  of  Rcnajah  Hilliufrs.  Tli'>  ofhc-rs  chosen 
were:— William  Markham,  supervisor,  Peter  Price,  town   clerk. 


. 


was 


M 


piiELPs  AND  goiuiam's  pukoiiase.  539 

Other  town  ofTiccrs:  — Nat' 1  an  JefTords,  Jacol)  Stull,  John  Mark- 
ham,  Natlian  Rose,  Dudley  Braiiiard,  Clark  Davis,  Ueorge  Liday, 
Peter  ]*rice,  Adolplms  Allen,  Alfred  Jones,  John  Ford,  J3enj.  Cam}).' 
bell_.  Daniel  llulburt,  Philip  II.  llich,  Alexander  Kelsey,  Oliver  Case, 
Jericl  Smith,  Nathan  Gilpin,  Henry  Hart. 


iiexrip:tta. 


James  Sperry,  Esq.,  who  is  generally  familiar  with  the  dcductionr, 
of  land  titles  in  this  region,  is  under  the  impression  that  T.  12, 
7th  R..  which  now  constitutes'the  town  of  Henrietta,  was  sold  bv 
Phelps  and  Gorham,  previous  to  the  general  sale  to  the  J^ondon  As- 
sociates. In  tiie  general  deed  of  conveyance  there  is  no  reservation 
of  that  township,  except  that  of  900  acres  to  "Major  E.  Scott," 
and  the  author  therefore  concludes  that  the  main  portion  of  the 
township  became  a  part  of  the  Pulteney  estate :  and  this  belief  is 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the  township  assumed  the  name  of 
the  daughter  of  Sir.  Wm.  Pulteney.  Mr.  Wads  worth  sold  the 
township  during  l.  tour  in  Europe,  to  William  Six,  of  Hague,  in 
Holland,  and  two  associates,  as  the  agent  of  the  I^ondon  Associ- 
ates, as  is  inferred.  When  he  returned  from  Europe,  the  sale  and 
settleinent  of  the  town,  constituted  one  of  his  numerous  agencies. 
He  did  u<jt,  as  would  seem,  l)ring  it  into  market  until  the  late  period 
of  ^1800.     In  that  year,  Stephen  Rodgers  surveyed  it  into  farm  lots. 

The  name,  "  Major  E.  Scott,"  as  entered  in  the  ollice  of  Messrs. 
Phelps  and  Gorham,  should  have  been,  Alajor  Isaac  Scott.  He  had 
been_  either  an  agent  or  surveyor,  for  Phelps  and  Gorham,  and  to 
satisfy  a  claim,  or  to  fulfill  a  promit,e  of  reward,  they  apportioned 
to  him  900  acres,  on  the  River,  in  the  south  west 'corner  of  the 
township.  Although  displeased  with  the  location  that  had  been  as- 
signed him,  he  settled  up;'n  it  soon  after  1790,  built  a  log  house, 
cleared  some  ten  or  fifteen  acres,  remained  in  his  solitary  wood's 
home  ibr  two  or  three  years;  but  becoming  discouraged,  from  sick- 
ness in  his  lamily,  and  other  endurances  incident  \o  pioneer  life, 
he  gave  up  his  enterprise,  and  the  tract,  by  some  exchange  or  com- 
in-omis(\  was  again  merged  in  the  township.  This  was  the  untoward 
conuTiencement  of  settlement  in  what  is  now  the  wealthy  and  flour- 
ishing town  of  Henrietta.  It  was  a  hard  region  to  begin  in,  desirable 
as  it  would  now  seem  ;  the  lands  were  most  of  them  flat,  wet  and 
heavily  timt)ered;  and  the  whole  region  had  a  forbidding  as[)ect,  as 
many  will  recollect,  in  the  earliest  years  of  settlement. 

The.  next  adventurers,  and  in  fact  the  i)ioneer  settlers  of  the  town, 
in  reference  to  permanent  settlement,  were:  —  Jcssee  Pangburn. 
Lymau  and  Warren  Hawiey.  They  came  in  in  1800.  liesides 
tliem,  the  purchasers  in  the  township,  in  this  year,  were :  —  Charles 


Ml 


540 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAJl's    PURCHASE. 


Rice,  William  Thompson,  Moses  Goodale,  Thomas  Sparks,  George 
Dickinson,  Sela  Reed,  Asa  Charnplin,  Gideon  Grisvvold.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1807,  there  were  settled,  and  about  to  settle  in  the  east  part  of 
the  township,  mostly  on  what  was  called  the   "  VVadsworth  Road  :  " 

—  Joseph  Came,  Ira  Hatch,  Moses  Wilder,  Charles  Rice,  Jonathan 

Russell,  Benjamin   Bales,  Parish,   Barnes,  Elias 

Wilder  ;  and  soon  after  the  jieriod  named,  there  were  added  to  the 
settlement,  the  Baldwin  family  and  Eiisha  Gajre. 

But  few  sales  and  settlement  took  place  in  1807  and  '8 ;  in  1800, 
'10,  nearly  all  the  most  desirable  lands  in  the  township  were  contrac- 
ted. In  the  latter  part  of  1811,  the  sales  were  arrested  in  conse- 
(juence  ot-  the  discovery  that  the  foreign  proprietors  had  neglected 
to  put  their  deeds  upon  record  in  the  ofKce  ot  the  Secretary  of 
State,  as  they  were  required  to  do  by  a  special  statute.  The  set- 
tlers were  advised  by  Mr.  Wadsvvorth  to  use  their  means  in  making 
improvements,  and  in  preparing  to  pay  the  purchase  money  when 
the  dilliculty  in  the  way  of  title  was 'removed.  In  the  winter  of 
1813,  '14,  Mr.  Wadsworth  (h'ew  up  a  petition,  which  was  generally 
signed  by  the  settlers,  praying  the  legislature  to  pass  a  law  which  in 
etlect  would  allow  the  proprietors  to" supply  the  omission  of  record 
within  one  year  after  the  close  of  the  then  pending  war.  The 
prayer  was  granted,  and  in  1817  title  was  perfected.  Soon  after 
this,  Mr.  Wadsworth  purchased  of  the  foreign  projv  Motors,  all  of  the 
unsold  lands  in  the  township. 

On  the  perfection  of  title,  a  somewhat  stringent  policy  was  adop- 
ted by  the  proprietors,  in  reference  to  the  outstandinir  expired  con- 
tracts :  —  The  contract  price,  $4  per  acre,  had  been  fixed  at  a  time 
when  Henrietta  vvas  looked  upon  as  a  quite  out  of  the  way  place 

—  a  back  settlement  —  "  thirty  miles  from  Canandaigua,"  and  pros- 
l)ectively  far  removed  from  market  iacilities.  In  1817  the  whole 
face  of  things  had  changed,  and  was  changing:  —  A  village  had 
sprung  up  at  "the  Falls,''  (Rochester,)  milling,  and  other  manutac- 
turing  was  in  progress  there,  and  large  expectations  had  began  to 
be  formed  in  reference  to  the  locality  ;  and  what  was  still  more  im- 
portant, the  speedy  prosecution  of  the  then  projected  Erie  Canal, 
was  confidently  anticipated.  New  terms  were  imposed  upon  the 
settlers,  or  rather  what  amounted  to  new  terms,  for  although  they 
had  had  a  long  time  to  prepare  for  payment,  they  were  mostly  un- 
prepared ;  —  it  was  in  years  when  new  settlers  could  do  little  more 
than  provide  for  present  support  of  themselves  and  families.  The 
conditions  imposed  were  :  —  t»avment  in  fu"  ipon  their  contracts  at 
contract  price,  within  about  four  months,  or  payment  in  full  for 
twenty  acres  or  more  at  contr -ct  price,  and  a  new  contract  for  all 
that  remained  unpaid  for,  at  an  advance  of  GO  percent ;  or  paying 
nothing,  and  taking  new  contracts,  the  66  per  cent  was  to  be  ad- 
ded. The  new  conditions  imposed  were  upon  the  principle  that 
the  proprietors  and  settlers,  were  entitled  to  an  equal  share  of  what 


PHELPS  AND  GOKIIA^yi  8  PURCHASE. 


5-il 


would  be  regarded  as  a  lair  estimate,  of  the  rise  in  value  tliat  liad 
occurred  since  the  original  contracts  were  made;  a  principle  that 
governed  large  land  proprietors  in  other  similar  instances,  but  which 
did  not  give  due  weight  to  the  consideration,  that  it  is  tlie  ])ioneers 
who  first  break  into  new  tracts  of  land  —  commence  improvements 
—  who  principally  give  the  lands  their  enhanced  value.  But  few 
of  the  settlers  could  meet  the  prompt  payment  demanded ;  most  of 
them  were  obliged  to  submit  to  the  terms  of  renewed  contracts ;  un- 
toward years  followed,  and  the  finale  was  the  loss,  with  many,  of 
their  improvements ;  while  many  were  obliged  to  sell  at  a  sacrifice, 
and  renew  in  some  western  region,  a  j)ioneer  lil'e.  Such  has  been 
the  fate  of  many  early  settlers  in  other  localities  of  the  Genesee 
country,  but  in  few  instances  perhaps,  were  there  as  large  a  propor- 
tion of  changes  of  ocupants  as  in  Henrietta.  But  few,  in  fact,  of 
the  early  settlers  became  permanent  residents. 

The  Sperry  family,  as  will  have  been  observed  in  another  con- 
nection, settled  in  Henrietta  in  1809,  —  or  a  part  of  it  in  that  year, 
and  a  part  in  1813;  their  location,  what  was  termed  "Methodist 
Hill."     John  Briminstool  was  the  first  settler  on  the  River  road,  in 

1810.  His  father,  Michael  Briminstool,  settled  on  the  same  road  in 

1811.  In  that  year,  the  only  settlers  on  the  lliver  road  from  Enos 
Stone's,  in  Brighton,  to  .south  line  of  Henrietta,  were  the  Brimin- 

stool's,  John  Cook, Russell,  and  a  family  in  a  log  house  near 

Mt.  Hope ;  to  whom  were  added  before  the  close  of  the  year,  Lu 
ther  C.  Adams,  Charles  Case,  Isaac  F.  Nichols,  Hugh  and  Frederick 
Sample,  Simon  Moore,  Bethuel  Hitchcock,  and  Charles  Colegrove. 
In  the  same  year,  Andrew  and  John  Bushman,  and  John  Gould  set- 
tled on  cross  road  between  River  and  State  road.  With  a  little 
assistance  from  Mr.  Wadsworth  the  River  road  was  opened  through 
Henrietta  to  the  Falls,  in  1812  :  —  "  but,"  says  Deacon  Briminstool, 
"we  had  but  little  business  in  that  direction  ;  we  used  sometimes  to 
go  down  the  river  to  fish,  and  sometimes  to  mill."  In  1812  Joshua 
Briminstool  and  William  Frazier,  and  soon  after,  Daniel  BIy  and 
Timothy  Torrence  settled  upon  the  road.  Of  the  early  settlers  in 
that  part  of  the  town,  the  surviving  residents  are,  Michael  Brimin- 
stool, Charles  Case,  and  Andrew  and  John  Bushman.  Deacon  Brim- 
instool is  now  in  his  81st  year.  Jacob  Briminstool,  of  Henrietta,  is 
a  surviving  son;  a  daughter  of  his  became  the  wife  of  James  Mc- 
Nall. 

Moses  Wilder  set  out  the  first  orchard  in  town,  and  built  the  first 
framed  house;  Elias  wilder  the  first  barn.  Elias  Wilder  moved  to 
Conncaut,  Ohio,  soon  after  the  war  of  1812.  His  surviving  sons, 
are,  Amasa  Wilder,  of  Richmond,  Moses  Wilder  and  Palmer  B. 
Wilder,  of  Rochester;  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Jonathan 
Rood,  of  Pittsford,  Clark  Marshall,  of  Waterbury,  Vt.,  Orrin  An- 
derson, of  Orleans  county,  Jairus  Bryant,  of  Pontiac,  Michigan. 
Ira  Hatch  removed  to  Cattaragus  county.     Jonathan   Russell  is 


542 


PITELrS  AND    GORHAil's    PURCHASE. 


still  livincr  in  Henrietta.  Benjamin  Bales  removed  in  an  early  day 
to  Ontario, Wiiyne  county;  and  also  the  Barns  and  Parish  families, 

The  fir.st  religious  meetings  held  in  town,  were  at  the  house  of 
Moses  Wilder,  by  circuit  preachers  :  —  Elder  S.  Puffer,  Lacey,  Fill- 
more.    The  first  school  on  Wadsworth  road,  was  opened  in  1809, 
in  a  log  school  house  that  stood  near  Stephens'  corners.     The  school 
was  kept  by  Sarah  Leggett.     The  first  military  muster  in  town. 

was  in   1810.     Joseph  Bancroft  was  captain  ;  Hodge,  who 

was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Queenston,  was  the  Lieutenant.  It  was 
remembered  that  but  few  of  the  trainers  had  guns,  and  most  of  them 
were  barefooted.  A  saw  mill  was  erected  in  1811  or  '12,  by  Jon- 
athan Smith. 

In  1814,  Elder  Thomas  Gorton  settled  on  the  river  road.  He 
had  previously  resided  in  Lima.  A  Baptist  society  had  been  or- 
ganized two  years  previous,  and  meetings  had  been  kept  up.  Deacon 
Briminstool  generally  leading  in  them.'  After  Elder  Gorton  settled 
in  the  neighborhood,  a  block  meeting  house  was  erected.  The  Elder 
emigrated  to  Michigan  in  1840.  He  had  thirteen  children  who  be- 
came heads  of  lamilies.  The  first  school  on  River  road,  was  opened 
in  1810,  by  Lucy  Branch,  now  Mrs.  Solomon  Nichols,  of  Cattarau- 
gus county.  A  religious  reading  meeting  was  started  in  1811,  by  the 
elder  Mr.  Sperry,  on  the  State  road,  which  terminated  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  Congregational  society,  in  1815.  A  log  meeting  house 
was  erected,  but  no  stated  preaching  was  maintained  until  the  Rev. 
Wm.  P.  Kendrick  was  employed  by  the  society  in  1823.  In  1833, 
the  society  was  merged  with  another  that  had  been  organized  in  the 
east  part  of  the  town,  and  their  present  nrieeting  house  near  the 
Academy  was  erected. 

In  1813  or  '14,  a  Baptist  society  was  organized  in  the  east  part 
of  the  town,  over  which  Elder  John  Finney  was  settled  for  several 
years.  In  1827  the  east  and  west  societies  were  merged,  and  a 
house  erected  at  Henrietta  corners.  Over  this  united  church  Elder 
Miner  was  settled  until  1838,  when  a  division  took  place,  and 
churches  were  erected  at  West  Hem-ietta,  and  in  the  east  part  of 
the  town. 

To  the  enterprise,  and  just  appreciation  of  the  cause  of  education, 
on  the  part  of  a  few  citizens  of  the  town  of  Henrietta,  the  inhabitants 
of  all  this  region  were  indebted  tor  an  early  flourishing  literary  insti- 
tution.  Monroe  Academy  was  projected  as  early  as  1825.  Before 
the  close  of  1820  a  sufficient  amount  of  subscriptions  were  obtained 
to  warrant  the  erection  of  a  building.  The  contract  went  into  the 
hands  of  Benjamin  Baldwin,  a  young  merchant  of  the  town ;  the 
Academy  building  was  completed  and  the  whole  enterprise  was 
fairly  under  way  under  the  auspices  of  David  Crane  as  Principal, 
in  the  winter  of '28 '9.  Among  its  rnost  active  projectors  .ind  pat- 
rons, wr  re  : —  Luther  C.  Chamberlin.  Richard  Wilkins.  Richard 
Daniels,  ElishaGaae.  Bediamin  Baldwin,  Abijah  Gould, 


ieajamm 


PHEL:ra  AND   GORIIAM  R  PTJEOIIASE. 


■'c 


543 


Ozias  Church,  (father  of  the  present  Lieut.  Governor,)  of  Henrietta, 
and  Giles  Bolton,  of  Rochester.  Its  success  exceeded  the  most  san- 
guine anticipations;  its  students  soon  numbering  as  manv  as  350. 
It  continued  to  he  a  flourishing  institution  in  all  the  early  vears  of  its 
existence,  and  supi)lied  a  local  ^'  (ici.  ,u;y  that  had  existed  in  the 
means  of  education ;  and  only  declined  when  similar  institutions 
were  rapidly  niulti|)lied  in  otirjr  localiti  's. 

Early  settlers  of  Henrietta,  other  than  those  named  :  —  Ebenezer 
Gooding,  a  son  of  the  early  pioneer  in  Bristol,  Warren  Burr,  Ros- 
well  Wickwire,  Elijah  Little,  Stephen  Legget,  Alfred  Jones,  Noble 

Dayton,  Charles  Bahvin, .  Scudder. 

_  The  Pioneer  sr^tdement  of  Henrietta,  owing  to  its  secluded  posi 
lion,  its  heavy  ti;  iber,  and  the  prevalence  generally  of  level  lands 
and  wet  soil,  to  which  was  added  vears  of  questionable  title ;  was 
slow  and  discouragin-^  As  with  all  the  rest  of  this  region  —  but 
especially  with  that  and  several  other  localities  — the  "good  time" 
came  with  the  Eri  canal ;  or  when  that  great  promoter  and  diffuser 
of  prosperity  had  bi^come  a  settled  measure.  The  town  is  now 
justly  ranked  among  the  best  agricultural  towns  of  Western  New 
York ;  and  no  where,  perhaps,  do  farms  bear  a  higher  average  value. 


CHAPTER    II 


MORRIS'  RESERVE. 


The  territory  thus  designated  is  bounded  on  the  east  ny  Phelps 
and  Gorham's  purchase ;  north  by  Lake  Ontario ;  west  by  the 
Transit,  or  Holland  Company's  eastern  line;  south  by  the  Penn- 
sylvania line;  —  containing  in  all,  not  far  from  500,000  acres.  It 
was  a  reservation  made  by  Mr.  Morris,  in  his  sale  to  the  Holland 
Company,  and  afterwards  sold  in  large  tracts  to  others  — principally 
to  preferred  creditors.  The  northern  portion  of  it,  the  settlement 
of  which  will  only  be  included  in  thid  connection,  was  divided  into 
two  tracts: — the""  Triangle,"  and  the  "Connecticut,"  or  "  100,000 
acre  Tract." 


THE  TRIANGLE. 


This  is  a  tract,  which  as  will  be  observed  by  reference  to  maps, 
has  its  base  upon  Lake  Ontario,  and  terminates  in  a  sharp  point,  a 


544 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's  PUECnASE. 


little  south  of  Le  Roy  village.  The  peculiar  shape  had  its  origin 
in  the  north  easterly  direction  it  was  necessary  to  give  the  west 
line  of  Phelps  and  Gorham's  Purchase,  in  order  to  have  it  corres- 
pond with  the  course  of  the  Genesee  River,  and  be  an  average  dis- 
tance of  twelve  miles  therefrom.*  The  tract  contains  87,000  acres  ; 
embraces  the  towns  of  Clarkson,  Sweeden,  and  part  of  Bergen  and 
Le  Roy.  Mr.  Morris  sold  it  to  Le  Roy,  Bayard  and  M'Evers,  who 
were  then  merchants  of  the  city  of  New  York.  It  was  not  sur- 
veyed until  1801.  In  the  spring  of  that  year,  Mr.  Eliicott,  as  agent 
for  the  proprietors,  employed  Richard  M.  Stoddard  who  then  resi- 
ded m  Canandaigua,  and  had  been  in  the  emplov  of  the  Holland 
Company,  to  survey  the  tract ;  and  after  the  survey  he  became  the 
local  agent  for  its  sale  and  settlement. 

Mr.  Stoddard  had  married  the  sister  of  Dudley  Saltonstall,  of 
Canandaigua,  who  took  an  interest  with  him  in  the  purchase  of  500 
acres  of  the  tract,  which  constitutes  the  site  of  Le  Roy  village. 
Mr.  Saltonstall  soon  sold  his  interest  to  Ezra  Piatt,  who  was  also  a 
resident  of  Canandaigua,  and  one  of  the  early  Judges  of  Ontario. 
Stoddard  and  Piatt,  became  the  Pioneers  of  Le  Roy,  and  all  of  the 
Triangle.  Before  the  close  of  1801  they  had  built  a  log  house  on 
the  banks  of  Allan's  creek,  opened  a  land  office,  and  were  erecting 
mills  at  what  was  then  called  "  Buttermilk  Falls."  Mr.  Stoddard 
was  sheriff  of  Genesee  county  soon  after  its  organization ;  in  all 
early  years  a  prominent  and  useful  citizen.  His  widow  still  sur- 
vives, a  resident  with  her  son,  Thomas  B.  Stoddard,  Esq,  near  Irving, 
Chautauque  county.  The  only  daughter  was  the  first  wife  of  the 
Hon.  John  B  Skinner,  of  Wyoming.  Mr.  Stoddard  died  in  1810. 
Ezra  Piatt,  who  was  at  one  period  First  Judge  of  Genesee,  died  in 
1811 ;  Elijah  and  George  Piatt  of  Le  Roy,  and  Ezra  Piatt,  of  Ann 
Arbor,  are  his  sons ;  Mrs.  Stephen  M.  Wolcott,  of  Le  Roy,  is  a 
daughter  of  Judge  Piatt. 

This  pioneer  commencement  has  reference  to  the  immediate  vil- 
lage of  Le  Roy.  Near  the  village,  on  the  main  road,  east,  it  will 
have  been  observed,  Capt..  Ganson  had  succeeded  Charles  Wilbur 
in  a  public  house  in  1798.  In  reference  to  the  whole  towij  Mr.  Wil- 
bur was  the  pioneer.  He  was  the  first  justice  of  the  peaie  west  of 
Caledonia.  Removing  fron.  Le  Roy,  he  located  at  the  Cold  Springs, 
near  Lockport,  becoming  the  first  settler  in  all  that  part  of  Niagara 
county.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Deacon  Handy,  of  West 
Bloomfield  ;  a  daughter,  the  first  born  in  Le  Roy,  is  Mrs.  Standart, 
of  Cleavland.     Jessee  and  Philip  Beach,  Chapman  Hawley,   Gil- 


*  Tlie  survey  of  the  Mill  Tract  -n-aa  first  made  l)v  Col.  Hugh  Maxwell.  He  ran 
twelve  miles  west  from  tlie  ri\cr,  and  tlieii  due  north  to  Lake  Ontario.  Tliis  beiufr 
objected  to  by  the  Indians,  tlio  late  Judu:e  Porter  ran  a  new  line,  whicli  was  as  near 
an  avr-rage  of  twelve  miles  di^latit  from  tlie  River  as  a  straight  lii;e  would  allow.  Li 
after  surveys,  west  of  this  line,  the  tract  which  Porter's  survey  struck  out  from  the 
Maxwell  survey,  became  what  has  been  termed  the  Triangle. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's  PURCHASE. 


545 


Douglass,  Samuel  Davis,  and  Hinds  Chamberlin, 


bert  Hall,  — 

were  soon  added  to  the  new  settlement  east  of  the  present  village 
site.  The  Beaches  removed  to  Niagara  county  where  many  of 
their  descendants  now  reside.  Deacon  Hinds  Chamberlin,  who  is 
named  in  another  connection,  came  a  young  man  to  Scottsville,  as 
early  as  1795.  He  was  elected  a  constable  in  1798,  for  the  whole 
region  west  of  the  River;  first  serving  precepts  issued  by  a  magis- 
trate at  Avon ;  and  afterwards  those  issued  by  Esq.  Fish.  As  a 
road  commissioner  he  laid  out  the  first  road  west  of  theRiver,  from 
Scottsville  to  Hall's  corners.  He  married  previous  to  1800,  the 
widow  of  Malcolm  M'Laren,  of  Caledonia.  He  aied  in  1849,  aged 
84  years.  Some  reminiscences  of  his,  will  be  found  in  Holland 
Purchase,  p.  321 ;  to  a  son  of  his,  Mr.  S.  Chamberlin,  of  Le  Roy, 
the  author  has  been  indebted  for  some  farther  reminiscences  obtain- 
ed from  the  early  pioneer,  previous  to  his  death.*  Mr.  Davis  be- 
came an  early  tavern  keeper,  a  mile  east  of  Le  Roy.  He  was  from 
Bloomfield ;  lived  in  early  life  with  General  Hall ;  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  Scott,  the  pioneer  of  Scottsville.  He  was  murdered  in 
his  own  house,  in  1827  or  '8,  by  James  Gray,  who  was  excuted  at 
Batavia.  The  father  of  Gray,  who  was  implicated  in  the  murder, 
was  sentenced  to  the  States  prison,  pardoned  by  the  Governor,  and 
died  in  Le  Roy  a  few  years  since.  The  Grays  were  intoxicated; 
the  immediate  provocation  was  the  refusal  of  Mr.  Davis  to  give  up 
a  child  of  James  Gray  that  was  indented  to  him. 

Gen.  Daniel  Davis  was  a  settler  as  early  as  1801,  and  also  became 
an  early  tavern  keeper.  He  was  ;in  early  military  officer,  succeed- 
ing Joseph  Hewitt  in  the  command  of  a  company  of  militia ;  had 
attained  the  rank  of  Brig.  General  on  the  occurrence  of  the  war  of 
1812 ;  was  killed  at  the  sortie  of  Fort  Erie. 

Asa  Buell  was  a  settler  soon  after  1800  ;  had  held  a  commission 
in  the  Revolution  ;  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Conn. ; 
died  in  1825  or  '6  ;  a  son  was  killed  with  Gen.  Davis  at  the  sortie  of 
Fort  Erie  ;  a  surviving  son  occupies  the  homested. 

The  following  list  embraces  the  names  of  all  who  purchased  land 
upon  the  Triangle,  from  commencement  of  sales  until  the  close  of 
1809.  Generally  it  is  the  names  of  the  early  Pioneers,  though  in 
some  instances,  it  is  presumed,  the  purchasers,  or  holders  of  contracts 
never  became  residents.     And  it  is  also  to  be  considered  that  many 

Note.  —  In  reminiscences  ef  Le  Roy,  reference  will  be  had  to  tlie  wliole  town,  witli- 
out  any  distinction  as  to  that  poition  of  it  which  is  on  the  Triangle. 

*  Mr.  Chamberlin  has  forwarded  to  the  author  the  first  deed  given  for  a  farm  lot, 
west  of  Caladonia.  John  Johnstone,  as  the  agent  of  William  Hornby,  conveys  100 
acres  of  land  in  Le  Roy,  to  Josepli  Hewitt.  The  blank  was  printed  by  "  L.  Gary, 
Canandaigtia."  Mr.  Hcwett  paid  for  his  farm  thus  early  witli  the  i)roceeds  of  a  con- 
tract with  Mr.  Ellicott,  fur  buii Jiug  the  fiist  bridge  uver  Allan's  creek,  at  Le  Roy.  lie 
removed  to  Lewiston,  Niagara  county,  in  early  years,  where  he  became  a  successful 
farmer,  and  where  his  descendants  now  reside. 


■ii ! 


;46 


PIIELPS    AND    OOItHAM's   PUKCIIASE. 


transfers  of  contracts  were  made,  in  which  cases  the  names  of 
the  actual  settlers  may  not  appear :  — 


'      TowN>iiirp  J. 
Ducllf    Walioiwtall, 
E.  il.  a»odUaid, 


Township  1. 
Elias  Undenvdod, 
E.  Uacoii, 
William  Gilmorc, 


TowNsnir  1. 
Isaac  Marsli, 

'I'owNsnii'  4. 
Moody  Freeman.] 


Township  1. 
PliiloiiKiii  iVcttlcton, 
James  Bates, 
John  Fordham. 

TOWNSUIP  5. 

Benj.  Fox, 


TOWNSITIP  1. 

Gaines  Uiown, 
Jessee  Foskett, 
Ccplias  Fordbam,' 
Martin  Kelsey, 
James  Bates, 
Jessee  Giiswold, 
Daniel  Le  Barron, 
Sylvan  us  Fail-field, 
Joseph  Mapes, 
Ella  Sinitli. 

Township  2. 
Eirliard  Abbey, 
Abraliam  Davis, 
Aley  under  Wliite, 


Township  1. 
Simon  I'ieison, 
Joseph  Pierson, 
Oliver  Bates. 

Township  2. 
Samuel  Oleason. 
William  Peters, 
Jonathan  Tliompson, 
Willard  Leach, 
fleorge  L(}tson, 
Joseph  Eldridge, 
Sanmcl  Farley, 
David  Johnson, 


1801. 

Township  1. 
David  Fainliild, 
Thaddous  Keys, 

1802. 

Township  1. 
Lemuel  F.  Prindell, 
Natlian  Hnrvey, 
Jormiiiih  H.iMaU, 

1803. 

^Township  5. 
John  Barns, 
Amos  W.  Sweet, 
John  Cobb. 

1804. 

Township  2. 
David  Scott. 
Jolm  Landon,    ' 
Benajah  Wordeu. 

Township  4. 
James  Sayres, 

1805. 

Township  2. 

James  Austin, 
David  Potter, 
Solomon  Loach, 
Cotton  Leacli, 
Gideon  Elliott, 
Isaac  Leacli, 
Levi  Leach, 
Daniel  Kelsey, 
David  Franklin, 
Jolm  I'ieison. 

Township  3. 
Isaiah  Wliito, 
Jonathan  Freeman, 
TJiomas  White. 

1806. 

Township  2, 
Roger  Kelsey, 
James  Gano. 

Township  ,3. 
Jas.  D.  Mowlat, 
Archibald  M' Knight, 
Josepli  Hopkins, 
Levi  Gilbert, 
Gideon  Orr, 
John  Ellis, 

ToVv-N-SHIP  -l. 

Wm.  Spafford, 
Samuel  Algur, 


Township  I. 
EbeiK'zer  Oicen, 
Aaron  Scriljuer. 


Township  1 . 
Abraliam  liiissell, 
Horace  She|iherd, 
Joshua  Woodward. 


Township  2. 
Jacob  Fuller. 


Township  4. 
Elijah  Blodgett. 

Township  o. 
James  M'Casaon. 


Township  4. 
John  Fowle, 
Wm.  Davis, 
Simeon  Daggett, 
David  Stanton, 
Noah  Owen, 
Benj.  Boyd, 
Isaac  Farwell, 
John  Farwell. 

Township  5. 
Abigal  Sayer, 
John  Chajiman, 


Township  4. 
Aretas  Haskcdl, 
Julius  Curtiss, 
Samuel  Cliiswell, 
Ebenezer  Towlo, 
Svhester  Eldritlge, 
Iv^oah  Owen, 
Olney  F.  Rice, 
Carr  Draiier. 

Township  5. 
Perry  G.  Nichols. 


ill 

] 

PHELPS 

1-      i 

andoorham's  purcil^e.                 547 

1 

1807. 

I 

Township  1. 

Township  2. 

Township  3. 

H 

Oliver  Biites, 

James  Larulon, 

Ephraim  (barter. 

H 

Jainos  BiiteH, 

Sylvanus  Durlain, 

Bethucl  H.iiTou, 

IB 

Lock  wood  G.  Iloyt, 

Aug.  lUieli, 

Amos  Parks, 

wL 

SylvjiiniH  Franklin, 

Joim  (iifford. 

I'liah  L.  James, 

Wt 

I'liilo  i'iorson. 

Cyrus  (litFord, 

AV^m.  James, 

,  ^M 

ToWNSIlU-  2. 

Dyre  Thomas, 

AV.  Stewart, 

,  ^M 

Abriiliani  Davis, 

Jo.sej)!!  Tiiroop, 

Elisha  Stewart, 

'  ^M 

Levi  UussellJr., 

Orange  Throop, 

Bi'iij.  Sheldon, 
Elislia  Ewer. 

^M 

Pliili[)  Conklin, 

David  Johnson, 

^M 

John  A.  Lackor, 
Aaron  H.  Kelsoy, 
Ei)er  (Jriswold, 
Wlieaton  Southworth, 
Hein-y  i).  (Jillbrd, 
Jeretuiali  Hart, 

A.  Bissell. 
Township  3. 

John  Ellis, 
John  Reed, 
Samuel  Bishop, 
Stei)lien  Jolmson, 

Township  4. 
Patrick  Fowler, 

JoHe[)ii  Grover,                                                     i  i 
Wiliiur  Sweet,                                                      ■  '■  ! 
Levi  Loaeli, 
Eli  (Hiuis, 

1 

Ahiier  Lovejoy, 
D,  l{.  Peters, 
Benj.  Woodward, 
Wju.  Woodward, 

Josej)h  Ho  )kins, 
Wm.  Dunsha, 
Samuel   Liucoln, 
Luke  Chase, 

1808. 

Wm.  Dickinson, 
Anthonv  Case, 
S.  Bigelow. 

1 

TowNsiiir  I. 

Township  3. 

Township  3. 

H 

John  Richards, 

Walter  Palmer, 

Wm.  Bentley,                                                        ■     ,' 

^M 

1                           Leonard  I'arinelee, 

Linc<iln  Palmer, 

Niclioliis  Jjako, 

^M 

Win.  Wolcott, 

Cyrus  Hatch, 

Oramel  Butler, 

^M 

Daniel  Waite. 

Rufus  Harinan, 

Simeon  Gray, 

^E 

Nathaniel  Kin;?. 

John  A.  Tone, 

Joseiili  Luce. 
Township  4. 

^M 

TOWNSHU'  2. 

Reuben  Stickney, 

'  ^1 

Benj.  Wright, 
Levi  Wanl,  Sen. 

Joseph  Ekiridge, 
Steplien  Lyman, 
Josnua  Green, 

Eldiidge  Farwell, 

^M 

John  Mallory,                                              ^^Ji  * 

tH 

John  Ward, 

Lsaac  Iiincoin,                                             HMII 

I^H 

Levi  Ward,  Jr., 

Cyrus  Galloway, 

Eli  Mead,                                                    ^^^H 

1^1 

BetHoy  Whipple. 

Wm.  M.  Bentley, 

Wilbur  Sweet,                                            ^^Hi 

!^l 

Win,  Munger, 
John  Wright, 

Charles  Warren, 

L.  W.  Udall,                                              ^n 

)*  ^^1 

Wm.  B.  Worden, 

Robert  Clark,                                              WkM 

■t  ^^M 

Joseph  'i'hroop, 

Aaron  Hill, 

Robert  Hoy,                                               ^^^ 

^M 

Polly  (Hfford, 

Moses  J.  HiU, 

Robert  Brown,                                                j,  i'> 

^B 

Peleg  'i'honias. 

Juihih  Church, 

Jas.  M.  Brown,                                              .- 

^M 

Abijah  Cai)ron, 

Natliauiel  Pool, 

Oliver  Hamlin, 

^M 

Simeon  Gray, 

Daniel  C.  Stoue, 

Dani'ortli  Howe, 

^M 

Wni.  H.  Miinger, 

David  Lovett, 

Macv  Brown. 

^M 

TowNsi'ii-  3. 

Jacob  Bartlett, 

Eli  Ijundell, 

^M 

Samuel  Linc(dn, 

Bonj.  Kidght, 
Natliauiel  PooL 

Joiiatlian  Mead, 

t^t 

Johnson  Hedull, 

Elisha  Lake. 

^M 

Amos  Parks, 

Micajah  Moon, 

^M 

Edward  Parks, 

Reuben  Downs, 
1809. 

1 

Township  2. 

Township  3. 

Township  3. 

H 

Joshua  tireen, 

Amos  Frill k, 

Reuben  Stickney.  Jr., 

^M 

Daniel  Guthrie, 

Alaiison  Tlioraas, 

Tlios.  W.  Taylor, 

9S 

Azariah  Haywood, 

Iwiac  Howard, 

Reulien  Downs, 

^M 

George  Ornian, 

Zadock  Hurd, 

Township  4, 

^M 

Jacob  Orman. 

Joseph  Lan 'don, 
Levi  Jlerrills, 

Isaac  Holmes, 

^M 

Township  3. 

James  Hoy,                                                       ; 

n 

Matliias  I'ease, 

Joshua  Gieeu, 

Joshua  H.  Brown, 

^^ 

Ebenezor  Champney, 

John  ilarshall. 

Walter  Billings, 

H 

Gale  Funuan, 

Stephen  Clark, 

Orange  Risdeu. 

1                1 

1 

548 


PIIELP3  AND   GORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


Ttie  successor  of  R.  M.  Stoddard  in  the  lanrl  acrency,  was  Gra- 
ham Newell,  who  was  succeeded  by  Egbert  Benson.  Jr.  The  suc- 
cessor of  the  last  named,  was  Jacob  Le  Rov,  a  son  of  one  of  the 
m-oj.rietors.  In  1839,  Mr.  Le  Roy  returned  to  New  York,  and 
Joshua  Lothrop  who  had  been  his  clerk,  succeeded  him  in  the 
agency,  which  position  he  still  retains ;  though  the  affairs  of  the 
agency  are  pretty  much  closed  ;  the  whole  tract  being  sold,  deeded, 
and  paid  for,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  amount  which  remains 
m  the  form  of  loans. 

The  reader  by  a  cursory  examination  of  the  list  of  earlv  settlers,  will 
observe  that  tor  the  first  few  years,  settlement  of  the  Triangle  beyond 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  J^e  Roy,  had  a  slow  progress.  I  n 
1803,  there  were  but  two  lots  sold  in  Bergen  ;  in  1804,  but  seven  ; 
in  1805,  but  twenty-one.  In  1805,  but  three  in  Sweden  ;  in  1806, 
but  nine  ;  in  1807,  but  twenty-six.  In  1803,  but  one  in  Clarkson  , 
in  1804,  but  three;  in  1805,  but  twelve.  And  it  is  not  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  all  who  purchased  became  actual  settlers  ;  in  fact,  many 
did  not. 

Jeremiah  Hascall  removed  from  Canandaigua,  where  he  had  set- 
tled in  1800,  to  Le  Roy,  with  his  family,  in  1805;  having  pur- 
chased a  part  of  the  present  Murphy  farm  in  1802.  He  was  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  when  his  jurisdiction  embraced  all  the  territo- 
ry west  of  Genesee  river.  He  died  in  1835,  aged  96  years ;  his 
wde  in  1834,  aged  84  years.  They  had  thirteen  children,  twelve 
ol  whom  arrived  at  adult  age.  The  surviving  sons  are  :— David, 
Amasa,  and  Augustus  P.  Hascall,  of  Le  Roy,  the  last  named  being 
the  member  of  Congress  elect,  from  the  county  of  Genesee  ;  John 
Hascall,  of  Kalamazoo,  Michigan.  Daughters :— Mrs.  Wiard,  of 
Le  Roy;  Mrs.  Hurvey,  of  Pike;  Mrs.  Austin,  of  Le  Roy;  Mrs 
Knowlton,  of  Ohio. 

James  Austin  was  an  officer  of  the  Revolutionary  army  ;  settled 
fn-st  in  Bristol;  in  Le  Roy  soon  after  1800.  He  died  in  Bergen. 
His  widow  still  survives,  over  90  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Bissell'and 
Mrs.  Lee,  of  Bergen,  Mrs.  Allen,  of  Mendon,  were  his  daughters. 

Nathan  Harvey  settled  in  Le  Roy  in  1802.  He  and  Jeremiah 
Hascall  were  both  engaged  in  opening  what  is  now  called  the  Brock- 
port  road.  It  was  done  at  the  expense  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Trian- 
gle. The  road  makers  took  camp  equippage,  and  encamped  as 
they  progressed.  Mr.  Harvey  died  in  1839.  Harmon  Harvey,  of 
Le  Roy  aid  Nathaniel  Harvey,  of  Allegany,  are  his  sons;  Mrs. 
Hiram  Butler,  of  Le  Roy,  is  a  daughter. 

Richard  Waite  was  the  Pioneer  blacksmith  ;  was  an  early  officer 
of  the  militia.  He  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Alexander.'  He  is 
the  father  of  the  Rev.  Richard  L.  Waite,  of  Carvville ;  Daniel  D. 
Waite,  editor  of  the  Advocate,  Batavia;  Elisha  Waite,  of  Adrian. 
Michigan :  Mrs.  Newton,  of  Alexander,  is  a  daughter. 

Stephen  Stilwell  was  the  Pioneer  shoemaker ;  coming  in  with  a 


PHELPS  ATTO  GORHAm's    PURCHASE. 


540 


large  family  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  for  the  want  of  a  better  tene- 
ment, he  was  obliued  to  rover  and  make  a  small  addition  to  a  frame 
raised  by  Major  >v' a ite  i'^f  shoeing  oxen;  in  which  he  wintered, 
and  began  the  ;-liO'.ii'r;  u'  the  new  settlers.  He  was  not  only  a 
shoemaker,  ju.  a  preicner,  and  a  famous  coon  hunter.  One  of  a 
family  of  emig  n^s  ;lying  at  Capt.  Gansons,  he  preached  the  fu- 
neral sermon  in  l.'.e  b  i-room.  This  was  the  first  death  and  burial 
in  Le  Roy. 

The  Parmule*'  'i  r  ily  were  early  settlers.  Col.  Parmalee,  of 
Wilson,  Niaga  >  ..  ity,  is  one  of  the  survivors.  Martin  Kclsey. 
Timothy  Hatch,  Washington  Weld,  Isaac  Marsh,  Hugh  Murphy, 
David  Scott,  Martin  0.  Coe,  were  in  Le  Roy  previous  to,  and  be- 
fore the  close  ot  the  war  of  1812.  Mr.  Kelsey  survives  at  the  a-^e 
of  70  years  ;  Mrs.  Elmore,  of  Le  Roy,  is  his  daughter.  Mr.  Hatch 
died  in  1844  ;  his  widow  still  survives  ;  M.  P.  llatch,  of  Oswego, 
is  a  son  of  his ;  Mrs.  Martin  O.  Coe,  of  Le  Roy,  a  daughter.  Mr. 
Weld  died  in  1849  ;  Willard  Weld,  residing  near  Lockport,  is  a  son 
of  his  ;  the  widow  still  survives.  Mr.  Marsh  died  many  years 
since ;  some  of  the  family  are  residing  in  Bushville,  near  Batavia. 
Mr.  Murphy  settled  first  in  Cambria,  Niagara  county;  in  1810, 
changed  his  residence  to  Le  Roy,  purchasing  the  tract  which  now 
constitutes  the  fine  farm  occupied  by  his  sons  and  daughters,  border- 
ing upon  the  eastern  boundaries  of  the  village.  He  died  in  1826. 
David  Scott  was  an  officer  of  the  regular  army  in  1812  ;  now  re- 
sides in  Michigan.  Mr.  Coe  still  survives  :  George,  Joseph  and 
("harles  Coe,  of  Le  Roy,  and  William  Coe,  of  Boston,  are  his  sons. 
Dr.  Ella  Smith  was  the  first  settled  physician  in  Le  Roy.  Dr. 
William  Sheldon  settled  there  in  1811,  and  has  continued  practice 
up  to  this  period.  William  H.  Sheldon,  of  Le  Roy,  who  married 
a  daughter  of  one  of  the  early  pioneers  at  Allen's  Hill,  Ontario 
county  ;  Joseph  Garlinghouse  ;  Lucius  Sheldon,  of  Le  Roy  ;  G.  T. 
Sheldon,  of  Detroit,  and  Horatio  Sheldon,  of  Wisconsin,  are  his  sons. 

Dudley  Saltonstall  was  the  first  practicing  lawyer  in  Le  Roy. 
Heman  J.  Redfield  commenced  practice  there  soon  after  the  war  of 
1812;  his  students,  while  at  Le  Roy,  were: — Seth  M.  Gates,  of 
Warsaw,  Lucas  Beecher  of  Sandusky,  Willis  Buell  of  Zanesville, 
and  Albert  Smith  of  Milwaukee.  John  B.  and  Samuel  Skinner, 
and  John  and  Augustus  Hascall,  succeeded  the  early  lawyers  in 
practice  there. 

In  1810,  the  first  building  was  erected  exclusively  for  merchan- 
dizing.    It  wixs  first  occupied  by  George  A.  Tiffany,  a  son  of  one 

of  the  early  printers  at  Canandaigua,  and  by Johnson  and 

Joseph  Annin,  in  succession.  Thaddeus  Joy,  so  long  and  widely 
known,  first  as  a  teamster  in  the  days  of  "  big  wagons,"  on  the  Al- 
bany and  Buffalo  road,  then  as  a  mei  chant,  and  in  later  years,  in 
connection  with  transportation  on  the  Erie  Canal,  was  merchan- 
dizing in  Le  Roy  as  early  as  1810.     He  went  to  Buffalo  in  1823; 


I 


h 


nf)!! 


PTIELPS  AND   GOmiAI^l's   rulJCIIASE. 


now  resides  ill  the  city  of  Now  York.  Ju(lu;(>  Siimucl  Dc  Vcaux. 
ol"  Ni:i,<(;ir;i  l'\iils,  now  one;  of  the  most  we'iiihy  and  jmblic  spirited 
citizens  of  all  thai  ren;ion,  had  been  att,ach(>d  to  the  connnissarv 
department  at  I'ort  Niagara,  and  suhse(iuently  had  conmuMiced 
mercliandizinu:  then;.  The  winter  alter  the  IJreaking  out  of  the 
\var,  he  removed  to  Lc;  Roy,  and  was  en<fa<:;t'd  in  merehan- 
diziniir_  there  until  alter  the  close  of  the  war.  Li'some  reminiscen- 
ces of  the  war  of  181'2,  which  he  has  furnished  the  author,  and 
which  will  fonuan  interestin<r  chapter  in  a  volume  now  ]tarrlv  pre- 
pare(Mor  the  jn-ess—"  Sketches  of  the  War  of  1812  upon  the  j\ia- 
jj;ara  Frontier  "—he  i)ays  a  well  merited  tribute  to  the  patriotism  of 
the  citizens  of  j^e  Roy,  in  that  tryinu;  crisis  ;  and  especially  names 
tlu^  circumstance  of  the  furnishing  of  ,<i;ra!uitous  supplies  from  that 
villaj^e  and  neiu-hborhood,  at  a  luM'iodof  want  and  destitution  upon 
the  Frontier;  and  it  but  accords  with  the  author's  recollection  of 
the  patriotism  (>f  the  citizens  of  that  locality  during  tlie  war. 

A  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  in'Le  Roy  in  181'2.  The 
Rev.  Mr._  Tuller  was  th.>  first  to  oilieiat',> ;  the  llev.  Calvin  C.  Colton, 
author  of  the  "Life  of  Henry  Clay,"  was  the  first  settled  clergy- 
man. The  society  erected  a  church  in  IS-jS.  Previous  to  the  or- 
ganization of  this  society,  religious  meetings  had  been  held  in  a  barn 
near  the  present  residence  of  Judge  Brewster;  and  subse(|uently. 
ill  a  school  hou.-'e  opposite  the  residence  of  Col.  Shedd.  The  P>af)- 
tists  erected  a  church  in  1822.  A  illethodist  society  was  formed  in 
1823,  Dy  Elder  A.  Seager.  An  Episcopal  church  was  erected  in 
182(1. 

The  Le  Ptoy  Female  Seminary  was  founded  in  ISHfl.     An  asso- 
ciation, the  members  of  which  were,  A.  P.  ITascall,  Samuel  Corn- 
stock,  Lee  Comstock,  Ezra  Rathbuii,  S.  j\[.  Cafes,  Albert  iJreUster. 
Jonathau  P.  Darling,  Alonzo  S.  Upham,  Richard  ilollister,  William 
S.  Bradley,  and  Euos  Bachelor,  j)urchased  a  private  residence  for 
the  purpose  of  converting  it  into  a  literary  institution.     The  Misses 
Inghams,  having  i)reviously  l(jcated  themsslves  in  the  village  of  At- 
tica, as  an  inducement  for'tb.em  to  remove  to  Le  Rov,  the  associa- 
tion took  their  [nopcrty  in  Attica  in  exchange  for  the  building  and 
lotiiiLePioy.     The  school  was  immediately  started  under' their 
ausjjices,  was  nourishing,  and  has  become,  by  their  uiu'cmitting  en- 
terjnise  and  perseverance,  one  of  the  best 'Female  Seminaries  in 
the  State.     Improving  the  grounds,  and  from  time  to  time  enlarging 
the  ('(lifice,  it  now  has  the  imposing   appearance  of  some  of  the 
eastern  colleges.     Few,  if  any,  female  institutions  in  the  State  have 
turned  out  more   well  educatcfl  graduates;    many  of  wheni  are. 
cither  at^the  head  of,  or  teachers  in  seminaries  in  different  portions 
ot  the  United  States  :  especially  in  the  western  .States.     One  of 
the  founders  of  the  institution  lias  becume  the  wife  of  Mr.  Phineas 
Stanton,  a  son  of  one  oi'  the  prominent  pioneers  of  the  Holland 
Purchase,  the  late  Colonel  Staiiton,  of  Middlebury. 


ii 


rJIKLrS   AND    GOEIIAjM'm   PURCIIASi:. 


551 


The  aiitlior  is  indebted  to  the  venerable  Simon  Pierson,  a  suiviv- 
in[i-  pioneer  dI'  liie  noiiliern  jiuriion  of  the  town  of  JiO  Hoy — the 
noic^hbftrlinoil  of  F(^rt  Hill — for  nnniy  early  reminiscences  of  that 
locality,  espi'cially  in  reference  to  the  interestinir  ancient  remains 
which  has  (fiven  to  the  spot  considerable  celebrity.  The  remains 
found  at  Fort  Hill,  were  embraced  in  a  previous  work  of  the  au- 
thors, and  the  public  have  been  made  familiar  with  the  subject  in 
other  l()rins.  Mr.  I'ierson's  account  of  early  settlement,  the  author 
cheerfully  and  thankfully  makes  available. 

Deacon  Hinds  Chamberlin  was  a  ])ioneer  in  this,  as  he  had 
been  in  other  localities.  He  broke  into  what  was  called  the  north- 
crri  woods,  built  a  cabin,  and  made  ,m  opeiiin<^  in  the  forest,  in  the 
neidiborhood  of  Fort  Hill,  in  1801.  In  1802,  Alexander  M'J'herson 
beoamii  his  neighbor;  John,  .Jani(;s,  Allen,  and  Alexandor  M'l'her- 
son,  jr.,  are  his  sons.  In  1801,  Francis  Lc  JJarron;  descendants 
principally  i-eside  in  Michigan.  In  1801,  Cideon  Fordham.  Also, 
in  1801,  i^'hilemon  N(;ttleton ;  descendants  |)rinci[)ally  reside  in 
Michigan.  In  1805,  these  five  first  settlers  rolled  up  sonte  huge 
b.'isswood  logs,  at  the  ibot  of  Fort  Hill,  near  the  brook,  and  nuule 
one  of  lli-  mdest  specimens  ol"  a  backwoods  school  house.  The 
first  teacher  was  vVddrew  M'Nabb,  a  Scotchman;  the  secohd, 
Siunucl  Ciocker  ;  the  third,  Major  Nathan  Wilson  ;  the  last  of  whom 
died  in  181,'J  of  the  prevailing  epidemic;  liis  son,  Nathan  Wilson, 
jr.,  died  from  a  wound  received  in  battle  in  the  war  of  1812  : 
Steplu'n  S.  and  Jared  E.  Wilson,  of  J^e  Hoy,  are  surviving  sons. 
Alexander  M'Pherson  died  in  I8\i',i,  aged  80  years  ;  Francis  Le  Bar- 
ron in  18;?2,  aged  01  years;  Philemon  Nettleton  in  1818,  ag"d  72 
years;  (lideon  Fordham  in  1821,  aged  77  years. 

David  J^e  IJarron,  Samuel  Smith,  Ebenezer  Parmalee,  Jshi 
Franklin,  Aljner  Hull,  llussell  Pierson,  Rev.  Josiah  Pier.son,  Philo 
Piersson,  John  l^ierscMi,  Simon  Pierson,  Sylvanus  Franklin,  Linus 
Pierson,  were  all  settled  in  the  neighborhood  before  the  close  of 
1810.  The  first  nanied  died  in  1820,  aged  51  years  ;  two  sons  are 
sui)posed  to  be  with  the  IMormons  at  Salt  Lake.  The  second  died 
in  18'2!),  figed  77  years  ;  descendants  reside  in  Michigan.  The 
third  died  in  J817,  aged  73  years;  David  W.,  Harlow  and  William 
Pnrmalee  are  his  sons.  The  fourth  died  in  1813,  aged  02  years; 
Warren,  Watson,  Henry,  William  and  David  Franklin,  are  his  sons. 
The  nixth  died  in  1815,  aged  70  years;  Luther  and  Adol})hus  Pier 
son,  of  Ijergen,  Edwin  Pierson,  of  Chili,  Willis  Pierson,  of  Ogden. 
and  ,Iohn  Pierson.  of  Careyville,  are  his  sons.  The  seventh  died 
in  J)ergen  in  181(»;  Hamilton  W.  and  Nelson  Pierson,  of  Bergen, 
Carloss  Pierson,  of  Ohio,  and  Josia'.i  Pierson,  of  Mount  Morris,  are 
his  sons.  The  eighth  died  in  1820;  William  Pierso'i,  a  lawyer  in 
Kentucky,  and  David  B.  Pierson,  a  merchant  in  Cincinnati,  are  his 
sons.  The  tenth  died  of  the  prevailing  epidemic  in  1813,  contract- 
ed upon  the  frontier,  aged  30  years ;  au  only  son  was  drowned  from 


i: 


552 


PHELPS   AND  GOEHAJIS'  PUECHASE. 


on  board  the  S.  B.  Washington,  on  Lake  Erie,  in  1838  ;  Mrs. 
Flint,  of  Batavia,  is  a  daughter.  The  eleventh  still  survives,  re- 
siding near  Churchville. 

David  Frankin,  a  brother  of  Sylvanus  Franklin,  had  come  in 
previous  to  1809.  In  March  of  that  year,  the  two  brothers,  with 
their  wives  and  two  children,  were  descending  the  primitive  road 
at  Fort  Hill,  which  ran  along  upon  one  side  of  a  deep  ravine,  in  a 
sleigh  drawn  by  spirited  horses.  The  horses  became  unmanage- 
able, set  off  at  full  speed,  and  turning  an  angle  of  the  road,  the 
sleigh  upset,  throwing  the  whole  party  a  considerable  distance,  with 
great  violence ;  David  Franklin  striking  a  stump,  and  receiving  an 
injury  that  he  did  not  long  survive.  "  This  sorrowful  accident," 
says  Mr.  Pierson,  "  threw  a  shade  of  gloom  over  our  backwoods 
settlement;  for  it  seemed  as  if  we  could  hardly  do  without  our 
neighbor  Franklin,  who  was  forward  in  every  good  word  and  work." 
This,  and  other  accidents  that  had  happened  there,  induced  a  change 
in  the  location  of  the  road. 

Touching  the  advent  of  our  friend  Mr.  Pierson,  he  must  be  al- 
lowed to  tell  his  story  in  his  own  humorous  way. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  SIMON  PIERSON. 


In  October,  1806,  in  company  with  my  brother,  the  l",ue  Rev.  Josiali 
Pierson,  of  Bergen,  and  our  families,  I  started  from  Ki'.lingworth,  Conn,, 
with  a  wagon  load  of  household  goods,  bound  for  the  Genesee  country, 
which  we  then  understood  as  embracing  all  west  of  Whitestown.  I  was 
then  28  years  old,  my  brother  26,  From  Albany  to  Whitestown,  we  met 
a  vast  number  of  teams  loaded  with  wheat  for  the  Albany  market.  On 
the  road,  we  met  De  Witt  Chnton  returning  from  a  western  tour.  At 
Whitestown,  there  were  three  log-houses,  one  of  them  a  tavern,  kept  by 
Air.  Baggs.  We  then  supposed  we  had  arrived  at  the  western  verge  of 
civilization,  and  that  we  were  now  coming  to  a  region — 


"  Where  nothiug  dwelt  but  beasts  of  prey, 
Or  men  as  wild  aud  fierce  as  they." 


they.' 
here — 


But  which  has  proved  to  be  a  regio;; 

"  The  worthy,  need,; ,  poor  repair, 

Aud  build  them  towns  and  cities  there." 

"  *  *  *  *  » 

•'  They  sow  their  seed,  and  trees  they  plant, 
Whose  yearly  fruit  su[)plie.s  tliei.  want ; 
Their  race  grows  up  in  fruitful  stock, 
Their  wealth  increases  with  tlieir  Hock." 

From  Vi^hitestown  we  passed  on,  I  should  think,  about  three  miles,  where 
there  was  a  log  school  house,  and  where  they  were  holding  a  meeting — 
for  it  was  Sunduy — and  they  were  singing  the  good  old  familiar  tune — 
New  Jerusalem: — 

"  From  the  tliird  heavens  where  God  resides,"  &c. 


PHELPS    AND  GOEIIAMS   PURCHASE. 


553 


We  travelled  on  the  Sabbath,  because  we  were  told  that  travellers  had  no 
home  but  the  tavern ;  and  that  they  were  thronged  on  that  day  with  those 
whose  society  would  not  contribute  to  a  Sabbath  day's  rest  ;  loafers  they 
would  be  called  now  that  we  have  got  such  a  word.  From  Whitestown 
to  Canandaigua,  112  miles,  was  a  new  turnpike,  much  of  the  way  through 
the  woods  and  very  muddy.  Once  in  ten  miles  was  a  toll  gate  where  we 
had  to  pay  25  cents  for  poaching  ten  miles  of  road.  On  arriving  at  the 
outlet  of  Canandaigna  Lake,  we  found  a  small  grist-mill,  said  to  have  been 
built  by  one  of  our  townsmen,  Mr.  Harris;  who,  it  was  said,  had  brought 
a  half  bushel  of  wheat  on  his  back  from  Whitestown,  for  seed.  I  saw 
the  old  man  on  his  return  from  the  Genesee  country.  His  friends  in  Con- 
necticut had  conjectured  that  the  Indians  would  use  him  up,  and  that  he 
would  never  reach  home  again. 

At  Genesee  river,  we  had  no  way  of  crossing,  but  in  a  wretched  scow. 
On  the  west  side  of  the  river,  we  saw  many  Indian  huts,  from  the  corners 
of  which  was  suspended,  by  braided  husks,  large  quantities  of  corn.  An 
old  Indian  told  us  we  were  at  "  Canawaugus."  I  began  to  think  of  toma- 
hawks and  scalping  knives.  About  four  miles  west  of  the  river,  we  came 
to  a  log  tavern  kept  by  Major  Smith.  Here  we  found  a  small  man  with  a 
very  large  wife.  Says  Major  Smith  to  the  small  man : — "  Is  that  woman 
your  wife  ?"  "  Yes,  sir,"  was  the  reply.  Says  the  Major : — "  How  did 
you  get  across  the  river? — I  should  suppose  that  your  wife  would  have 
sunk  that  old  scow."    "  0,"  said  the  little  man,  "I  went  twice  for  her." 

Arriving  at  "  Ganson's  settlement,"  now  Le  Key,  we  found  friends  who 
advised  us  not  to  purchase  land  "  down  in  the  north  woods,"  for,  said  they, 
"  it  will  always  be  sickly  there ;  and  the  region  will  never  be  settled. " 
But  having  a  brother  and  brother-in-law  at  Fort  Hill,  who  had  preceded 
us  a  few  months,  we  resolved  upon  going  there.  Fort  Hill  was  then  cov- 
ered with  a  dense  forest  of  heavy  timber  from  its  base  to  its  summit.  Its 
appearance  was  that  of  gloom  and  solitude,  except  when  enlivened  by  the 
music  of  the  water  rushing  over  the  falls  at  Allan's  *  Creek. 


Mr.  Pierson  is  now  in  his  73d  year ;  his  surviving  sons  are,  Philo 
L.  Pierson,  of  Le  Roy,  and  M.  D.  Pierson,  of  Dansville. 

The  prominent  ancient  remains  in  Le  Roy,  other  than  those  at 
Fort  Hill  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  were  upon  a  bluff,  near  Allan's 
creek,  a  short  distance  below  the  village.  It  was  a  mound,  or 
tumuli  in  size,  according  to  Mr.  Pierson's  recollection,  who  saw  it 
in  an  early  day,  about  that  of  an  ordinary  coal  pit ;  others  who  saw 
it  in  an  early  day,  tl^  'k  it  was  about  15  feet  in  height,  with  a  base 


"  Mr.  Pierson,  in  corsidcr'.tion  of  the  unamiable  character  of  the  person  from  whoi.i 
this  beautiful  Btreani  is  named,  would  change  it  to  Mrs.  Jemison's  Iniliau  iiame — 
"  Ginisaga."  Other  citizens  of  Le  Hoy,  would  call  it  "  Oatkn  "  the  Indian  name  for 
a  stream  cominf  i  i^  om  between  hiijli  banks.  Tlie  latter  na.ne  would  only  be  ap- 
plicable to  till  Uti.ir  topogi-aphy  of  Le  Roy  and  its  neighborhood.  D;  -i.'  ;ble  iifi 
some  cliange  of  tJio  name  of  the  stream  in.'iy  he  regarded,  it  would  require  the  co- 
opersliiiii  of  those  ^.vnerally  who  reside  upon  its  banks,  in  its  whole  extent ;  a  con- 
yentional  decision  that  the  author  lias  uot  ventured  to  anticipate. 
35 


I 


^Ml: 


654 


PIIEirs  AND   GOUIIAjfs   PUiJClIAST:. 


of  no  feet.  Trees  were  growini;;  upon  it  18  inches  in  diameter 
The  foxes  in  Inimnvingintoit  h;ul  hrou.i^ht  out  liuman  hones,  which 
Jed  to  an  asnenibliniv  of  the  early  settlers,  on  a  yiven  daj',  in  consid- 
erable numbers,  who  made  several  excavatioiis  in  tfie  tumuli,  and 
disenterred  a  large  quantity  of  human  skeletons.  They  were  the 
bones  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes  ;  some  of  them  judoed  to  be  consid- 
erable larger  than^  the  bones  of  the  largest  of  our  own  race. 
\£r  ^ee  Appendix  to  sui)])lemcnt.  No.  2. 

Jn  a  considerable  area  of  the  locality  ;  especially  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  Fort  Hill,  many  relics  of  ancient  occupancy  have 
been  discovered  ;  and  occasionally  evidences  of  French  occupancy. 
During  the  Revolution,  those  who  lied  from  the  Mohawk  to  Canada, 
and  made  frequent  jourTiies  backwards  and  forwards  upon  the  old 
Niagara  trail,  had  favorite  camping  grounds  upon  the  creek  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Le  Roy  village.     They  had  leit  considerable 
plats  ol  tame  grass,  which  were  very  convenient  for  travellers  when 
settlement  was  tending  in  that  direction ;  attracting  the  deer  from 
the  surrounding  forest,  they  were  often  killed  in  those  little  openings. 
Allan  s  creek  has  a  fall  of  over  sixty  feet,  within  the  corporate 
limits  ot  Le   Roy  village  ;  thus  creating  a   durable  and  valuablo 
water  ]U)wer,  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  agricultural  region,  where  it  is 
much  required.     It  takes  its  rise  from  springs  in  Wyomino-  county  ■ 
passes  through  Warsaw,  JMiddlebury,   Covington,  Bethany,  a  cor-' 
ner  ot  Stallord,  Le  Roy,  and  Wheatland,  discharging  into  the  Gen- 
esee river  at  Scottsville.     It  furnishes  mill  power  at  Gainesville. 
Warsaw,  Pavillion,   Bailey's  mills,  Roanoke,  Northrup's  Factory. 
Tomlinson's  mills,  Le  Roj- ;  a  mile  below  Le  Roy,  Albright's,  (now 
Finch's)  mills,  Garbuttville,  and  Scottsville. 

Le  Roy  luivingbeen  erected  from  Caledonia  in  l812,  when  the 
war  spirit  was  rife,  it  \vas  named  Bellona;  afterwards,  and  in  better 
taste,  it  assumed  the  name  of  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the 
Triangle.  William  Sheldon  was  the  first  .supervisor,  Thomas  Tuft>-- 
town  clerk  Other  town  officers : —  David  Le  Barron,  Philo 
rierson,  IJenjamin  Ganson,  Ella  Smith,  John  Ganson,  Asa  Buel 
Zalmon  Turrell,  David  Bidleeum,  Harvey  Prindle,  Richard  Waite' 
Levi  Farnuni,  H.  Graham  Newell,  George  Terry,  Amasa  Hascalk 
Jeremiah  Ilascall.  At  first  State  election,  in  1813,  for  Governor 
Darnel  D.  Tompkins  had  123  votes,  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  24.' 


It  will  be  observed  by  the  preceding  list  of  names,  and  periods  of 
settlement,  that  the  settlement  of  what  is  now  Bergen  had  but  com- 
menced along  in  1804,  '5  and  '0.  Tiie  early  road  w^as  the  north 
and  south  road  already  mentioned.  The  road  trom  where  Roch- 
ester now  IS  to  Batavia,was  not  opened  through  Bergen  until  1810. 
The  town  was  organized  in  1818.     Tiiuse  wliose  nanies  Ibllow,  were 


PIIELPS   AND   GORIIAMS    PURCIIA-SE. 


555 


early  pioneers,  other  than  those  ah-eady  named  tioinc  of  them  among 
the  earliest :  — 


Levi  Bi.<-oll, 
AkxiiiKk'P  IJissol, 
]';itiu'k  Fouler. 
Tiiniithy  Hill, 
JoL'l  Wii^'ht, 
Stcplii'ii  Everts, 
David  (i.  EvL'its, 
Anuis  Hcwi'tt, 
i'liiiK'jis  I'aniialcc, 
Natliun  Field, 
Jouuli  Buell, 


Uriah  Ktlsov, 
Jedediaii  Crosby,     [Iiis 
Hoii  Lutlier,a  pieseul  jun- 
tiee  of  the  jieaci'  in  lier- 
fj;ea,   was  the  first  born 
ill  tlie  town.] 
Wielvhain  Field, 
Uriah  Crampton, 
Ashbell  OranipVon, 
Sanuiel  Bas.sett, 
Uarvey  Kelsey, 


M.  Wriirlit, 

Jacob  Sjiatiurd,  Sen 
Nathaniel  Spallord, 
Aaron  Arnolil, 
Oliver  Avciy. 
Sanaipl  Biiljur, 
A))el  Fuller, 
Bela  Mnn-er, 
JeNM'  I'.arber, 
James  MuniaT. 


LEVI  WARD. 


Dr.  Levi  Ward  was  a  native  of  KilHn<>;\vortli,  Conn.,  a  son  ol 
Levi  Ward.  He  studied  his  profession  with  Dr.  Jonathan  Todd,  of 
Guilford,  and  marrying  the  dtuiu;hter  of  Daniel  Hand,*  settled  in 
practice  in  Haddain,  in  1790,  where  lie  continued  until  1807,  in 
which  year  he  emigrated  to  the  Genesee  country  ;  his  lamily  then 
consisting  of  his  wife,  and  four  sons,  and  four  daughters,  lie  was 
accompanied  by  his  brother,  John  Ward,  and  his  ftimily.  The  em- 
igrants arrived  at  Le  Roy  undetermined  as  to  their  location  ;  lallin*'- 
in  with  R.  M.  Stoddard,  the  then  agent  of  the  Triangle,  whom  they 
had  known  in  New  England,  they  were  induced  to  cast  their  lot 
with  a  linv  old  neighbors  who  had  preceded  them,  in  what  was  then 
called  the  "north  woods;"  then  mostly  a  dense,  heavily  timbered 
forest,  rugged  in  all  its  features;  now  the  smiling  tind  |)rosperous 
agricultural  neighborhood,  contiguous  to  the  Rail  Road  station  in 
Bergen.  Finding  temporary  (piarters  in  the  newly  erected  log 
house  of  Daniel  Kelsey,  Dr.  Ward  erected  a  small  frtimeil  house, 
covering  it  with  cedar  shingles,  and  using  riv^ed  cedar  for  siding. 
The  Dr.  quaintly  observes,  that  even  that  manner  of  building  was 
ahead  of  the  times,  and  in  a  region  of  log  cabins,  was  deemed  some- 
what aristocratic,  His  brother  erected  a  log  house  ;  both  went  to 
clearing  land,  but  it  took  about  a  year  to  :nake  an  opening  sufficient 
to  see  out  without  looking  up. 

It  was  QU  Saturday  when  the  emigrants  arrived  at  their  new 
home  in  the  wilderness  ;  accustomed  to  a  regular  attendence  upon 
public  worship,  the  first  business  was  to  provide  for  religious  exer- 
cises ;  a  meeting  was  agreed  upon  at  the  house  of  a  new  settler ;  14 
or  15  persons  convened  from  their  scattered  woods  homes  ;  prayers 


*  Captain  Hand  was  an  officer  of  tlio  Revolution,  a  highly  respected  and  useful 
member  of  society,  a  professor  and  promoter  of  religion.  Ho  died  at  an  ad\anced 
age,  iu  Ciuilford,  the  place  of  his  birth. 


r)56 


PITELPS  AND  GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 


were  made,  a  sermon  was  read,  and  Mrs.  Ward  says  they  "  had  ex- 
cellent singino;."* 

For  nine  years  Dr.  Ward  was  one  of  the  active  and  prominent 
Pioneers  of  his  locality  ;  an  etHicient  helper  in  all  there  was  to  be 
done  in  the  backwoods,  in  religious  and  school  organizations  in,  the 
opening  of  n^w  roads,  &c.  Coming  to  the  new  region,  to  be  the 
founder  of  a  new  home  for  himself  and  his  large  family,  rather  than 
with  reference  to  the  practice  of  his  profession,  his  practice  was 
only  to  the  extent  that  the  absence  of  other  physicians  in  tiie  new 
region  made  necessary.  To  the  labor  of  clearing  heavily  timbered 
land,  and  subduing  a  rugged  soil,  was  soon  added,  as  will  be  observ- 
ed, a  land  agency,  which  made  him  the  founder,  or  agent  of  settle- 
ment in  his  immediate  neighborhood.  In  1811  he  was  appointed 
an  agent  or  commissioner,  to  settle  the  accounts  of  the  commission- 
ers who  had  constructed  the  primitive  bridge  over  the  Genesee 
River,  upon  the  site  of  Rochester.  There  was  no  mall  routes,  or 
]>ost  offices  north  of  the  main  Buflalo  road  until  1813.  In  that 
year,  Dr.  Ward  interceded  with  the  then  P.  M.  General,  Gideon 
Granger,  nnd  obtained  from  him  authority  to  transport  a  weekly 
mail  from  Caladonia,  via  Riga,  Murray,  Parma,  Northampton,  to 
Charlotte,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  River.  His  compensation 
was  the  net  proceeds  of  letter  and  newspaper  postages  collected  on 
the  route.  It  was  provided  in  the  contract  that  the  P.  M.  G.  would 
appoint  deputy  post  masters,  in  any  locations  the  contractor  should 
(lisignate,  which  were  seven  miles  distant  from  each  other.  The 
plan  was  put  in  successful  operation.  Routes  were  extended  by  Dr. 
Ward,  upon  the  same  terms,  along  on  Ridge  Road  to  Oak  Orchard 
Creek  ;  from  Clarkson  corners  through  Sweeden,  to  Bergen;  from 
Parma  through  Ogden  and  Riga  to  Bergen  ;  from  Bergen  to  Bata- 
via.f  This  system  continued  until  1820,  supplying  the  early  con- 
venience of  mail  facilities  to  a  wide,  sparsely  populated  region, 
when  it  was  superceded  by  the  ordinary  contract  system. 

In  the  war  of  1813.  in  an  exigency  of  anticipated  invasion,  and 
a  want  of  arms.  Dr.  Ward  collected  all  the  muskets,  rifles,  cartouch 
boxes  and  bayonets  in  his  neighborhood,  and  delivered  them  to  Col. 
Daniel  Davis  for  the  use  of  his  Regiment.  Twenty-one  muskets. 
and  cartouch  boxes,  and  bayonets,  and  four  rifles ;  %  and  besides  all 

*  In  tlie  same  year  a  Congre!i;atioiial  Cliurcli  was  organizoil,  the  si^ermd  one  west  of 
Genesee  River.  The  Rev.  Allen  Hollister,  ministered  alternately  to  this  chin-ch  ari<i 
the  one  organized  in  Riga.  The  Rev.  Harmon  Halsey,  now  a  resident  of  Wilson. 
Niagara  county,  was  an  early  settled  minister.  Dr.  Levi  Ward  and  Uriah  Grampton 
are  among  the  few  wlio  survive  of  the  earliest  members  of  this  church. 

t  Prettly  liheral  time  was  allowed,  cunesponding  with  the  condition  of  primitiv( 
roads.  It  was  stipulated  that  tlie  mail  should  "leave  Caladonia  every  Monday  at  8 
A.  M.,  and  arrive  at  Charlotte  on  Tuesday,  by  4  P.  M." 

t  It  has  been  before  remarked  that  a  large  pro])ortion  of  the  Pionecr.s  of  the  Genesee 
country  liad  been  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Revolution.  Most  of  tlu!  muskets  col- 
lected in  Bergen,  belonged  at  the  time  to  those  who  luid  used  them  in  that  contest 
for  nationaal  independence. 


m 


PIIELPS  AND    GOEUAM'S   PURCHASE. 


iibl 


the  powder  and  balls  of  the  new  settlement  were  put  in  requisition. 
In  anotlier  crisis,  at  the  requisition  of  Major  General  Hall,  a  com- 
pany of  exempts,  or  "  silver  grays,"  were  raised  in  Bergen,  and  Dr. 
Ward  was  elected  to  the  command  of  it.  Though  the  company  saw 
no  service,  no  marching  orders  having  been  received,  and  no  inva- 
sion extending  as  far  as  that  locality,  tlie  muster  roll  is  copied,  ex- 
hibiting as  it  does  Pioneer  names,  and  shewing  who  were  willing  in 
that  crisis  to  waive  a  legal  exemption  and  engage  in  the  defence  of 
their  country : 


Levi  Ward.  Jr.  Capt. 
Jesso  Barber,  Lt. 
Amos  Huwit,  2il  Lt. 
Joseph  Lans^don,  Ensign. 
Calvin  VVolis,       Sergeant. 
Reuben  Langdon,         " 
Wlieaton  Southworth,  " 
■VVilliaiu  Peters, 
Leonard  Tattle,  Corporal. 
Benj  W.  Elsworth, 
Joliu  Colinan.  " 

John  Dibbl<?, 
John  K  Larkins,  " 

Wra.  H.  Ward, 
Music. 
James  Munger,  Drummer. 
Simon  Pierson,  Fifer, 
Benjamin  Wright,  Private, 
Josiah  Picrsou,  " 

Dr 


John  Ward,  Private. 

Jesso  Munger,  " 

Samuel  Taggart,  " 

J()se])h  Lord,  " 

Lodowick  M^right,  " 

William  Crowell,  " 
Jehoida  Page. 

Jolni  Didap,  '• 

Asa  Williams,  " 

Theophilus  M.  Fcnn,  " 

William  Jones,  " 

Benham  Preston,  " 

Ainasa  Walker,  •' 
Cyrus  Walker, 

Samuel  Hammond,  " 

Joshua  Wright,  " 

James  Tillotson,  " 

Amos  Allen,  " 


Martin  Richmond,  Private. 

Nathan  Rogers,  " 

Isaae  Baker,  " 

Dennis  Jtagden,  •' 

Abner  Phelps,  " 
Orange  Throop, 
Joshua  Green, 
Moses  Brown, 

William  Shepherd,  " 

Linus  Kelsey,  '' 

Samuel  Throop,  " 

John  T.  Freeman,  " 

Asa  Merrills,  •' 

Josiali  Bnel,  " 

Win.  Buel,  " 

Adin  Hard,  " 
Amos  Chamberlin, 

Samuel  Tillotson,  •' 


Elijah  Loomis,  " 

Ward  was  for  six  or  seven  years  the  supervisor  of  his  town, 
and  at  one  period  one  of  the  Judges  of  Genesee  county. 

In  1817  he  changed  his  residence  from  Bergen  to  ihe  village  of 
Rochester ;  thus  becoming  a  Pioneer  in  a  new  locality,  with  which 
he  has  been  prominently  identified  in  most  of  its  history  of  rapid 
progress.  One  of  the  first  to  break  into  the  wilderness  region  north 
of  the  old  Buffalo  road  —  he  has  survived  to  see  it  become  one  broad 
theatre  of  agricultural  wealth,  comfort  and  prosperity.  One  of  the 
first  to  cast  his  lot  in  a  primitive  village,  while  the  forest  was  yet 
but  partially  cleared  away ;  where  the  wolf,  the  bear,  the  deer  and 
the  rattlesnake  had  but  just  had  notice  to  quit  —  he  has  survived 
to  see  it  become  the  fifth  city  of  the  Empire  State ;  to  see  it  a  scene 
of  unsurpassed  business  activity  and  enterprise;  endowed  with  re- 
ligious and  literary  institutions,  and  all  the  evidences  of  substantial 
progress,  intelligence,  and  refinement. 

He  is  now  in  his  80th  year ;  the  wife  and  mother,  who  accompa- 
nied him  in  his  primitive  advent,  nearly  of  the  same  age.  With 
the  sands  of  life  running  low,  yet  blessed  with  a  more  than  usual 
exemption  from  the  infirmities  of  age,  enjoying  all  of  temporal  bless- 
ings, in  the  midst  of  a  large  circle  of  their  descendants,  they  are 
calmly  and  serenely  awaling  the  sununons  to  depart  from  the  the- 
atre of  life,  upon  w'hich  they  have  so  well  performed  their  parts. 

The  eldest  son,  Wm.  H.  Ward,  who  was  P.  M.  at  Bergen,  the 


'Ijim^tF 


558 


PHELPS   AND  GORIIAM's   PURCHASE. 


first  north  of  Le  Roy  and  Caladonin  ;  a  Colonel  of  Militiji  in  early 
years,  and  an  early  merchant. )f  Rochester;  died  in  IHJJS.nged  45 
years.  Another  son,  Daniel  H.,  died  in  1840,  a<red  50  years.  Sur- 
vivin.r  sons,  are  :  — Ilenrv  M  Ward,  a  resident  of  Illinois;  Levi 
A.  Ward,  an  Ex-Mayor  of  Rochester;  Ferdinand  D.  W.  Ward,  a 
returned  Missionary  from  Madras,  in  the  East  Indies,  author  of  a 
work  entitled  "  India  and  the  Hindoos,"  now  a  settled  minister  at 
Geneseo.  Daughters,  are  the  wives  of  Silas  O.  Smith,  Samuel  L. 
Selden,  Charles  L.  Clarke  and  Freeman  Clark,  of  Rochester.  A 
deceased  daughter  was  the  wife  of  Moses  Chapin  ,  she  died  in  1823, 
aged  25  years.  Another  deceased  daughter  was  the  wite  of  Dan- 
iel Hand,  a  prominent  and  successful  merchant  in  Augusta,  Georgia; 
she  died  in  1839,  aged  35  years. 

The  father  of  Dr.  Ward,  who  followed  him  to  the  Genesee  coun- 
try m  early  years,  died  in  I}crgcn  in  1838  at  the  advanced  age  of 
over  92  years.  The  brother,  John  Ward,  survives,  a  resident  of 
JJergen,  aged  81  years ;  his  surviving  sons  are,  Martin,  Abel,  John, 
J*hilo  and  Horatio  Ward. 

The  northern  portion  of  the  Triangle,  Sweeden  and  Clarkson. 
began  to  be  settled  in  1804.  '5,  or  rather  land  contracts  were  taken 
in  those  years,  and  it  is  presumed  that  actual  settlement  soon  follow- 
ed, though  it  [)rogressed  slowly,  as  in  all  the  region  north  of  the  then 
principal  thorough-fare,  the  Buffalo  Road. 

Dr.  Abel  Baldwin,  is  one  of  the  oldest  surviving  residents.  He 
was  a  native  of  Norwich,  Vermont ;  studied  medicine  with  Dr 
Nathan  Smith  of  Hanover,  N.  H.  Dr.  Thurber,  of  Riga,  Dr. 
Nathaniel  Rowley,  of  Clarkson,  Dr.  Jacobs  and  the  late  Dr.  iJemis,  of 
Canandaigua,  were  his  fellow  students.  Dr.  Baldwin  settled  in 
practice  in  Saratoga  county  in  1807  —in  1810  first  visited  the  Gen- 
esee country  —  in  181 1  removed  to  Clarkson.  Practicing  medicine 
only  in  the  earliest  years,  h?  opened  a  public  house  in  18i5,  at  what 
was  then  called  "Murray  Corners,"  now  Clarkson  village.  He 
erected  the  first  framed  tavern  house  on  the  Ridge  Road ;  travel  up- 
on the  Ridge  had  then  became  pretty  brisk  —  Falls  travel  had  be- 
gan to  take  that  route  ;  the  house  of"  Dr.  Baldwin  being  about  half 
way  from  Canandaigua  toLewiston,  was  a  prominent  haltino-  place. 
In  fact,  Clarkson  Corners,  at  that  period,  and  up  to  the  final  com- 
pletion  of  the  Erie  Canal,  in  refei-ence  to  all  the  northern  region, 
was  a  prominent  locality.  Dr.  Baldwin  continued  a  landlord  until 
1825,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Silas  Walbridgc;  he  is  now 
an  enterprising  and  successful  farmer.     He  was  an  Elector  of  Pres- 


NoTK.— It  ^vill  give  the  ipndor  some  idea  of  tlio  slow  progross  of  scttlciiK'nt  in  all 
tlio  ivgion  lictwoon  tlio  oM  Biittalo  road  and  Lake  Ontario,  to  Icani,  that  as  late  as  the 
war  of  181;i,  so  littlo  was  known  of  tliat  best  of  all  natnral  highways  in  the  world, 
fill'  llidge  Koad,  that  a  large  army,  with  heavy  artillerv,  camp  e.iiiipage  il-e.,  \\w  des- 
tination of  whieh  was  Lewiston,'  actuallv  diverged  from  the  Ridge  at  Clarkson,  iuul 
went  via  Bergen  and  Batavia. 


PHELPS  AND    GORHAMS  PURCHASE. 


559 


ident  and  Vice  President,  in  18.')2,     Mrs.  Baldwin  also  survives ; 
uu  only  daughter  is  the  wile  ot  lleury  K.  Solden. 


IlEMINISCEXCES  OP  DR.  BALDWIN. 


if 


When  I  moved  into  the  country  in  1811,  with  my  fiimily,  we  wore  fer- 
ried over  the  (jienescc  river  at  Rjcliester;  the  Ridgo  road  was  only  cut 
out  wide  enough  for  a  wagon  track;  the  streams  were  crossed  by  means  of 
log  bridges.  Upon  the  present  site  of  Clarkson  village,  there  were  three 
log-houses;  and  in  all,  perhaps,  thirty  acres  of  land  cleared.  James  Sayre 
was  the  Pioneer  of  the  locality;  in  fact,  the  first  settler  on  Ridge,  in  what 
is  now  Clarkson  and  Murray,  and  I  think,  Parma.  He  liad  selected  this 
spot  on  account  of  a  fine  spring,  before  any  thing  was  known  of  a  continu- 
ous Ridge  road.  Sayre,  who  had  taken  up  considerable  land,  sold  his 
contracts  and  removed.  Beside  liira,  I  found  here: — David  Forsyth,  who 
remained  here  until  1840,  when  he  removed  to  Michigan.  Deacon  Juel 
Palmer  had  just  commenced  tanning  and  currying  in  a  rude  primitive  es- 
tablishment, the  first  upon  all  the  Ridge  road.  He  still  survives,  a  resi- 
dent of  Clarkson ;  Joel  Albert  and  John  Palmer,  of  Clarkson,  are  his  sons. 
Dr.  Nathaniel  Rowell  had  preceded  me  a  few  months,  and  was  in  practice 
among  the  new  settlers.  He  was  from  Hanover,  N.  H. ;  died  in  182(3; 
Hopkins  Rowell,  of  Clarkson,  is  his  son;  two  other  sons  are  clergymen  in 
New  Jersey;  Mrs.  Henry  Smith  and  Mrs.  Danforth  are  his  daughters. 
Eldridge  Farwell  had  located  here,  but  removed  soon,  and  became  the 
Pioneer  of  what  is  now  Clarendon,  erecting  mills  there.  Eldridge,  Geo. 
and  Horace  Farwell  are  his  sons.  West  of  the  Corners,  on  the  Ridge, 
John  and  Isaac  Farwell,  brothers  of  Eldridge,  had  settled.  The  saw-mill 
of  the  afterwards  Judge  Eldridge  Farwell,  in  Clarendon,  made  the  first 
boards  had  in  all  this  region,  and  his  was  the  pioneer  grist-mill,  excepting 
a  small  log  mill  the  Atchinsons  had  erected  on  Salmon  Creek.  We  had 
our  first  milling  done  at  Church's  mill  in  Riga. 

In  all  the  region  north  of  Ridge,  in  what  is  now  Clarkson  and  Murray, 
Moody  Freeman  was  the  Pioneer.  He  was  originally  from  Hanover,  N. 
H. ;  had  pioneered  his  way  all  along;  had  beon  the  proprietor  of  the  town 
of  EUisburg,  Jefferson  count;  ;  and  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Broad- 
albin,  Montgomery  county.  He  made  his  solitary  home  two  miles  north 
of  the  Corners,  at  the  centre  of  the  township.  He  was  an  early  Justice  of 
the  Peace:  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  natural  abilities;  was  an  early 
backwood's  lawyer,  or  pettifogger.  There  was  in  Clarkson,  north  of  Ridge, 
beside  Freeman,  in  1811 : — Eratus  Haskell,  who  had  taken  up  land  upon 
which  there  were  salt  springs — and  set  up  a  few  kettles,  and  was  boiling 
salt  for  the  new  settlers.  Haskell  was  a  captain  of  militia  in  the  war  of 
1812;  was  at  the  sortie  of  Fort  Erie.  He  now  lesides  in  Joliet,  Illinois, 
Stephen  Baxter  settled  in  that  neighborhood  in  1811,  and  also  engaged 
early  in  salt  boiling.     He  still  survives,  and  has 


a  large  number  of  de- 


5G0 


nrKLPrt    AND    (lOKIIAMS    I'UIJCHAHIO. 


sccndnnts  in  the  neighborhood.     John  Nowhm  was  also  settled  in  tho  Frec- 
raaii  iKMghbdrliuod;  still  aurvivcs,  over  80  years  of  age. 

The  war  of  1812  stopped  nil  settlement  and  improvemont.  TIkto  was 
11  constant  state  of  exeiteinent  and  alarm;  many  new  settlors  broke  up  and 
left  the  country.  Tho  Hidge  road  was  a  thoroughfare  for  troops  pas.sing 
to  and  from  tho  Frontier.  Wluiii  J^ewiston  was  burned,  many  families 
came  and  wintered  along  on  Ridge  road;  tho  families  of  the  late  Sheldon 
Thompson,  of  lUilfalo,  Joshua  Fairbanks,  Mr.  Townsend,  and  Dr.  Smith, 
stopped  in  Clarkson.  A  comijany  of  riflemen  was  raised  in  tliis  vicinity, 
commanded  by  captain  Stewart;  went  upon  the  frontier,  and  at  ono  period 
at  the  mouth  of  tho  river;  they  acted  mostly  as  minuto  men.  There 
were  besides,  militia  drafUs  and  volunteering  during  the  war. 

Immediately  after  the  war,  settlers  came  in  rapidly.  Tho  Ridge  road 
may  almost  be  said  to  have  settled  in  its  wliole  extent  west  of  Genesee 
river,  in  181  ti.  I'revious  to  that,  there  was  but  few  settlers  upon  it;  es- 
pecially in  Momoc  hnd  Orleans. 

'J'he  lirst  town  meeting  of  Murray,  was  hehl  at  the  barn  of  John.son 
Bedel,  about  four  miles  south  of  Urockport.  The  I'ioncer  of  iJrockpojt 
and  its  neighborhood,  was  llufus  Hammond.  His  farm  embraced  a  part 
of  the  northern  portion  of  the  village.  He  liad  been  settled  live  or  six 
years  wlien  I  came;  had  an  orchard  and  a  considerable  improvement.  Ho 
had  formerly  lived  in  Avon;  died  in  1824;  Shubel  Hammond,  of  Clark- 
son,  is  his  son.  Either  Mr.  Hammond  or  Mr.  Freeman  raised  the  lirst  crops 
in  this  region.  I  raised  the  lirst  framed  barn ;  Isaac  B.  Williams  the  lirst 
framed  house,  upon  the  site  of  the  present  brick  tavern.  I  omitted  to 
name  Mr.  Williams,  as  one  who  was  here  previous  to  1811;  he  was  tho 
Pioneer  blacksmith.  He  removed  to  Hartland,  where  he  died  several 
years  since;  William  Williams,  of  Clarkson,  is  his  son. 

In  1817,  a  considerable  settlement  had  been  made  at  Sandy  Creek,  on 
the  Ridge — 15  or  20  families,  perhaps — in  which  year,  Iloiwy  M'Call  and 
Robert  Perry  built  mills  there;  raising  a  dam  and  overflowing  15  or  20 
acres  of  timbered  land.  A  sickness  that  pervaded  every  household  in  the 
neighborhood,  soon  followed;  in  one  season,  in  a  population  of  about  100, 
there  were  27  deaths.  The  settlers  from  other  neighborhoods  had  to  go 
there  and  take  care  of  the  sick,  as  there  were  not  well  ones  enough  there 
to  do  so; — it  was  a  neighborhood  of  gloom  and  desoluion.  Tho  mill  dam 
was  taken  down,  and  the  sickness  disappeared. 

The  first  settler  at  the  mouth  of  Sandy  Creek,  was  a  Dutchman  by  the 
name  of  Strunk.  When  I  first  visited  the  place  in  1812,  he  had  died,  and 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Billings  was  living  there;  and  others  had  been  there, 
I  presume,  for  there  were  several  deserted  log  houses,  Billinos  removed 
to  Canada.     After  that,  settlers  would  come  in  by  water,  and  after  remain- 


NdTK. — Suit  spviiiivs  IptoiIj  nut  ill!  Jiloiin;  on  tlie  ■  Iojh-  iiortli  of  Ridge — jxpnorally 
about  thivi'  mill's  disliiiU.  Tlu'V  break  out  IVoiii  the  Clinton  (iroup,  whieli  is  next 
Jibove  the  Meilinii  Sand  Stone,  'in  the  early  settlement  of  tlio  rountrv,  salt  was  maiiu- 
faetufed  near  l^oekport,  ilediiia.at  Oak  Oivhanl,  in  Clarkson,  J 'aiina.'Hollev,  Wel)ster, 
Ontaiio  antl  Soiliis.  The  salt  was  usually  att'oriied  at  aliout  a  dollar  per  birshel.  Tlie 
weakness  of  tlie  lirine  forbid  competition  witli  the  Works  at  Montezuma  and  Salt 
Point,  wlieii  the  Krie  Canal  was  finished  ;  ami  the  business,  in  fact,  had  bei^au  to  de- 
cli  lO  previous  to  that. 


PinCLI'S   AND    OORIIAM's    rUKCIIA.SE. 


501 


I 


inpf  a  short  limo,  would  bo  taken  sick,  and  have  to  be  brought  out  to  the 
older  sctllemonts  on  ox-slods.  The  iirst  permanent  settlor  in  that  locality, 
was  Alanson  Thomas,  at  the  head  of  still  water,  lie  purchased  a  saw- 
mill that  Le  Roy  and  IJayard  had  built  thero  in  182U;  to  which  he  added 
a  grist-mill.     Thomas  sold  out  to  a  community  of  Fourcrites. * 

The  whole  region  between  Ridge  and  Lake,  and  more  especially,  per- 
haps, in  Murray,  Clarkson  and  Purma,  was  as  forbidding  as  any  that  stout 
hearted  Pioneers  ever  ventured  to  break  into.  Its  settlement  was  attend- 
ed with  long  years  of  hardships  and  privations ;  many  changes  of  inhabitants 
occurred  before  there  was  a  permanent  population.  It  was  heavy  timbered, 
mostly  a  wet  soil;  when  the  timber  was  removed,  openings  made,  the  heat 
of  summer  suns  would  engender  disease.  Those  who  lived  along  on  the  im  - 
mediate  shores  of  the  Lake,  or  on  the  Ridge,  not  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  ponds  or  marshes,  would  generally  escape;  the  scourge  would  principal- 
ly prevail  where  openings  had  been  made  in  heavily  timbered  wet  lands. 
Sickness  would  generally  commence  in  August,  and  continue  until  winter ; 
it  was  by  no  moans  fatal ;  where  there  could  be  even  good  nursing,  the 
proportions  of  deaths  to  the  number  of  cases  would  bo  small ;  but  at  times 
sickness  would  be  so  pervading,  that  good  nursing  could  not  be  had.  It 
was  a  common  thing  to  bring  whole  families  out  of  the  woods  upon  ox- 
sleds. 

Speaking  from  observation  and  experience,  my  advice  would  be  to  all 
those  who  are  settling  a  new  timbered  region,  to  select  Ihe  most  olovated 
sites  for  their  residence,  and  leave  several  acres  of  timber  standing  for  the 
few  earliest  years  about  their  dwellings ;  and  what  is  of  still  greater  im- 
portance, if  they  have  not  good  springs  of  water,  dig  wells  to  begin  with, 
and  thus  avoid  the  poisonous  surface  water,  which  is  of  itself  a  pregnant 
source  of  disease  in  new  settlements  in  the  forests. 

A  log  school  house  had  been  erected,  and  a  school  was  in  operation, 
when  I  came  there  in  1811.  Our  first  settled  minister  was  the  Rev.  John 
F.  Bliss;  the  Rev.  Mr.  James,  of  Albany,  was  settled  here  in  1825  or  'G. 


|.'  if. 


t  *  f 


[!    !•« 


go 


No  where  in  ;i  wide  region  of  prosperity,  has  there  been  a  greater 
change  than  in  the  locality  that  Dr.  Baldwin  embraces  in  liis  obser- 
vations, north  of  the  Ridge.  Even  tiie  Pioneers,  stout  hearted,  san- 
(piine  aa  their  anticipations  must  have  been,  in  reference  to  the 
ultimate  value  ot  the  land,  to  liave  endured  what  they  did,  could 
hardly  have  anticipated  the  sources  of  agricultural  wealth  that 
through  so  many  trials  and  difliculties  they  were  developing.  The 
soil  they  were  not  strong  handed  enough  to  drain;  that  they  could 
but  imperfectly  cultivate  while  the  stumps  and  roots  remained  in  it ; 
and  which  gave  them  but  poor  returns  for  the  labor,  is  now  dry,  sub- 
dued, its  surface  mould  mingled  with  the  rich  elements  that  lay  hid- 

*  The  ^\■]u>\ti  ;liint5  has  boon  a  failiiro.  Tlio  jiriiicipal  leaders  wore  : — Simoon  Dajj;- 
i^oU,  Dr.  TlioUci',  Thoiiiiis  roinid.  Many  (hvoUini^s  wore  orecteil,  and  a  impiilalion  of 
about  300  gathe'etl  there.  The  community  broke  up  after  an  experiment  of  two 
years. 


mm 


.a^ 


X^ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (AAT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


m    Uk 

us 


M 

li£  IlilM 


111= 
1.4    IIIIII.6 


V} 


^ 


^. 


7 


^^ 


sst> 


V 


W 


^^V'.^   'M 


W 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14S80 

(716)  872-4503 


562 


PHELPS  AND  OtORHAJi's  PURCHASE. 


den  Its  sub.soil ;  and  no  where  does  the  earth  make  more  bountiful 
returns  for  the  hibor  bestowed  upon  it.  It  has  become  a  region  of 
high  i)riced  and  desirable  farms.  The  sites  of  bark  covered  \o^ 
houses  and  thatched  hovels,  have  now  upon  them  comfortable  and 
even  luxurious  brick  and  framed  farm  houses,  and  all  the  appoint- 
ments of  flourishing  farming  establishments.  Good  common  roads 
and  even  plank  roads  have  taken  the  place  of  the  wood's  roads 
through  which  the  pioneers  plodded  — more  than  half  the  season 
waded  through  mud  and  mire  — and  over  which  some  of  them,  as 
\ye  have  seen,  and  their  families,  were  carried  hv  the  good  Sama- 
ritans of  the  older  settlements,  who  would  find  them  in  the  dark 
recesses  of  the  forest,  prostrated  by  disease. 

Asa  Clark,  the  father  of  Gustavus  Clark,  of  Clarkson,  was  from 
iiast  Haddam,  Conn.,  emigrated  to  Geneseo  in  1802 ;  soon  removed 
to  Avon,  where  he  resided  until  1830,     He  died  at  Sandy  Creek  in 
1834,  aged  76  years.     His  sons  were  :  —Asa  Clark,  who  resided  in 
Avon  until  1S28,  when  he  removed  to  Sandy  Creek,  where  he  was 
a  merchant  for  many  years.     He  was  a  representative  in  the  State 
legislature  of  Orleans,  in  1834,  '5,  had  been  a  Presidential  Elector 
in  1828.     He  still  survives,  at  the  age  of  06  years.     George  W 
and  Charles  Clark  of  Buffalo,  are  his  sons.    Erastus  Clark,  of  Lima, 
who  in  early  early  years  was  the  mercantile  partner  of  James  K. 
Guernsey,  and  afterwards  established  in  the  mercantile  business  by 
himself  in  Lima.     He  still  survives ;  a  son  and  a  son-in-law,  are  his 
successors  in  business.     Gustavus  Clark,  who  as  early  as  1800,  was 
a  clerk  with  Minor  &  Hall,  at  Geneseo ;  afterwards  a  clerk  of  James 
IV.  Guernsey  in  Lima,  under  whose  auspices  he  commenced  busi- 
ness  in  Clarkson,  where  he  has  resided  since  1815,  and  where  he 
still  resides.     His  wife,  who  still  survives,  was  a  daughter  of  John 
^lerson,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Avon  ;  Edwin  E.,  of  Clarkson,  and 
Uushrod  W.  Clark,  of  Buffalo,  are  sons  of  Gustavus ;  an  only  dauf'h- 
ter  is  the  wife  of  W.  L.  G.  Smith,  of  Buffalo.     He  was  a  represen- 
tative  from  Monroe,  in  the  Legislature,  in  1825  ;  and  was  the  first 
1  resident  of  the  Bank  of  Orleans;  an  early  Supervisor  of  Clarkson, 
and  more  recently,  a  magistrate.     The  daughters  of  the  elder  Asa 
Clark,  became  the  wives  of  Robert  M'Kay,  of  Caladonia,  Ephraim 
Chapman,  a  pioneer  in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  and  Chandler  Pierson, 
01  Avon. 


REMINISCENCES  OP  GUSTAVUS  CLARK. 


When  I  came  to  Clarkson,  in  1815,  the  Ridge  road  was  but  little  trawl- 
led  for  want  of  bridges;  my  first  load  of  goods  broke  most  of  the  bridges 
down  from  Rochester  to  Clarkson,  and  the  team  was  obliged  to  return  to 
Lima  viii  the  south  road  and  Le  Roy.    That  road  had  been  opened  before 


PIIELPS  AND   GORHAm's   PURCHASE. 


563 


?.tf^'i°f  ™'?  '"'!  ^'""'T^Y  ""if-    ^^y  ^''^  P""<='P^l  business  Tvas  to  pay 
part  goods  and  part  cash  for  black  salts  and  pot-ash.     Henry  M'Call    a 

metfntn  h"'°"  ^'""f!}'  ?'  ^"^^'-^"^  ''-"^J^-  had  beenfirsren.aged  h 
S  bP.n  ^""'T'a'  ^^''}'''''  %»d  Joshua  Field,  now  of  Brockjort,  had 

f^ofiuf  r^  S''^  ''''1  ""S^ged  in  the  manufactury  of  pot-ash;  in 
fact,  tha    was  then  the  staple  production  of  all  this  region.     It  was  the 

r^t  o  r  ;f '  ""''"'  -^'^  ^^'  new  settlers  had  to  pay  for^store  goods  or  to 
raise  a  little  money ;  ,t  was  a  great  help  to  them ;  I  hardly  know  how  they 
could  have  got  along  without  it.  It  was  a  period  when  hi  few  of  the  S 
rnn  1  1     T'^  "."^  ^^am  to  Sell.     The  new  settlers  would  put  up  a  few 

rnS^'^''','"'^>''"7/"^.™''^'^«  ^^-"'^  '^^'''  t'^«««  who  were  ^st?on. 
handed  enough,  and  could  raise  kettles,  would  make  pot-ash.     Upon  lands 
where  beech  maple  and  elm  predominated,  the  ashes  would  almost  pay  for 
clearing.     Many  times  when  a  new  settler  was  under  the  necessity  of  rais- 

ZTZ7'  """  T^  .'","'''^  °f  '^'''  ^'^^''  ^'  ^'0^1^  8«  into  the  forest, 
chop  down  maple  and  elm  trees,  roll  them  together,  and  burn  them,  for  the 

suoolietmanflr*'!'-''"'!/-"  ^''^''*.™S-  The  proceeds  of  ash^s  ha^e 
lifpJn  ?h  T  ^^/''^■\'",*h"  ''§•«"  ^''h  t'^e  «"™^on  necessaries  of 
ite,  m  the  absence  of  which  there  would  have  been  destitution.      Our  pot- 

fLT  ?.  ?  ■''  M  '  "''",^'i  "^  *'^'  ^'''''''  "^<^r  and  shipped  to  Montreal. 

n^IL      H    '"  ^r^''i  ^'^  ''  ^^  ^  P"'^^  ^^  ^305  pif  ton.     Lumber. 

ng,  the  getting  oiit,  purchasing  and  shipping  of  oak  butt  staves,  was  the 
next  considerable  business  after  that  of  pot-ash,  and  helped  the  new  set- 
on  ntnTarTet.  "'  ^"'^  '''  ^"'  ^'°'^'  "^^  '  ^"-P^"^  '^S^^'-  t«  «^"^"P- 

=nSn?'?f.^-!i'"'^  '^'''  ™."'h  improved  soon  after  1815,  by  the  erection  of 
substantial  bridges  over  the  streams.  A  post  route  was  established  from 
Canandaigua  0  Lewiston.  in  November  1815.  At  first,  the  mail  was  car- 
nod  in  a  small  wagon  twice  a  week.  In  1820,  daily  coaches  were  pu* 
upon  the  route;  travel  increased  rapidly;  for  a  few  years  before  the  canal 
was  completed,  there  were  coaches  almost  continually  in  sight. 


•   ^I!"."""  Warren,  settled  upon  the  Rid-e,  in  east  part  of  Clarkson. 
m  1817  ;  still  survives,  at  the  age  of  80  years.     He  is  the  Hither  of 


ISOTE  -In  Mny  1807,  Mr.  Wadsworth  urgos  Mr.  Troup  Ly  letter,  to  oncoura-o  the 

nanulactmo  ..    j.o  -ash;  «iys  it  will  bo  a  "great  help  t.  noV  settles  aVircar^ 

St7    V^7  t!"-;"- /'""l^ ;  an,l  ,ukls,  that  Mr.  Murray  has  authorized  liSo  b'  y    vo 

tpnllril  /      ^  ~:\T;  ''"".'""•'Ily  I'nagi.io  what  a  spring  the  two  not-a^li 

ketth's  1 1  ave  sent  to  1  airfie  d  has  given  to  the  c-rearing  „f  lancf,  unfl  what  a  n^at  ac- 
con.modat.on  it  18  connidered  by  the  i.ihabitante.  The'situatio.  of  the  1. alS  an  s  ,'n 
thiB  part  ot  lie  cou,.try  ha.s  really  bee,.  di.tres.i..g ;  a  Ihrn.er  .night  have  000  b  Lis 
of  wl.eat  ...  h.8  ban.,  a..d  yet  not  be  able  t,.  buy  a  j.oun.l  of  !ea  '  Till  of  1-  tc  the 
nicrehan  s  have  began  to  take  wheat  for  goo.is,  but  at  a  very  Icnv  price  ''  •'  I  fullv 
believe  tha  theprorits  a  fan.ier  can  n.ake'fmu,  the  ashes  on 'm  acra  o  ,'mbered]  f 
18  greater  than  the  profits  ....  a,,  a.-re  of  wheat.  I  n.uch  wish  tha?  i.  e  .,  de  ce  .1 1 
beh.t.,..o..  toco.iv.nee  Lady  J?atl.  how  .nuch  the  value  of  her  esL  t^  vo  be  „ 
hanced  (,y  lac.l.tat.ng  the  tra.isportation  of  pot-ash  an.l  heiu,,  to  Moutra  ''  fTIds 
has  relercace  to  some  change  in  tlio  British  leveuue  laws]         ^  ^"^^>^""uii.      lihis 


564 


rilELPS  AND  GORHAm's   TURCIIASE. 


Capt.  Henry  Warren,  who  lias  been  for  many  years  the  popular 
manager  of  one  of  the  Rochester  and  Buffalo  canal  Packets.  At 
the  period  he  located  upon  the  Ridge,  there  were  settled  in  north  of 
his  locality,  in  what  was  called  the  "  north  woods,"  three  brothers  : 
Adam,  Henry  and  James  Moore.  They  were  Irishmen  ;  neither  of 
them  survives;  there  are  many  of  their  desendants  in  the  noifrhbor- 
hood  ;  John  and  Thomas  Moore,  early  settlers  of  Loclqiort,  were  the 
sons  ot  Adam.  The  Hoy  family,  also  Irishmen,  were  settled  in  the 
same  neighborhood  ;  the  old  gentleman  died  in  1838  or  '9  ;  his  sons 
were:  James,  John,  and  Robert  Hoy;  many  of  the  desendants 
reside  in  Clarkson.  It  was  pretty  much  a  wilderness  north  of 
Kidgein  1817.  There  had  settled  along  the  Ridge  in  Clarkson: 
Tj  ,j  ""'^^'^'  ^^ho  ^s  ""^w  living ;  had  come  in  previous  tc  war.  John 
H.  Bushiiell  was  the  Pioneer  of  the  neighborhood ;  died  about  five 
years  since  ;  widow  still  survives  ;  Sidney  and  John  Bushnell  are 
his  sons  ;  he  was  a  supervisor  and  magistrate.  Ebenezer  Toll,  re- 
moved to  Gaines,  where  he  died  about  fifteen  years  since.     The  first 

tavern  keeper  at  Ladd's   corners,  was Huysott ;    Reuben 

Downs  wa-.  an  early  tavern  keeper  east  of  Ladd's  corners.  John 
Philips,  afterwards  sherifi' of  Niagara,  kept  a  tavern  in  the  neighbor- 
hood m  an  early  day. 

The  village  of  Brockport,  was  one  of  the  creations  of  the  Erie 
canal,  and  is  of  course  not  embraced  in  the  Pioneer  period.  Pre- 
vious to  the  construction  of  the  canal,  there  was  at  that  point— upon 
the  site  of  one  of  the  most  flourishing  villages  in  Western  New 
York— but  the  farm  houses  of  Rufus  Hammond  and  Hiel  Brockway. 

The  village  started  up  under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Brockway,  and 
to  his  extraordinary  enterprize  was  much  indebted  in  all  its  early 
yeais.  He  was  a  native  of  Lyme,  Conn.,  settled  first  in  this  State 
at  Cattskill,  about  the  year  1800 ;  emigrated  to  the  Genesee  country 
in  an  early  day,  and  was  a  resident  first  in  Geneva  and  then  in 
Phelps.  Soon  after  the  war  of  1812,  he  removed  to  the  then  town 
of  Murray,  afterwards  Sweeden,  and  purchased  the  farms  of  two  or 
three  of  the  early  settlers,  at  the  rate  of  $12  and  815  per  acre.  The 
site  of  Brockport  and  its  vicinity  was  then  but  a  region  of  log 
houses  and  small  improvements.  The  locality  had  no  other  advan'^ 
tages  than  of  being  the  point  where  a  main  north  and  south  thorough 
fare  crossed  the  canal ;  and  of  being  in  the  centre  of  a  region  which 
promised  to  become,  as  it  has,  one  of  the  richest  agriculture  districts 
of  Western  New  York.  The  village  took  a  rapid  start  after  the  canal 
w^as  completed,  and  has  had  a  steady  and  uninterrupted  growth. 

In  addition  to  other  early  enterprizes,  Mr.  Brockway  was  en- 
gaged extensively  in  the  packet  boat  business ;  first  putting  on  boats 
between  Rochester  and  Buffalo  in  opposition  to  the  old  packet  line 
from  Utica  to  Buffalo ;  then  filling  up  the  portion  of  that  line  west 
of  Rochester  with  his  own  boats  in  connection  with  that  line.  He 
made  Brockport  the  centra!  locality  in  reference  to  packet  boat 


PHELPS   AND  GORIIAM's   PURCHASE. 


565 


operations  at  the  west ;  infused  a  new  spirit  of  enterprise  into  the 
business  ;  and  to  him,  in  fact,  have  the  travelling  public  been  largely 
indebted  for  the  superior  packet  boats,  and  their  excellent  manage- 
ment,  that  have  for  a  long  series  of  years  been  enjoyed  upon  The 
western  section  of  the  Erie  canal.  To  part  with  them  and  their 
excellent  managers,  most  of  whom  have  been  educated  in  the  school 
ot  Mr.  Brockway,  (and  he  was  a  shrewd  judge  of  men  as  well  of 
horses,  and  of  the  best  model  of  boats,)  will  seem  like  parting  with 
old  triends  ;  and  yet  the  event  would  seem  to  be  near  at  hand  for 
soon  the  shrill  notes  of  the  steam  whistle  will  be  heard  along  the 
line,  where  their  horns  have  so  long  sounded ;  and  haste,  speed, 
regardless  of  comfort,  is  the  order  of  the  day. 

Mr.  Brockway  died  in  1843,  aged  C7  years  ;  of  a  large  family  of 
children  — 13  in  number  —  but  4  survive :  Charles  M.,  and  Nathan 
K.  Brockway,  Mrs.  Dr.  Carpenter,  and  Mrs.  Elias  B.  Holmes. 

A  portion  of  the  village  has  grown  up  on  non-resident  land  that 
James  beymour  purchased  about  the  time  the  canal  was  constructed. 
Mr.  beymour  was  an  early  merchant  in  the  village;  the  President 
ot  the  bank  of  Rochester;  was  the  fortunate  owner  of  the  land  on 
which  the  capital  of  Michigan  was  located  ;  and  is  now  a  resident 
there. 

The  town  of  Sweeden  was  pretty  geK./%  settled  before  the  con- 
struction  ot  the  Erie  canal,  but  a  large  portion  of  the  farms  had  been 
but  recently  commenced.  When  the  town  was  organized,  in  1821 
Jere  were  330  inhabitants  liable  to  assessment  upon  the  highways' 
Ihe  first  supervisor  was  Silas  Judson>  the  town  clerk.  Major  M 
^'■"'f^ri-^^^®^^^^"  officers:  Joshua  B.  Adams,  Chauncey  Staples. 
Abel  Crifiord,  Levi  Branch,  Zenas  Case,  Oliver  Spencer,  Zenas  Case 
Jr.,  Samuel  Bishop,  Levi  Pond,  Sylvester  Pease,  Daniel  J.  Avery. 
Jo^ph  S.  Bosworth,  John  Reeves,  Peter  Sutven,  Joseph  Randall. 

The  early  physicians  of  village  and  town,  were :  -—  Daniel  J 

Avery,  the  father  of  Daniel  J.  Avery  of  Sweeden, Millican 

John  B.  Elliott,  Elizur  Munger,  Davis  Carpenter,  M.  D. 

Levi  Pond  settled  in  Sweeden  in  1817,  purchasing  a  farm  in  the 
north  part  of  the  town ;  still  survives.  He  has  filled  the  several 
ottices  of  deputy  sheriff,  constable  and  collector,  and  in  1833  was 
one  of  the  representatives  of  Monroe  in  the  Legislature.  He  is  the 
lather  ot  Elias  Pond,  late  collector  of  the  Genesee  District. 


THE  CONNECTICUT,  OR  "100,000  ACRE  TRACT." 


Robert  Morris  sold  this  tract  to  Andrew  Cragie,  James  Wat'-on 
and  James  Greenlief,  for  $37,500.    Oliver  Phelps  purchased  an 
equal  undivided  half  of  it  in  1794,  which  he  conveyed  to  De  Witt 
Clinton  in  1095 ;  it  reverted,  and  Mr.  Phelps  sold  his  interest  to  the 


56G 


PHELPS  AND  GOKIIAJi's  PURCHASE. 


State  of  Connecticut,  The  other  half  was  sold  by  Mr.  Cragie  to 
Charles  Williamson  and  Thomas  Morris,  and  ultimately  the  title 
became  vested  in  Sir  Wm.  Pulteney ;  the  State  of  Connecticut 
and  Sir  William  Pulteney  thus  becoming  tenants  in  common, 
in  1808,  the  commissioners  .of  the  school  fund  of  Connecticut, 
(tiie  purchase  having  been  made  out  of  that  fund,)  appointed  Levi 
Ward,  Jr.,  who  had  then  recently  settled  in  Bergen,  to  act  in  their 
behalf,  and  in  co-operation  with  Col.  Troup,  the  local  representative 
of  the  Pulteney  interest,  to  procure  the  survey  of  the  tract.  This 
accomplished,  in  March  1810,  Dr.  V/ard  was  further  empowered  in 
co-operation  with  Col.  Troup,  in  behalf  of  the  commissioners  of  the 
school  fund,  to  procure  an  equitable  partition  of  the  tract.  Israel 
Chapin  and  Amos  Hall  were  mutualiy  appointed  by  Messrs.  Troup 
and  Ward,  for  that  purpose,  and  made  the  partition. 

Fifty  thousand  acres  of  the  tract  having  been  vested  in  the  com- 
missioners of  the  school  fn.nd,  in  July  1810,  they  appointed  Dr. 
Ward  their  local  agent  for  the  sale  of  it.  In  September  of  the 
same  year  Dr.  Ward  commenced  the  sales  of  farm  lots.  The  sales 
progressed  until  1810  under  this  agency,  when  Dr.  Ward  and  Levi 
H.  Clark,  purchased  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  all  the  unsold 
lands.  By  agreement,  the  sales  were  continued  in  the  name  of  the 
State,  until  the  whole  was  disposed  of  to  actual  settler.^.  The  bonds 
belonging  to  the  State,  have  remained  in  charge  of  Dr.  Ward,  until 
the  })rcsent  time ;  the  management  of  the  property  for  the  last  ten 
o:  fifteen  years,  since  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Ward  from  active  busi- 
ness, iias(levc'ved  upon  his  son  Levi  A.  Ward. 

The  half  belonging  to  the  Pulteney  estate,  was  managed  in  Col. 
Troup's  agency  and  that  of  his  successor,  Mr.  Fellows.  The  100,- 
000  acre,  or  as  it  has  usually  been  called,  the  Connecticut  Tract,  is 
bounded  north  by  Lake  Ontario,  west  by  the  Holland  Company,  or 
transit  line,  south  by  an  east  and  west  line,  a  little  north  of  the  Buf- 
falo road  in  the  town  of  Stafford,  and  east  by  the  west  line  of  the 
Triangle.  In  it,  are  now  embraced  the  towns  of  Kendall,  Murray, 
Clarendon,  Byron  and  a  small  portion  of  Le  Roy,  afford  and  Ber- 
gen. 

The  whole  tract  as  will  have  been  observed,  was  settled  after  the 
general  Pioneer  period,  and  it  is  one  of  the  localities  of  the  settle, 

NoTi;.  —  A  singular  incident  is  connected  with  the  title  to  the  100,000  tract.  —After 
sales  had  eoninienced  and  progressed  several  years,  Selh  P.  Beers,  who  rejireseiitcd 
tlie  State  of  Cunuecticut,  and  Joseph  Fellows,  the  agent  of  the  Pulteney  estate,  discov- 
ered, that  a  deed  from  one  of  the  early  grantors  was  lost,  and  not  upon  record.  Jlr, 
Beers  souglit  out  and  importuned  tlie  grantor  to  substitule  a  new  one  —  offered  him 
jSilO.OOO  wliich  he  refuseii,  demantling  ^'20,000.  Another  of  the  early  jHoprietors  wlio 
Jiad  been  familiar  wiili  all  tiie  transfers,  was  upon  jail  limits  in  the  city  of  Waslung- 
ton.  Mr.  Beers  repaired  to  that  city  and  lie  assured  hiin  ho  could  find  the  deed  ni 
Philadelphia.  Procuring  a  carnage,  Mr.  Beers  took  him  from  the  jail  limits  under 
cover  of  niglit,  conveyed  him  to  I'hiladeljihia,  he  fountl  the  deed,  and  was  r  jturned 
to  the  jail  hmits  before  his  absence  was  discovered.  For  $1000  tlonated  to  ^hc  finder, 
title  was  perfecteil  without  yielding  to  the  exhorbituut  demands  of  one  who  was  for 
takiug  auvantago  of  the  loss  of  the  deed. 


PHELPS   AND  GORHAm's   PUECHASE. 


5G7 


ment  of  whicli  the  author  lias  received  but  meager  remmiscences 
Benliam  Ireston  was  the  Hrst  settler,  preceded  survey  and  tli, 
openuig  of  sales.  He  went  in  from  «tatlbrd,  on  the  Bullhlo  road, 
and  set  his  family  down  upon  Black  creek,  without  a  shelter,  while 
he  went  through  the  woods  to  the  then  new  settlement  of  Ber<ren 
and  procured  the  aid  of  Henry  D.  Gifford  and  otiiers  in  erecting  a 
rude  cabin.  ^ 

The  following  are  the  names  of  most  of  all  who  took  contracts 
upon  the  whole  tract,  or  deeds,  the  first  five  years  after  sales  com- 
menced. As  in  the  instance  of  the  Trangle,  it  will  generally,  but 
not  invariably,  indicate  who  were  the  Pioneers : 


SajTuicl  Lincoln, 
Paul  Kiiowlton, 
Aaron  Sciilmcr, 
Ella  Hniilii, 
William  Wooil, 
Horace  Laii<,'(l()n, 
Amos  lio.sworth, 
Elijah  Brown, 


Elijali  Loomis, 
Samuel  Hall, 
Bilas  Hoi  brook, 
Uriel  Holcomb, 
Major  Osliorne, 
Miumon  llobbs, 
Jas.  M.  Piico, 
Chester  Holbvook, 
Silas  Hazen, 
Araasa  Walker, 
Jacob  Sjiatford, 
Timothv  T.Hart, 
Alfred  Ward, 
Joshua  Wright, 
Eliab  Wright, 
Jared  Child, 
SelahM.  Wright. 
Ezekiel  Case, 
Wm.  Jenny, 
Beuajah  Giawold, 


Simeon  Hosmer, 
Sanuiel  Hosmer, 
Gideon  Hazen, 
Jacob  Dunning, 
Caleb  JVliUer, 
Antliouy  Miller, 
Amos  Lainpson, 
Paul  Knowlton, 
Wm.  Croswell, 
Seth  Griswold, 
Benj.  Livermore, 
Paul  Bulluid, 


1810. 

Natlian  George, 
John  Smith, 
John  Coleman, 
Silas  Taylor, 
Elisha  Tavlor, 
Eli  Jlead, " 
John  Mead, 


1811. 

Elijah  Sluimway, 
Henry  Mead, 
John  Gookin, 
Harvey  Prentice, 
Nathan  Sciuior, 
Stephen  Parldiuret, 
Ishi  Parmelee, 
Daniel  Beckley 
Elijah  Warner, 
John  Thwing, 
Jolm  Thwing,  Jr., 
Frederick  Jimes, 
George  Christ, 
William  Wolcott. 
Manning  Richaidaon, 
Daniel  Oaipenter, 
Ami  Cui-tiss, 
Ira  Scribuer, 
Joseph  Barker, 
William  Strong, 

1812. 

Amasa  Heath, 
Justis  Taylor, 
Samuel  Payne, 
John  P.  Bishop, 
I'age  Bussell, 
Enos  Bush, 
Abel  Hyde, 
John  Carnirtj 
John  Tucker, 
John  Xan  \"alkenburg, 
Samuel  Hammond, 
Dauiel  Woodward, 


Grcenman  Carpenter, 
Adam  Gardner, 
Jonathan  Sprague, 
Darius  Sprague, 
John  Parewell, 
William  Jiurlingame, 
Joshua  Whaley. 


William  Shepard, 
Grover  Gillum. 
Job  Jordon, 
Ednnind  Wilcox, 
Asa  MerriLs, 
George  Holt, 
John  Janes, 
David  Loomis, 
Hubbard  Everts, 
Samuel  Parker, 
William  Parker, 
Enoeli  Eastman, 
John  Johnson, 
John  Cunnnings, 
Eandal  Stivers, 
John  Stivers, 
Iladley  Randal, 
IsJiac  B.  Williams, 
Oliver  Van  Kiik. 


John  Freeman, 
George  Barton, 
Ahimaz  Bniinard, 
Thompson  &  Tuttlo, 
Justis  Parish, 
Moses  Green, 
M.  J.  Hill, 
R.  Lucas, 
A.  Webb, 
Augustus  White, 
Henry  Merrill, 
Lyiuau  Griswold, 


568 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAM's  PURCHASE. 


Zeno  Terry, 
Jolm  Siiyrus, 
Nathan  JJannistcr, 
Zuri  Stephens, 
Pliney  Sanderson, 
Preserved  Kichinond, 
Nathan  Ladd, 
Mathew  Hannah, 
John  Richards 
William  Preston, 
Josiali  Heath, 


Page, 

Homer  H.  Campbell, 
Silas  Williams, 
Salmon  Patterson. 
Lyman  Isbel, 
James  Douglass, 
Consider  W^arner, 
John  Douglas, 
Theodore  Dr<ake, 
Barney  Carpenter, 
William  Rhoades,v 
Amasa  Haskell, 
William  Wood, 


Chauncoy  Robinson, 
Daniel  (Jleason, 
John  Stephens, 
Sliiibel  Lewis, 
Oliver  Smith, 
John  Southworth, 


George  Campbell, 
Joseph  Langdon, 
Ezra  Sanford, 
Lodowick  Wright, 
Benham  Preston, 
Henry  Grovenburg, 
Daniel  Hall, 
Job  Gardner, 
Peter  Prindel, 
Oliver  Mattison, 
John  Qiiimby, 
Stoiy  Curtiss, 
Betheuel  Greenfield, 
Timothy  Bachelder, 
Stephen  Richmond, 
Cyrus  Coy, 
Noah  Sweet, 
William  Lewis, 
Charles  Lee, 
Abijah  Smith, 
Nicholas  Prine, 
Roswell  Osborne, 
Ezekiel  Lee. 


1812. 

Thomas  Hause, 
Calvin  Weed, 
Pliineas  White, 
Barney  Carpenter, 
Thomas  Fisner, 
Abner  Chase, 
Nathaniel  Rogers, 
Dewey  Miller, 
Ezra  Sanl'ord, 
George  Holt, 
Roswell  Mair, 

1813. 

Elisha  Smitli,  Jr., 

Solomon  Bishop, 

Lemuel  P.  Hall, 

Ephraim  Whipple, 

Lodowick  Wright, 

Chester  BiUs, 

Ezekiel  Allen, 

Eli  Whelon, 

John  Lake, 

Ephraim  Van  Valkenburg, 

Jesse  Carter, 

Daniel  Reese, 

Davis  Ingals, 

1814. 

Elijah  Andrus, 
Peleg  Sisson, 
Solomon  Ciirpenter, 
Asa  Lake, 
Joh.athan  By  am, 
Arrod  Kent, 

1815. 

William  Allen, 
Ezekiel  Allen, 
William  Jones, 
Joel  Bronson, 
Ebcnezer  Penigo 
Zirari  Perrigo, 
Oliver  Page, 
WilUam  P.  Gibba 
Ebenezer  Gibbs, 
Elijah  Macknard, 
Levi  Dudley, 
David  Leaaman, 
Wm.  Alexander, 
Joseph  Parks, 
Allen  Sears, 
Amos  Salmon, 
Anson  Morgan, 
Stephen  Eastman 
Jacob  Amen, 
Robert  Owen, 
Darius  Ingalls, 
Jesse  Munson. 


Cyrus  Hood, 
Sanford  Main, 
William  Buniham, 
Elisha  Bentley, 
William  D.  Dudley, 
Lemuel  Cone, 
John  Cone, 
Samuel  Alger, 
Abner  Hopkins, 
John  Palmer, 
Henry  Van  Wormer. 


Samuel  Rundal, 
Henry  L.  Gould, 
David  Glidden, 
Stephen  Martin, 
Eddy  Emmons, 
William  Stiveback, 
David  Church, 
Chauncey  Hood, 
Aaron  Thompson 
Levi  Preston, 
Gideon  Baldwin, 
Van  Kirk. 


Eldridgo  Farwell 
Daniel  R.  Starks, 
John  Love, 
Jiras  Hopkins, 
Horace  Balcom, 
Samuel  Mansfield, 


Samuel  Day, 
Nathan  Crandal, 
David  Hutchinson 
Isaac  Leach, 
Robert  Clark, 
Benjamin  Allen 
David  Wait, 
Abel  Wooster, 
David  Jones, 
Nathaniel  Brown, 
Theopilus  Randal, 
Enos  Cochran, 
Henry  W.  Bates, 
Benjamin  Morse, 
Amos  Randall, 
John  Augur, 
Stephen  Randall, 
David  Jones, 
Levi  Stephens, 
Joseph  Weed, 
Asel  Balcom, 
Hooker  Sawyer. 


ii 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAm's  PURCHASE. 
BRIGHTON. 


569 


•i!pi 


The  township  was  an  early  pioneer  locality,  as  will  have  been 
seen  in   preceding   pages,   though   its  settlement  made  but   slow 
progress;  but  an  occasional  settler  coming  in  previous  to   1816 
1  he  town  which  then  embraced  what  is  now  Brighton  and  Ironde- 
quoit  was  organized  in  1814.     Oliver  Culver  was  the  first  supervisor, 
i\ehemiah  Hopkins,  town  clerk.     Other  town  officers i—Oranrre 
btone    Ezekiel  Morse,  Solomon  Gould,  Sylvester  Cowles,  John 
Hatch,  Jessee  Tamtor,  Ezra  Rogers,  Rufus  Messenger,  Enos  Blos- 
sc)m,  bamuel  SpafTord,  David  Bush,  Enos  Stone,  Job  C.  Smith,  Wm 
liilhnghurst.     There  were  but  three  road  districts  in  the  town  •  the 
overseers  were,  Rufus  Messenger,  Wm.  Moore,  Solomon  Gould, 
James  Suffield,  Joseph  Caldwell.     By  records  transferred  from  old 
town  books  of  Northfield,  it  .would  seem  that  as  early  as  1802  a 
road  was  Jaid  "from  Tryon  Square,  to  Genesee  River  near  Kincr's 
l^anding.       In  1801  a  road  was  surveyed  "  from  Irondequot  Fttlls 
intersecting  a  road  from  Glover  Perrin's  to  Irondequoit  Landinrr  " 
In  1806  a  road  from  mouth  of  river  to  intersection  of  road  n^ar 
Ihomas    m  Landing  Town."     In  1800  a  road  "from   centre  of 
Main  street  ni  the  city  of  Tryon,  to  the  road  leading  from  Orange 
fetone  s  to  the  Genesee  River."     In  same  year,  a  road  leading  "from 
centre  of  road  leading  by  Hollands  and  Ingersoll's  to  Irondequoit 
Landing.       Same  year,  "  from  Rattle-snake  Spring  to  the  Genesee 
Kiver,  opposite  the  old  mill."     Same  year,  a  road  "from  a  stake  and 
stone,  south  of  Allan's  creek,  to  Irondequoit  Landing.     In  1810  a 
road  "  beginning  at  the  new  bridge,  Genesee  river  Falls,  till  it  in- 
tersects  a  road  near  Mr.  Wilder's  in  West  Town."     As  late  as  1816 
$10  was  voted  for  wolf  scalps.     In  that  year  there  was  five  school 
districts  in  the  town.     Same  year,  Elisha  '^,ly,  Oliver  Culver,  Otis 
Walker,   Lbenezer  Bingham  and  Ezekiel  Morse,  were  appointed 
as  a  committee  to  petition  the  "General  Assembly,"  for  money  to 
be  laid  out  on  the  road  from  "  Orange  Stone's  to  the  Genesee  River  " 
In  1817  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  had  29  votes  for  Governor,  Rufus 
King  42.     In  that  year  Elisha  Ely  was  supervisor. 

The  first  settled  minister  in  Brighton  was  the  Rev.  Solomon 
Allen,  as  early  as  1817.  He  was  the  father  of  S.  &  M.  Allen,  the 
well  i.-nown  brokers  in  New  York  ;  a  faithful  minister  and  an  ex- 
ce  lenn  man,  as  many  well  remember.  His  first  meetings  were 
held  at  private  houses.  He  remained  five  years,  and  would  receive 
no  salary.  He  died  in  the  city  of  New  Y.:k  in  1820,  aaed  70 
years.  ° 

Enos  Blossom  was  the  Pioneer  of  the  numerous  family  of  that 
name,  that  has  been  so  closely  identified  with  the  history  of  the 
town ;  emigrating  previous  to,  or  during  the  war  of  1812.  He  was 
from  Cape  Cod,  Mass.     He  died  in  1830,  aged  51  years.    George 


m 


570 


PIIELrS  AND   OORHAM's    rURCHASE. 


Blossom,  of  Brighton,  and  Noble  Blossom,  of  Marshall,  Mich., are  his 
sons ;  daughters  became  wives  of  Marshfield  Parsons,  of  Brighton, 

and Aldrich,  of  Marshall,  Michigan.     Ezra  Blossom,  an  uncle 

of  Enos,  caine  to  Brighton  in  1813,  purchasing  the  Spaflbrd  farm, 
upon  which  the  village  of  Brighton  has  since  grown  up.  He  opened 
tlie  first  tavern  there ;  died  in  1820,  aged  Gl  vears.  His  only  sur- 
viving son  is  Benjamin  B.  Blossom,  Post  Master  of  Brighton ; 
daughters  became  the  wives  of  Ansel  House,  one  of  the  pioneer 
auorneys  of  Rochester,  Wm.  C.  Bloss,  of  Rochester,  and  Levi 
Hoyt,  of  Brighton. 

Dr,  Gibbs  was  the  first  settled  physician  in  Brighton ;  Ira  West 
the  first  merchant. 


CHILI. 


A  small  portion  of  Chili,  was  an  early  settled  locality,  next  to 
Wheatland,  in  all  the  south  western  portion  of  Monroe  county. 
When  the  pioneers  had  settled  down  in  •'  West  Pulteney,"  "  Fair- 
field," and  on  the  Gore  "  in  now  Parma,  thej  called  it  going  out  of 
the  woods  when  they  went  to  the  "  Hannover  settlement."  This 
settlement  was  along  on  the  old  Braddock's  Bay  road,  projected  by 
Mr.  Williamson,  in  "  East  Pulteney,  now  Chili ;  the  first  settlers, 
principally  from  Hannover,  N.  Hampshire.  There  were  of  them 
the  elder  Mr.  Widener,  his  sons,  Jacob,  Abraham,  William,  and 

Peter ;  Jacob  still  survives ;  the  Sottle  family,  Joseph  Gary, 

Wood,  and  his  sons  Lemuel  and  Joseph ;  Joshua  Howell,  who  wa? 
an  early  Justice  of  the  peace;  Samuel  Scott,  of  Scottsville,  Benja- 
min Bowen,  and  the  Franklin  family.  The  names  of  early  settlers 
on  the  River,  have  occurred  in  other  connections.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  small  portion,  the  town  was  late  in  settling,  owing  to 
diffipulties  in  land  titles,  which  kept  the  lands  out  of  market,  but  as 
a  whole,  its  superior  soil  has  been  enabling  it  to  overtake  its  neigh- 
boring towns  in  the  march  of  improvement. 

John  Chapman  became  a  resident  of  the  town  in  1804.     He  had 
been  preceded  two  years  by  his  son  Israel  Chapman,  who  still  sur- 
The  elder  Chapman  opened  the  road  from  the  Hannover 


vives. 


settlement,  to  his  location  on  Chestnut  Ridge.  In  1807  he  had  the 
contract  from  Mr.  Wadsworth  for  opening  the  State  road,  from 
the  site  of  Rochester  to  Ogden;  the  primitive  opening  consisting 
only  of  "  turning  out  the  logs,"  and  under- brushing.  In  1808  he 
opened  a  road  from  where  he  settled  in  Chili,  to  the  Rapids.  He 
had  removed  from  Phelps,  and  returning  there  in  about  two  years 
he  remained  there  until  his  death,  at  the  advanced  age  of  80  years, 
Israel  Chapman,  of  Chili,  Julius  Chapman,  of  Riga,  and  Joel  Chap- 


PIIELP3  AND  GORnAlM's    PURCHASE. 


571 


man,  of  Macedon,  are    his  sons ;  other  sons  reside  at  the  west ; 
Mrs.  Wm.  Peer,  of  Chili  is  a  daurrhter. 

Isaac  Lacy,  thoiifrh  a  late  Conner,  was  for  many  years  a  prominent 
citizen  of  the  town;  an  enterprising  and  successful  farmer,  lie 
emigrated  from  Washington  county  in  1816,  and  in  process  of  time 
became  possessed  of  a  farm  of  ne'ar  1000  acres;  (500  of  which  he 
cultivated.  He  died  in  1811,  aged  08  years.  He  was  a  member  of 
Assembly  from  Monroe  for  two'terms,  and  subsetiuently  a  member 
of  the  Senate.  His  surviving  .sons  are  Allen  T.  Lacy,  near  Mar- 
shall, Michigan ;  .TohnT.  Lacy,  clerk  of  Monroe  county  ;  Edward 
P.  and  Isaac  Lacy,  of  Janesvilie,  Wisconsin.  Daughters  became 
the  wives  of  Ira  Carpenter,  of  Scottsville  ;  R.  M.  Long,  of  Buflalo- 
Dr.  John  Mitchell  of  Janesvilie;  and  H.  II.  Smith,  of  Union  city, 
Michigan.     There  was  in  all,  a  family  of  eleven  children. 


il 


CHAPTER   III. 


EARLY     GLIMPSE?    OF    THE    GENESEE    VALLEY PIONEER     HISTOaY    OK 

ROCHESTER. 


In  all  wc  have  of  the  history  of  French  occupancy  of  Western 
New  York,  but  kw  allusions  are  made  to  the  immediate  valley  of 
the  Genesee  ;  and  yet  there  are  distinct  evidences  that  there  were 
Jesuit  Missionary  and  French  traders  located  upon  it ;  and  such 
may  well  be  the  inference,  as  within  it  were  some  of  the  principal 
seats  of  the  Senecas.  Soon  after  the  advent  of  La  Salle,  a  trading 
post  and  missionary  station  was  founded  upon  the  Niagara,  a  few 
miles  above  the  Falls.  In  the  Jesuit  letters  there  are  several  allu- 
sions to  another  one,  with  which  those  who  occupied  the  first,  were 
in  frequent  communication,  upon  the  "River  of  the  Tsonnontouans." 
(the  river  of  the  Senecas.)  *  While  La  Salle  was  building  his  ves- 
sel at  the  mouth  of  the  Cayuga  creek,  he  sent  embassies  over  land, 
to  reconcile  the  Senecas  to  his  enterprise ;  and  the  vessel  he  had 
built  at  Frontenac,  coasted  along  the  .jouth  shore  of  Lake  Ontario 


*  The  communication  was  by  water,  aad  yet  not  by  the  Niagara  river  and  Lake 
Ontario.  Strange  as  it  may  now  seem,  batteaux  iisoenJecl  the  Tonawanda,  were  car- 
ried over  a  short  portage  into  tlio  Tonawanda  swamp,  and  descended  by  the  waters 
of  Black  creek  to  the  Genesee  river !  That  there  liad  once  been  Bucli  an  internal 
navigation,  Mr.  EUicott  was  in  some  way  apprized,  and  that  suggested  to  him  his  fa- 
vorite  route  ft;r  the  Erie  Canal,  a  partial  survey  of  which  was  made. 


572 


rilELPS  AND   GOKIIAMS    PURCHASE. 


and  entered  the  Genesee  River,  the  first  craft  of  European  architec- 
ture, in  all  prohabihty,  tliat  ever  disturbed  its  waters.     The  liaron 
I^a  llontan,  who  accompanied  the  expedition  of  I)e  Nonville,  L'ave 
some  account  of  tiie  River,  and  laid  it  down  upon  the  ma[)  that 
accompanied  the  first  publication  of  iiis  "Voyages  to  North  Amer- 
ica," in  London,  1703.     There  are  other  maps  in  which  the  River 
is  recognized,  of  even  earlier  date.     Views  of  the  upj)er  Jind  lower 
Falls  were  published  in  London  in  1708.     Upon  them,  the  river  is 
called,    "Casconchi;igon,  or  Little  Senecas'  River."     [The   term 
lilth,  must  have  been  in  comparison  with  Niagara  river.]     Joncaire, 
who  is  introduced  in  the  body  of  the  work,  was  familiar  with  the 
whole  region,  and  gave  to  Charlevoiz,  in    1723,  a  very  intelligible 
description  of  tl.»  Genesee  River.     English  occupancy  of  western 
New  York,  was   comparatively  of  but  short  duration,  and  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  occupancy  of  the  immediate  valley  of  the 
(jcnesco.     In  Governor  liurnctt's  time,  there  was  an  English  trading 
house,  and  a  few  soldier's  at  the  "  Bay  cf  Tyrondequoh,"  but  little 
is  said  of  it.     It  was  probably  soon  abandoned,  as  the  Senecas  were 
far  more  jealous  of  English  than  of  French  occupancy.     The  Rev. 
Mr.  Kirkland  visited  this  region  in  1765,  and  during  all  the  period 
of  English  occupancy,  there  were  English  traders  on  Seneca  Lake, 
the  (Jenesee  and  the  Niagara  rivers.     When   the  Revolutionary 
war  commenced,  the  Genesee  valley,  aj  will  be  observed,  began 
soon  to  be  the  temporary  abiding  place  of  refugees  from  the  Mo- 
hawk, the  Susquehannah  and  New  Jersey  ;  the  chief  among  them, 
the  ruling  spirit,  the  "  lord  of  the  valley,"  being  Ebenezer,  or  Indian 
Allan ;  the  solitary  occupant  upon  the  River,  below  the  mouth  of 
Allan's  creek,  one  of  his  liege  subjects,  Jacob  Walker. 


THE  FALLS  OF  THE  GENESEE  AND  THEIR  IMMEDIATE  VICINITY nELAV 

IN  SETTLEAIENT   AND  IMI'ROVEMENT THE    IMMEDIATE  AND 

REMOTE    CAUSES. 


Truly  ic  may  '.e  observed,  that  with  reference  to  the  pioneer  his- 
tory of  all  this  region,  a  reversal  of  the  ordinary  arrangement  is  in- 
dicated by  the  course  of  events,  and  the  first  becomes  last.  The 
site  of  the  "City  of  the  valley  op  the  Genesee," — the  com- 
mercial and  general  business  emporium,  of  all  the  region  that  we 
have  been  travelling  over  —  was  a  wilderness,  almost  unbroken,  a 
bye  place,  in  homely  phrase,  for  long  years  after  settlements  were 
founded  in  almost  the  entire  Genesee  country.  When  Buffalo, 
Batavia,  Canandaigua,  Geneva,  Palmyra,  Penn  Yan,  Bath,  Gen- 
eseo,  Caledonia  and  Le  Roy,  had  becnme  considerable  villages,  and 
local  business  had  began  to  centre  at  Pittsford,  Penfield,  Victor, 


!'^ 


PIIELPS    AND    OOIUIAM's    PlTRCirASE. 


57.*^ 


Lyons,  Vienna,  Manchester.  East  Bloomfiold,  Lima.  Avon,  Dans- 
I  villu   Aiisreiica,  Warsaw,  Attica,  Lr^wiston,  Uait  Orclianl,  Gaines. 

r  Clarkson,  Pauna,  Charlotte,  Ilandlbrd's  Lanrjinj,'   and  Scottsvillc 

sulficient  to  form  little  clusters  of  stores,  machine  shops  and  dvvell- 
injrs  —  there  was  at  "Genesee  Falls,"  now  Rochester,  hut  a  rude 
mill  and  u  few  rude  dwellings,  h^ss  than  twenty  acres  of  the  forest 
cleared  away,  and  less  than  a  half  dozen  fami.ics. 

The  reader  whose  interest  and  patience  have  both  held  out  thus 
far,  to  keep  alnni?  with  the  narrative,  has  had  occasional  glimpses 
of  the  site  of  Rochester,  hut  has  seen  little  as  there  w.as  hut  little  to 
see ;  or  rather  has  read  little  of  it,  lor  the  reason  that  it  lias  not 
been  before  reached  in  the  order  of  tima.  It  was  late  in  attracting 
the  attention  of  men  cf  enterprise,  founders  of  settlements  and  vil- 
lages. Now  when  its  superior  advantages  are  so  obvious,  when  it 
has  become  a  largo  and  populous  city,  with  those  not  familiar  with 
the  early  history  of  the  country,  surprise  is  created  that  it  was  not 
one  of  the  primitive  theatres  of  investment  and  enterprise.  In  the 
first  place,  it  may  be  observed,  that  there  was  a  long  series  of 
years,  after  the  settlement  of  the  Genesee  country  commenced, 
.  when   the  Pioneers  in  detached  settlements   in  the   forest,   were 

subduing  the  soil,  and  obtaining  from  it  but  barelv  the  means  of 
subsistence;  in  the  most  favored  localities  but  a,  small  surplus 
which  was  required  by  the  new  comers  that  were  dropping  in  from 
year  to  year  around  them ;  there  was  little  necessity  for  market 
.   i  places,  or  commercial  depots.     Rapids  upon  the  small  streams  ex- 

:  isted  in  almost  every  neighborhood  and  settlement,  upon  which  rude 

mills  were  erected,  sufficient  for  all  the  then  existing  requirements. 
The  extensive  hydraulic  power  created  by  the  Rapids  and  the  Falls 
of  the  Genesee,  was  not  put  in  requisition,  because  there  was  no 
occasion  for  it.  Rochester,  of  itself,  in  its  steady  permanent  growth, 
demonstrates  the  fact,  that  villages  and  cities  should  follow  the  gen- 
eral improvements  of  a  country  which  is  to  be  tributary  to  tl?em. 
and  not  precede  them.  It  .sprung  up  when  it  was  required,  kept 
pace  wi4h  the  growth  and  improvement  of  the  whole  country  —  and 
a  rapid  march  it  had  to  make  to  do  so  —  and  thence  its  permanence 
and  substantial  character. 

The  territory  bordering  upon  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  in  the 
entire  Genesee  country,  with  few  exceptions,  did  not  attract  settlers 
in  all  the  earliest  years.  There  was  little  of  Lake  commerce,  and 
travel,  transportation  and  business,  centered  upon  the  main  thorough- 
fare, the  old  Bufllilo  road.  It  is  a  far  greater  wonder  that  at  a  peri- 
od when  good  roads  was  the  great  desideratum,  when  upon  all  ordin- 
ary soils  they  could  not  be  made  ;  when  even  the  main  Buffalo  road, 
after  there  had  been  expended  upon  it  a  vast  amount  of  labor,  was 
in  most  seasons  of  the  year  almost  impassable,  —  that  sujh  a  con- 
tinuous national  highway  as  was  the  Ridge  road,  was  not  opened 
and  travelled  ;  than  that  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee  were  not  earlier 


'li  ■ 

'  i ' 

■1; 

■  i 

;  i 

! 

J 

: 

j| 

i 

! 

i 

■  1 

: 


574 


PIIELP3  AND   GORIIA:m's    PURCHASE. 


improved.  There  was  never,  in  the  earliest  period,  any  misapprehen- 
sion of  tiie  intrinsic  valuf^  of  the  soil  in  all  ♦his  northern  region  of  the 
(ienesee  country.  The  Pioneers  were  awure  of  the  fact,  now  so  clear- 
ly demonstrated  by  time  and  experience,  that  from  the  Pennsyl- 
vania line,  northward  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  there  was  a 
irradual  improvement  in  the  face  of  the  country,  and  in  all  the  ele- 
ments of  succes.'sful  agriculture ;  but  along  on'  the  Lake  shore,  in 
tiie  whole  distance  from  vSodus  Bay  to  Fort  Niagara,  there  was  a 
wide  belt  of  dense  dark  forest,  the  soil  mostly  wet ;  its  whole  aspect 
repulsive  and  forbidding.  It  was  penetrated  in  the  earliest  years  by 
luit  few,  and  those  as  may  well  be  conceded,  the  boldest  of  the  Pio- 
neers. First,  Mr.  Williamson,  attracted  by  the  beautiful  Bay  of 
iSodus,  by  its  fine  building  ground,  and  its  prospective  commercial 
importance,  broke  in  there,  and  accompanying  extraordinary  enter- 
prise with  a  liberal  expenditure  of  capital,  mad^  a  failure  of  it,  and 
years  of  decline,  and  almost  desertion,  followed.  Then  two  hardy 
Pior  "ers  set  themselves  down  on  the  Lake  shore,  between  Sodus  and 
Pulteneyville  ;  (Brown  and  Richards.)  Previous  to  this  however, 
the  Lusks,  Hydes,  Timothy  Allyn,  Orange  Stone,  the  Scudder.s,  and 
a  few  others  had  located  upon  an  inviting  spot  in  Brighton,  near  the 
head  of  the  Irondequoit  Bay.  Then  followed  William  Hencher, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river;  then  the  Atchinsons  and  a  few 
others,  formed  an  isolated  and  lonesome  settlement  at  the  head  of 
Braddock's,  (Prideaux's)  Bay.  Then  James  Walworth,  Elijah 
Brown,  (the  same  who  had  settled  below  Pulteneyville,)  Elisha 
Hunt,  the  De  Graws,  Lovell,  Marsh,  Parmeter,  Dunham,  the  Grif- 
fiths and  others,  located  at  Oak  Orchard  ;  and  soon  after,  openings 
ill  the  forest  began  to  be  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Niagara,  as 
low  down  as  the  Four  Mile  creek.  Following  these  pionet  r  advents, 
other  adventurers  were  "  few  and  far  between ; "  they  were  in  a 
tinv  localities  in  Niagara,  along  on  the  RidT-e  in  Orleans,  in  Clark- 
son,  Ogden,  Bergen,  Riga,  Chili,  Greece,  Penficld,  Macedon.  Wal- 
worth, Marion,  and  along  on  the  road  from  Sodus  to  Lyons.  When 
little  neighborhoods  had  been  formed  in  all  these  detached  localities, 
disease  came  into  the  openings  of  the  forest,  about  as  fast  as  they 
were  made.  Often  families,  and  sometimes  almost  entire  neigh- 
borhoods were  carried  into  the  older  and  healthier  localities,  upon 
ox  sleds  and  carts,  through  wood's  roads,  to  be  nur.sed  and  cared  for. 
Through  long  years  this  operated  not  unlike  the  carrying  of  th?  dead 
and  woimded  from  a  battle  field  into  the  presence  of  those  whose  aid 
is  re(iuired  to  renew  and  maintain  the  strife.  It  was  but  little  less 
appaling  and  discouraging.  The  whole  region  now  im  nediately 
under  consideration  was  sickly  in  all  the  early  years,  and  i.pon  that 
account,  and  for  other  reasons,  was  slow  in  settling.  All  the  region 
i'rouiid  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  at  King's 
Landing,  (as  the  reader  has  observed  and  will  observe,)  was  regar- 
ded as  prolific  in  the  seeds  of  disease  —  ot' chills  and  fevers — almost. 


PHELPS   AND  GOPJIAii  S  PtJECIUSE. 


675 


I. 


vis  are  the  Pontine  marshes  of  the  old  work),  and  the  passes  of  the 
Isthmus  on  the  route  to  California.  A  single  instance  may  be  sta- 
ted in  this  coimection,  in  addition  to  what  will  appear  elsewhere  : 
—  In  an  early  year,  previous  to  1800,  Wheelock  Wood,  a  pioneer 
in  Lima,  built  a  saw  mill  on  Deep  Gulley  creek,  within  the  present 
city  limits  of  Rochester,  had  it  in  operation  but  one  season,  carried 
back  to  Lima,  his  workmen,  prostrated  by  disease  ;  and  was  finally 
obliged  to  abandon  his  enterprise,  and  let  his  mill  go  to  decay,  for 
the  reason  that  workmen  could  not  be  found  who  would  incur  the 
exposure  to  disease  consequent  upon  the  care  of  it. 

The  causes  that  have  been  cited  are  quite  sufficient  to  account 
for  the  late  start  of  Kochester ;  to  explain  to  the  readers  of  the  pre- 
sent day,  why  valualjle  hydraulic  privileges,  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  shipping  ports  of  Lake  Ontario,  were  so  long  principally 
shrouded  by  the  primeval  forest,  after  settlement  had  approached 
and  almost  surrounded  the  locality.  To  these  causes  the  reader 
may  add  what  he  has  already  observed,  of  the  tendency  of  things 
toward  the  main  thoroughfare,  the  Bufialo  Road,  in  early  years ; 
and  Ihe  fact,  that  quite  up  to  the  period  of  the  start  of  Rochester, 
the  commercial  enterprize  and  expectation  of  a  large  settled  portion 
of  the  Genesee  country  was  turned  in  the  direction  of  the  head  waters 
of  the  Allegany  and  Susquehannah. 

The  year  1811,  that  being  the  year  in  which  Col.  Rochester,  first 
surveyed  and  sold  lots  on  the  one  hundred  acre  tract,  may  be  regarded 
as  the  starting  period  of  Rochester,  though  in  reference  to  any  con- 
siderable movement,  accession  of  population  and  business,  the  years 
1815,  or  '10  w^ould  perhaps  be  indicated.     The  first  period  named, 
preceding  but  a  few  months,  another  important  event  in  our  local  his- 
tory, the  war  of  1812  —  some  account  of  the  then  general  condition 
of  the  Genesee  country,  will  not  be  out  of  place  : — Commencing  with 
the  Pioneer  region,  the  territory  now  comprised  in  the  county  of 
Ontario,  improvements  were  considerably  advanced.      Generally, 
the  soil  there  was  more  easily  subdued,  and  made  more  speedy  re- 
turns for  labor  expended,  than  the  more  heavily  timbered  lands  that 
predominated  elsewhere.      There  were  many  framed  houses  and 
barns,  bearing  orchards,  largely  improved  farms,  and  good  public 
highways.     The  territory  had  began  to  have  a  large  surplus  of  pro- 
ducts, which  principally  found  a  market  in  the  later  settled  regions, 
south  and  west.     There  may  be  included  in  this  description  a  small 
portion  of  the  present  counties  of  Wayne,  Livingston  and  Yates. 
In  nearly  all  the  northern  portion  of  Wayne  county  settlement  was 
recent,  and  but  small  improvements  had  i)een  made.     In  Living- 
ston the  considerable  improvements  were  principally  confined  to  the 
fiats  of  tlie  Genesee  and  Canascraga,  the  IJuifalo  road,   Livonia, 
r^'Onesus,  Grovelnnd  nnd  Sparta.     A  large  portion  of  Alleimny  wag 
a  wilderness  ;  there  were  but  few  recent  and  feeble  .settlements.  The 
older  settlements  in  Steuben  had  began  to  produce  a  small  surplus, 


i    ft! 


576 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's    PURCHASE. 


which,  with  its  lumber,  was  shipped  upon  the  head  waters  of  the 
Susquehannah,  for  the  Baltimore  market ;  but  most  of  the  county 
was  either  a  wilderness,  or  sparsely  populated. 

West  of  the  Genesee  River,  the  lands  along  the  Buffalo  load  were 
principally  settled,  and  many  large  improvements  had  been  made. 
The  principal  public  houses  were  along  on  that  road  ;  it  was  the 
central  locality  ;  those  who  lived  away  from  that  were  in  the  back- 
woods, or  interior ;  there  they  gloried  in  some  very  respectable 
framed  tavern  houses  ;  "  double  log"  tavern  houses  prevailed  to  the 
south  and  north  of  it.  In  Wyoming,  there  were  settlements  and 
considerable  improvements  along  on  the  old  "  Big  Tree"  road,  the 
Tonawanda  and  Allan's  creek ;  elsewhere  the  Pioneers  were  in 
small  isolated  settlements,  with  wide  belts  of  forests  intervening. 
Cattaraugus  had  been  broken  into  in  but  few  localities,  principally 
along  on  the  Cattaraugus  creek,  the  Ischua,  and  the  Allegany  River. 
Chautauque  and  the  south  towns  of  Erie  iiad  considerable  settle- 
ments, principally  along  near  the  lake  shore,  and  in  the  interior,  on 
Chautauque  Lake,  and  on  the  old  "  Big  Tree"  road.  The  settle- 
ments in  all  the  northern  portion  of  Erie,  were  along  on  the  Buffido 
road,  and  between  that  and  the  Seneca  Reservation.  In  Niagara, 
settlement  was  principally  confined  to  the  Niagara  River,  the  Ridge 
Road,  and  along  on  the  narrow  strip  between  the  Ridge  Road  and 
Mountain  Ridge.  Orleans  was  mostly  a  wilderness,  with  but  little 
in  the  way  of  improvement  off  from  the  Ridge  Road,  and  in  but  few- 
localities  upon  it.  The  Ridge  Road  in  its  whole  extent,  from  the 
Genesee  to  the  Niagara  River,  had  but  just  been  opened,  a  large 
portion  of  it  was  butan  underbrushed  woods  road,  with  only  a  part  of 
the  streams  having  over  them  even  rude  log  bridges.  In  short,  in 
■  al!  the  region  between  the  Genesee  River  and  the  west  bounds  of 
the  State,  off  from  the  main  east  and  we-t  road,  there  was  but  isola- 
ted neighborhoods  and  detached  famlies,  settlement  had  mostly 
commenced  within  the  preceding  six  years.  There  was  not  fifty 
framed  dwellings,  nor  over  an  hundred  framed  barns  ;  fifty  acres 
was  deemed  a  large  improvement,  much  above  the  average. 

The  condition  of  the  territory  now  comprised  in  Monroe,  may  be 
inferred  from  the  history  of  settlement  that  has  been  given. 

During  the  war,  there  was  no  increase  of  population  in  the  whole 
region  —  as  many  lel't  the  country  as  came  to  it  —  a  very  laro-e 
proportion  of  the  effective  men  were  upon  the  frontier,  and  alarm 
and  apprehension  paralyzed  all  of  industry  and  enterprise.  With 
reference  to  the  period  of  1812,  Rochester  had  an  untoward  com- 
mencement; and  with  reference  to  the  latter  period  — 1815  and  '16 
—  it  started  v^rhen  the  whole  region  with  which  it  had  a  local  iden- 
tity, had  but  passed  its  infimcy,  —  when  after  acquiring  a  little 
strength  and  manhood,  prostration  and  weakness  had  followed,  from 
which  it  was  just  recovering. 


i 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's  PURCHASE. 


57r 


THE    FIRST    BLOW  STRUCK    ON  THE   SITE    OF   ROCHESTER 

ALLAN    MILL REMINISCENCES  OF  EVENTS  TO 

THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR  OF   1812. 


THE 


:!  iijii 


It  was  soon  after  Mr.  Phelps  had  concluded  his  treaty,  that  he 
sold  or  gave  to  Ebenezer  Allan  the  One  Hundred  Acre  Tract,  upon 
which  he  erected ,  his  rude  mills.  The  mills  were  in  operation  be- 
fore the  close  of  1790,  or  rather  were  in  readiness  to  saw  and  grind 
when  there  was  anything  to  do.  The  measure  on  the  part  of  Allan 
was  premature ;  when  the  grist  mill  was  completed,  there  was  not 
in  all  the  region  west  of  the  old  Pre-emption  line,  1500  of  our  race  ; 
and  with  theexceptionof  the  flats  upon  the  Genesee  and  Canascraga, 
and  a  few  small  Indian  improvements  elsewhere,  not  1000  acres  of 
cleared  land.  As  settlements  increased,  small  mills  were  erected  in 
other  localities,  leaving  the  Allan  mills  at  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee, 
surrounded  as  they  mostly  were  by  an  unsettled  wilderness,  but  little 
to  do.  A  miller  was  usually  kept  with  them,  the  solitary  occupant 
of  all  the  now  site  of  Rochester,  but  he  had  usually  not  employment 
enough  to  enable  him  to  keep  the  mill  in  repair.  Sometimes  there 
would  be  no  miller  —  the  whole  premises  would  be  deserted  — and 
in  seasons  of  drouth,  or  when  the  small  mills  at  Mendon,  Wilder's 
Point,  and  atConesus,  would  be  out  of  repair,  the  new  settlers  would 
come  down  the  Genesee  River  in  canoes,  upon  Indian  trails,  or  via 
the  early  woods  road  that  came  from  Pittsford  to  Orange  Stone's  in 
Brighton,  and  to  avoid  the  low  wet  lands  thai  intervened,  was  carried 
off  upon  the  ridges  lo  the  south,  coming  out  upon  the  river  near 
Mount  Hope.  Arriving  at  the  mill,  they  would  occupy  the  deserted 
cabin,  supply  a  broken  cog,  mend  a  strap,  put  a  bucket  upon  a  wheel 
or  a  plank  upon  the  floom,  and  be  their  own  millers. 

The  mill  and  the  Hundred  Acre  Tract  was  purchased  of  Allan  by 
Benjamin  Barton,  senior,  in  March,  1792.  The  property  was  soon 
after  conveyed  by  Barton  to  Samuel  Ogden  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  Mr.  Ogden  being  a  lawyer,  and  a  far  off  resident,  was  not 
likely  to  improve  it,  and  as  early  as  1794  conveyed  it  to  Charles 
Williamson.  The  next  year  Mr.  Williamson  put  the  property  under 
the  care  of  Col.  Fish,  and  expended  upon  it  about  -^500.  But  still 
there  was  a  want  of  business  for  it,  and  in  all  the  time  that  elapsed, 
during  the  ownership  of  Mr.  Williamson,  it  was  allowed  to  go  grad- 
ually to  decay.  While  in  various  other  localities,  in  Sodus,  Lyons, 
Geneva,  Hopeton,  Bath,  on  the  Canascraga,  in  Caledonia,  and  to  a 
small  extent  at  Braddock's  Bay,  he  was  prosecuting  enterprises, 
founding  villages,  and  mills,  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee  seems  to  have 
had  no  considerable  attractions  for  hira.  And  this  together  with 
the  then  isolated  condition  of  the  locality  in  reference  to  the  cour.so 
that  settlement  was  then  taking,  may  furnish  the  explanation  :  In  all 
expenditures  and  improvements  lie  had  reference  to  the  increasing 


578 


PHELPS  AlfD  GOEHAm's  PUECIIASE. 


of  the  value  of  the  property  of  his  principals.  All  thai  is  now  Gates, 
most  of  Greece,  a  part  of  Chili,  all  of  Henrietta,  Rush,  Mendon, 
Pittsford,  Perrinton,  Penfield,  and  Brighton,  was  not  a  part  of  the 
Pulteney  estate.  The  principal  interest  of  his  principals  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  Rochester,  was  most  of  what  is  now  Irondequoit, 
a  tract  of  4000  acres  at  the  Rapids,  and  a  larger  tract  in  what  is 
now  Chili.  In  January,  1802,  in  a  valuation  of  all  the  different 
parcels  of  the  Pulteney  estate,  made  by  Israel  Chapin,  Joseph 
Annin,  and  Amos  Hall,  the  mill  and  hundred  acres,  was  valued  at 
$1,040. 

Following  the  erection  of  the  mill,  the  clearing  away  of  a  small 
spot  of  the  forest  around  it,  there  was  in  respect  to  either  settlement 
or  improvement,  an  hiatus  —  an  almost  total  suspension  of  opera- 
tions—  for  nearly  twenty  years ;  a  period  in  our  present  day,  more 
than  sufficient  for  settling  States,  founding  new  empires,  and  build- 
ing large  cities. 

Tn  all  this  time  the  locality,  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  was  not 
lost  sight  of;  it  was  frequently  visited  by  tourists  and  men  of  enter- 
prise. In  1795,  Aaron  Burr,  —  then  a  large  operator  in  sites  of 
towns,  in  tracts  of  wild  lands,  and  in  a  few  years  after,  the  owner 
for  a  short  period,  of  an  100,000  acres  of  Orleans  county,  contiguous 
to  mouth  of  Oak  Orchard  creek — diverged  from  the  old  Butfalo  road, 
came  down  a^id  critically  examined  the  Falls,  taking  measurements 
of  them.  Adventurers  coasting  along  the  Lake  shore  in  batteaux, 
would  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  survey  the  Falls,  become 
impressed  with  the  value  of  the  location,  the  magnitude  of  its  hy- 
draulic power;  but  the  dark  frowning  forests,  the  low  wet  lands, 
the  malaria  they  could  well  fancy  they  saw  floating  in  the  atmos- 
phere, sent  them  away  to  other  fields  of  investment  and  enterprise, 
of  far  less  importance,  as  time  has  demonstrated. 

In  170G  Zadock  Granger,  Gideon  King  and  others,  as  will  have 
been  observed,  formed  a  settlement  at  what  afterwards  became 
Hand  ford's  Landing.  These  were  the  first  comers  upon  the  river, 
belov/  the  mouth  of  Black  creek,  (the  miller  of  the  Falls  excepted,) 
after  Wm.  Hencher.  In  writing  to  his  friends  in  England,  Mr. 
Williamson  was  much  disposed  to  make  things  quite  as  forward  as 

Note. — In  tliis  connection  the  author  will  make  an  extract  from  the  manuscript  re- 
miniscences of  Tliomas  llorris  : —  "In  June,  1797,  Louis  Pliilip,  the  late  King  of 
Franco,  his  two  brothers,  tlie  Duke  de  Montpensicr,  and  Count  Beaugolais,  were  my 
guests  at  Canandaigua.  Being  desirous  of  shewing  them  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee 
Iliver,  we  rode  togetlier  to  where  Rochester  now  is,  There  was  not  at  that  time  a  liut 
of  any  kind.  Tlie  nearest  habitation  was  that  of  a  farmer  by  the  name  of  I'erriu,'" 
(Orange  Stone  he  should  have  said,)  "  where  after  viewing  the  Falls  we  dined  iu  our 
return  to  Canandaigua.  Notwithstantling  all  that  I  had  heard  of  the  progress  of  Roch- 
ester," (Mr.  Morris  is  now  alluding  to  his  visit  to  the  city  in  1814,)  it  was  tlifhcult  for 
mo  \n  realize  that  a  place  that  I  had  last  seen,  even  at  that  distance  of  time,  an  un- 
inhabited wihlerness,  shouhi  now  be  a  busy,  active  city,  containing  elegant  and  costly 
buildiiig.s,  uiid  wiUi  a  |i(ipulali()u,  as  1  was  iuibrmeu  there,  of  between  tweuty-flve 
andthiity  thousand  iiihabitauts." 


four 


the 


PHELPS    AND    GORHAirS  PUECHASE. 


579 


they  were,  and  to  rreate  the  impression  that  the  country  was  going 
ahead  pretty  rapidly.  He  announced  the  advent  of  these  new 
comers,  as  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  ;  and  speaks  of  the 
commercial  enterprise  of  Mr.  Granger,  in  the  same  year,  as  having 
created  a  new  era  in  this  region  of  the  Genssee  country.  "  The 
navigation  of  the  river,"  says  one  of  his  letters,  "  is  interrupted  by 
four  successive  magnificent  falls,  the  highest  of  them  90  feet ; 
around  these  falls  a  carrying  place  was  made,  and  the  inhabitants 
for  the  first  time  began  tc  use  the  navigation,  and  they  received 
their  salt  from  the  Onondaga  salt  works,  and  their  stores  from  Al- 
bany, with  a  very  trifling  land  carriage,  compared  to  what  they 
were  before  necessitatedjo  undertake  from  Geneva;  and  it  has 
opened  to  them  a  ready  market  for  their  produce." 

From  the  very  earliest  period  of  the  settlement  of  the  Genesee 
country,  there  seemed  to  be  a  prevalent,  vague  idea,  that  a  town 
of  some  consequence  was  to  grow  up  somewhere  in  what  is  now 
the  northern  portion  of  Monroe  —  neucluses  were  formed,  prelim- 
inary steps  taken  to  start  villages  and  commercial  depots  —  but  the 
sites,  or  locations,  were  for  a  long  period  fluctuating.  There  are 
within  nine  miles  of  Rochester,  within  the  precincts  of  the  over 
shadowing  city  —  the  sites  of  no  less  than  five  embryo  villages,  or 
towns,  gone  to  decay  —  or  rather,  are  either  converted  into  highly 
cultivated  farms,  or  have  become  principally  the  eligible  sites  of 
private  dwellings;  and  this,  without  including  Frankfort — at  first 
assuming  rather  an  independent  existence  —  but  having  now  but 
little  separate  identity ;  having  long  ago  been  merged  in  the  city 
that  is  now  travelling  on,  on,  beyond  it,  with  rapid  strides. 

Soon  after  the  completion  of  the  surveys  of  Phelps  and  Gorham's 
Purchase,  the  late  Augustus  Porter,  mapped  the  whole  territory, 
carefully  disignating  the  localities  where  villages  and  mills  either 
were  or  were  likely  to  be.  He  makes  no  mark  or  sign  of  civiliza- 
tion, on  the  river,  below  "  Hartford,"  (Avon,)  except  at  the  Allan 
mill,  and  upon  the  afterwards  site  of  Carthage,  is  printed,  "Athens." 
This  would  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  earliest  proprietors  of 
the  region,  (even  before  the  advent  of  Mr.  Williamson,)  had  desig- 
nated that  as  their  favorite  locality.  EligiJile  and  beautiful  as  the 
site  now  is,  it  must  have  been  in  that  early  day,  a  most  unpropi- 
tious  spot,  to  introduce  a  name  associated  with  the  highest  degrees 
of  civilization  in  the  old  world.  But  let  this  reminiscence  remind 
the  dwellers  there,  that  they  are  treading  upon  classic  ground. 
"  Tryon  Town,"  in  now  Brighton,  on  the  "  Eutauntuquet*  Bay," 
was  the  next  favorite  locality  ;  where,  as  will  have  been  observed, 
a  town  was  projected  and  commenced,  and  for  many  early  years 
was  the  focus  of  business  for  a  wide  region  of  log  cabins  and  wood's 
roads  ;  —  a  shipping  port,  withal.     Then  succeeded  "  King's"  and 


'  Vide,  Judge  Porter's  Map, 


580 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAMS'  PURCHASE. 


•'Handfords  Landings;  then  "Charlotte;"  and  next,  (or  perhaps 
in  earlier  years.)  "  Castle  Town."  All  but  the  "  oldest  inhabitants" 
will  have  to  be  told  where  "Castle  Town"  was  :  — It  was  upon  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  at  the  Rapids,  near  the  division  line  of  Gates 
and  Chill.  Mr.  Wadsworth  owned  lot  47,  the  south  east  corner  lot 
ot  Gat-s,  embracing  the  upper  part  of  the  Rapids,  and  the  PuUenev 
estate,  lots  12,  24,  and  36  of  the  "4,000  acre  tract,"  conti<mous  and 
below,  embracing  the  lower  part  of  the  Rapids.  The  whole  bein^ 
under  Mr.  W..  Jsworth's  control,  as  owner  and  agent,  durin<r  the 
long  years  that  the  site  of  Rochester  was  left  unimproved,  he°con- 
ceived  the  idea  of  founding  a  village  there,  it  being  the  foot  of  nav- 
igation on  the  Genesee  river,  and  the  head  of  the  portage  from 
the  navigable  waters  of  the  river  below  the  Falls.  A  town  was 
surveyed,  some  lots  sold,  a  store  and  tavern  house  erected,  and  a 
few  iamilies  settled  there ;  among  whom  was  Isaac  Castle  •  and 
thence  the  name.  Rochester  starting  up,  and  soon  after,  a  diver- 
sion of  the  water  power  being  made  by  the  Canal  Feeder,  there  was 
an  end  of  "  Castle  Town." 

After  the  pioneer  commercia'  enterprise  of  Mr.  Granr^er,  a  con- 
siderable period  elapsed  before  other  vessels  were  buiit. '  The  one 
schooner,  with  such'  as  dropped  in  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  for 
Ireight,  hailing  from  other  ports,  was  probably  found  sufficient  pre- 
vious to  1800.  Augustus  and  Peter  B.  Porter,  built  a  schooner  up- 
on Irondequoit  Bay,  and  for  several  years  the  commerce  was  divi- 
ded between  the  Bay  and  the  River.  "In  1808  or  '9,  Erastus  Spauld- 
ing  built  a  schooner  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  in  1811,  Oliver 
Culver  built  one  upon  the  Irondequoit  Bay.  The  Lake  commerce 
had  commenced  with  pot  and  pearl  ashes  for  the  Montreal  market 
to  which  was  soon  added  small  amounts  of  flour  and  wheat,  salt 
from  the  Onondaga  salt  works ;  and  at  a  later  period,  butt  staves 
A  small  commerce,  upon  the  River  and  Bay,  seems  almost  to  have 
been  forcing  itself  in  the  earliest  years.  The  navigation  of  the 
busquehannah  was  fluctuating,  tedious  and  expensive.  The  boat- 
ing Irom  Lyons,  Geneva  and  Seneca  Falls,  had  been  almost  aban- 
doned ;  transportation  of  produce,  overland,  upon  the  Albany  road, 
impracticable  to  any  considerable  extent,  except  when  good  winter 


^OTE.  — Something  of  Charlotte  will  be  found  in  dctaclied  portions  of  the  work  • 
but  any  esi)eciiil  notice  of  one  who  was  early  identitied  with  the  locality,  has  been' 
omitted.    Andrew  J\['^  abb,  emigrated   from  Scotland  in  ISOG.     AVell  educated  and 
^""^tmm"        l»"Vr  oi  clearing  new  hinds,  he  spent  a  considerabl    time  with  Alexan- 
der M  1  herson,  ol  Le  Roy,  under  an  arrangement  tliat  he  should  be  the  teacher  of  his  ' 
children,  and  m  turn  should  be  taught  himself  the  rudiments  of  Tioncer  labor     Soon 
however,  he  att  acted  the  attention  of  Mr.  Stoddard,  and  was  employed  in  his  land 
ottice  ;  Irom  which  he  was  transferred  to  the  office  of  James  Wad' worth.    Under  the 
auspices  ot  Messrs.  Troup  anil    Wadsworth,  he  was  establislied  at  Charlotte  as  early 
as  IHUJ  witli  a  stock  of  goods,  and  as  a  local  land  aaent  where  lie  vemnippil  until  tli.. 
occu;i«iice  of  the  war  of  161:^,  when  he  removed  to  Geneva,  where  he  died,  a  bachelor 
previous  to  1830. 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAm's  PURCHASE. 


581 


roads  occurred ;  Lake  ports  and  Lake  commerce,  began  by  slow 
degrees  to  be  the  creation  of  exigency  and  necessity.  In  a  letter 
from  James  Wadsworth  to  John  Murray  &  Sons,  N.  Y.,  dated  in 
June  1807,  he  observes  that  Mr.  Penfield  has  been  to  Upper  Can- 
ada, and  while  there  had  became  impressed  with  the  commercial 
advantages  of  that  county ;  "  a  barrel  of  pot  ash  can  be  sent  from 
there  to  Montreal  for  81  00;  wheat  commands  cash,  and  a  much 
higher  price  than  in  this  State,  from  the  fact  of  facility  of  transpor- 
tation." "  These  facts,"  adds  Mr.  W.,  "  serve  to  illustrate  the  im- 
portance of  '  Fall  Town,'  (Rochester,)  and  of  the  country  in  its 
vicinity.  Articles  can  be  sent  at  somewhat  less  expense  from  the 
mouth  of  Genesee  river,  than  from  the  west  end  of  Lake  Ontario. 
At  present  our  communication  with  Kingston  and  Montreal  is  attend- 
ed with  unnecessary  embarrassment.  Montreal  must  become  an 
immense  deposit  for  agricultural  productions  seeking  an  European 
market.  I  could  now  purchase  to  be  delivered  at  FallTown,  10,000 
bushels  of  wheat  at  50  cents.  It  could  then  be  ground  and  sent  to 
Montreal  for  75  cents  per  barrel.  Our  field  ashes  which  are  now 
wasted,  would  be  an  object  of  considerable  consequence.  Fifteen 
tons  might  be  rr.ade  in  the  small  town  of  Fairfield  this  season.  The 
business  once  started,  the  example  would  be  followed  by  many. 
The  ashes  which  can  be  scraped  off  from  an  acre  after  a  good  burn, 
are  worth  from  $4  to  88.  I  imagine  there  will  he  200,000  bushels 
of  surplus  wheat  in  this  part  of  the  State,  west  of  a  line  beyond 
which  wheat  cannot  be  sent  to  Albany,  at  the  price  it  now  com- 
marls." 

In  July  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Wadsworth  wrote  to  Samuel  Corp, 
N.  Y. :  —  Grain  here  will  not  command  money  at  any  price.  The 
Nortons  are  sending  flour  to  Albany  at  a  certain  loss  of  $1  50  per 
barrel.  JVIoney  hardly  circulates  among  us.  Farmers  who  have 
four  or  five  hundred  bushels  of  grain  on  hand,  are  paying  premiums 
for  a  few  dollars,  tha-  would  astonish  you."  *         *         * 

*         "A  tract  of  country  extending  from  Utica  to  Lake  Erie, 
and  from  Lake  Ontario  forty  or  fifty  miles  southward ;  (a  tract  twice 
as  largo  as  the  State  of  Connecticut,)  is  in  a  rapid  progress  to  a 
tolerable  state  of  cultivation.     The  agricultural  products  of  this 
district  cannot  be  transported  to  Albany,  except  in  years  of  scarcity. 
They  must  generally  be  sent  to  Baltimore  or  Montreal.     The  com- 
munication to  Baltimore  is  only  open  from  three  to  four  weeks  in 
the  spring.     This  river  is  undoubtedly  a  great  benefit  to  the  coun- 
try, especially  to  the  inhabitants  on  its  banks,  who  can  seize  the  fa- 
vorable opportunity  for  pushing  oflT  their  arks.     But  in  my  opinion 
the  St.  Lawrence  is  the  natural  out-let  for  the  produce  of  this  coun- 
try.    Lake  Ontario  is  navigable  in  all  seasons  of  the  year.     Boats 
may  be  sent  dov^'n  the  St.  Lawrence,  almost  eight  months  in  the 
year.     Restrictions  to  trade  with  Canada,  embarrass  every  thing 
Free  trade  would  be  a  mutual  advantage."    Mr.  W.,  in  the  same 


.■)82 


PIIELPS  AND  GOEHAm's   PUECnASE. 


letter  urges  Mr.  Corp,  to  "  correspond  with  friends  in  London  upon 
this  subject." 

As  early  as  March,  1810,  Silas  O.  Smith  emigrated  from  N. 
Malborough,  Mass.,  and  became  a  pioneer  merciiant  at  Ilandford's 
Landing.  He  is  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  that  early  period ;  has 
lived  to  witness  the- primitive  start  and  entire  growth  of  Rochester, 
and  with  a  physical  "ul  mental  constitution  unimpaired,  has  but 
partially  retired  from  the  active  duties  of  life.  He  is  the  father  of 
L.  Ward  Smith,  late  a  representative  in  Assembly  from  Monroe 
county,  now  acting  Adjt.  General  of  the  State ;  of  George  Hand 
Smith,  M.  D.  of  Rochester;  and  of  E.  Meigs  Smith,  of  Rochester.  A 
daughter  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  Stevens,  of  Albany  ;  and  there  are 
two  unmarried  daughters. 

Mr.  Smith  has  obligingly  furnished  the  author  with  his  recollec- 
tions of  the  early  times,  which  are  used  in  the  form  adopted  in  other 
instances. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  SILAS  0.  SMITH. 


When  I  came  to  the  country,  the  whole  region  was  but  sparsely  settled. 
About  the  Upper  and  Lower  Landing,  the  forests  were  but  little  broken. 
Where  the  city  of  Rochester  nryf  stands,  it  was  a  dense  forest,  save  about 
half  an  acre  of  cleared  grounti,  around  the  old  Allan  mill.  In  the  spring 
of  1813,  I  built  the  tirst  store  in  what  was  then  called  "  Rochesterville.''' 
It  was  a  wooden  structure,  and  stood  next  north  of  the  Rochester  Bank,  on 
Exchange  street.  In  1814,  I  cleared  three  or  four  acres  of  ground  on 
which  the  Court  House,  St.  Luke's  cliurch.  First  Presbyterian  cliurch,  and 
school  house  No.  1,  now  stand.  I  sowed  it  to  wheat,  and  had  a  fine  crop; 
the  harvesting  cost  me  nothing,  as  it  was  most  efi'ectually  done  by  the 
scjuirrels,  coons,  and  other  wild'beasts  of  the  forest.  Scarcely  three  years, 
however,  had  elapsed  before  this  ground  was  mostly  occupied  with,  build- 
ings, through  the  liberal  policy  of  Col.  Rochester,  the  acting  proprietor. 

The  war  of  1812  to  '15,  checked  the  growth  and  enterprise  of  the  young 

Note.  —  Such  wore  tlie  embarrassments,  s\icli  the  speculations  and  anticipations  in 
riioso  early  years.  By  hardy  eiiteipiise  the  forest  ])ad  been  so  far  cleared  away,  the 
soil  so  far  subdued,  that  a  surplus  began  to  be  produced  ;  somethiuij  to  reward  toil,  to 
htt  exchauLced  for  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life,  where  there  liad  been  long  years 
of  privation  and  endurance  ;  but  tJie  isolated  condition  of  tlie  country,  the  want  of 
avenues  to  market,  forl)id  the  fruition  so  well  earned  and  so  long  delayed.  What  an 
event  was  hidden  in  the  womb  of  speedily  coming  time  !  But  a  few  weeks  previous 
ro  the  date  of  the  first  letter  of  Mr.  Wadsworth.  a  citizen  of  the  (Icnesee  country  — 
(and  honored  l)c  his  memory  !)— oppressed  by  pecuniary  misfortune,  a  refugee  from 
inexorable  creditors,  in  an  obscure  village  in  Pennsylvania,  had  projected,  and  ready 
for  denoument,  the  plan  for  the  connection  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie  :tnd  tlie  Hi:d- 
son,  by  means  of  an  Oyi;iiLAXD  Ca\al  !  That  great  remedy  for  the  formidable  evil 
that  was  paralyzing  industry  in  all  this  fair  and  fertile  region  ;  that  great  and  diffusive 
dispenser  of  the  wealth,  comfort  and  luxuiy  that  meet  us  at  every  liaiid,  wliethcr  we 
:i\i  surveying  our  own  Western  New  York,  or  travelling  through"  tiiat  Einjjire  of  the 
West,  wiiere  the  influence  has  been  f.c.ircely  less  potent !  Q;^  See  2d  or  3d  edition  of 
"  Holland  Purchase,"  appendix. 


ing. 


all  J 


PIIELPS   AND  GORHAm's    PURCHASE. 


588 


I 


village.  The  rumors  of  border  warfare,  and  frequent  turn-outs  to  meet  the 
enemy,  interfered  much  to  interrupt  its  quiet  progress.  It  was  not  until 
the  peace  of  1815  that  the  village  may  be  said  to  nave  fairly  commenced 
its  growth ;  which  from  half  a  dozen  families,  now  numbers  40,000  inhabi- 
tants. 

In  1810,  when  at  the  Landing  wit?i  a  store  of  goods,  I  was  often  asked 
by  travellers  who  threaded  their  way  through  the  narrow  paths  of  the 
forest,  how  I  found  sufficient  customers  to  warrant  any  business  enterprize. 
But  people  came  there  from  a  dist.^nce  of  even  100  miles  with  their  teams 
and  loads  of  pot  ash  to  sell  and  exchange  for  their  supplies. 

Charlotte  and  Handford's  Landing  had  just  began  to  contend  for  the 
ascendancy,  when  the  war  and  fever?  settled  the  contest,  and  located  the 
village  at  Rochester;  when  the  g:eat  Falls,  with  their  extensive  water 
privileges,  together  with  a  fertile  and  healthy  country,  opened  a  field  quite 
worthy  of  its  enterprising  Pioneers;  and  did  time,  i^pace,  and  recollections 
of  the  past  admit,  I  should  hke  to  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  those  active 
and  praiseworthy  men.  For  their  perseverance  and  endurance  during  so 
many  privations ;  I  remember  them  with  the  highest  esteem  and  honor. 

I  would  add  that  Handford's  Landing  was  formerly  called  King's  Land- 
ing. The  earliest  settlers  there  were  mostly  doomed  to  a  death  more  ter- 
rible than  the  sword.  Prostrated  by  fevers,  there  were  times  when  there 
was  none  left  with  strength  enough  to  bring  water  to  the  parched  lips  of 
the  dying,  or  afford  a  decent  interment  to  their  remains.  Their  graves, 
more  than  twenty  in  number,  could  be  counted  in  the  woods  near  by. 

Very  rarely  a  missionary  would  pass  through  this  wild  and  lonely  region, 
administering  the  consolations  of  his  faith.  Sunday  was  not  at  all  observ- 
ed. I  remember  with  pleasure,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parmalee,  a  Prysbeterian,  a 
good  old  man,  who  passed  through  and  stopped  at  my  house  where  he 
preached  and  baptised;  afterwards  continuing  on  for  miles  to  find  another 
house  and  repeat  the  same  services.  At  the  time  he  was  suffering  so  much 
from  ague  and  fever  that  he  was  often  obliged  to  dismount  from  his  horse 
and  lay  down  under  a  tree  until  the  ague  fit  had  left  him,  then  arise  and 
continue  on  his  solitary  journey. 

At  that  early  period  we  had  no  great  partiality  for  any  particular  denom- 
ination of  christians ;  we  were  sufficiently  glad  to  have  any.  Very  provi- 
dentially I  had  brought  with  me  three  books  of  Common  Prayer;  and 
while  living  at  the  Landing,  fishing  and  hunting  being  the  usual  occupa- 
tion of  many  of  the  new  settlers  on  Sunday;  the  report  of  the  rifle  breaking 
the  otherwise  "  Sabbath  stillness  of  the  day" ;  I  obtained  the  assistance  of 
John  Mastirk,  and  in  a  small  plank  school  house  we  commenced  the  beautiful 
ritual  of  the  Episcopal  church;  and  on  each  Lord's  day  read  the  prayers  and 
a  sermon.  The  plan  was  perfectly  successful,  for  the  services  came  to  be 
attended  from  far  and  wide ;  and  it  formed  the  neucleus  afterwards  of  St. 
Lukes,  the  largest  church  in  this  diocese.  These  were  the  first  Prayer  Books 
and  Episcopal  services  used  and  held  in  this  section  of  the  country.  This 
very  small  beginning  contrasts  strangely  with  the  present  aspect  of  the 
various  religious  societies,  and  shows  that  the  early  settlers  of  Rochester, 
as  well  as  the  present  inhabitants,  were  not  entirely  negligent  in  these  mat- 
ters which  have  had  such  beneficial  influence  upon  the  great  prosperity  of 
the  city. 


584 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'B    PURCHASE. 


Charles  Harford  was  an  emigrant  from  England,  soon  after  1700. 
Among  Mr.  Williamson's  papers,  is  a  letter  from  him  dated  in  New 
York,  in  1794,  in  which  he  reciuests  Mr.  W.  to  reserve  for  him 
4,000  acres  near  "  the  Great  Sodus"  and  some  "  town  lots," —  says 
he  intends  to  engage  "extensively  in  grazing  ;  "  that  he  is  aliout  to 
start  for  England  to  bring  out  his  family.  It  is  presumed  thot  on 
his  return  from  England,  (or  may  be  previously,)  he  had  purchased 
an  interest  in  the  "  20,000  acre  tract,"  west  of  the  River.  The  au- 
thor is  not  informed  where  he  located  previous  to  1807.  In  that 
year  he  became  the  Pioneer  on  all  the  site  of  Rochester  west  of  the 
river,  erecting  a  block  house  on  what  is  now  State  street,  near  the 
termination  of  the  Lisle  road,  and  making  a  small  opening  in  the 
forest.  He  had  here  allotted  to  him  100  acres  of  his  interest  in  the 
20,000  acre  tract;  besides  back  farm  lots  in  Gates,  upon  which  in 
early  years,  he  settled  several  branches  of  his  family.  In  1808  he 
had  completed  a  small  mill  with  one  run  of  stones,  a  little  below  the 
Falls,  conducting  the  water  in  a  race.  This  mill  for  four  years,  did 
the  grinding  for  a  wide  regioYi  of  backwoods  settlers.  A  saw  mill 
soon  followed,  or  it  may  have  preceded  the  erection  of  the  grist 
mill.  Mr.  Harford  died  nearly  thirty  years  since ;  of  a  numerous 
family,  possessing  at  one  period  a  hundred  acres  of  the  city  of 
Rochester,  and  about  one-twelfth  of  the  town  of  Gates,  the  author 
has  no  information,  other  than  the  fact  that  a  son  resides  in  the 
town  of  Chili,  and  that  other  sons  and  daughters  reside  in  Western 
States. 

After  the  advent  of  Charles  Haford  on  the  west  side  of  the  Riv- 
er, the  next  was  that  of  Enos  Stone,  the  first  settler  on  the  east 
side  of  the  River.  DCP  See  page  424.  Mr.  Stone's  advent  was  in 
March,  1810.  Arriving  at  the  house  of  his  brother  Orange  with 
his  family  and  effects,  he  was  helped  through  the  woods  by  him  and 
some  of  his  neighbors,  and  established  in  his  log  cabin,  the  solitary 
occupant  of  all  the  present  site  of  Rochester,  east  of  the  river.  Two 
years  previous,  Enos  Stone  the  elder  had  erected  a  saw  mill  on  the 
river,  which  had  been  carried  off  by  a  freshet.  In  October  follow- 
ing, needing  a  little  more  house  room  —  having  occasionally  to  en- 
tertain a  visiter  or  traveller,  Mr.  Stone  put  up  a  small  frame  build- 
ing, 16  by  20  feet.  The  cutting  of  the  timber,  raising  and  enclos- 
ing occupied  but  three  days;  —  the  raising  was  done  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Stone,  and  a  hired  man  and  hired  girl.*  Mr.  Stone  saw  and 
endured  the  most  rugged  features  of  pioneer  life.  Getting  out  of 
provisions,  he  went  out  in  search  of  wheat,  and  passing  through 
Pittsford,  Mendoi,  Victor,  Bloomfield  and  Livonia,  found  not  a 
bushel  for  sale,  until  he  had  arrived  at  Judge  Chipman's  near  Allen's 
Hill,  in  Pittstown.     He  remembers  with  feelings  of  gratitude,  that 

*  The  structure  of  the  first  frame  building  ever  erected  upon  all  the  broad  site  of 
tlie  iiow  cit^  of  Rocliester,  in  a  toleiable  State  of  preseiTatioii,  is  now  occupied  as  a 
wood  sliL'd,  in  rear  of  the  dwelling  of  Wm.  Adams,  on  Elm  street 


PHELPS   AND    GORHAM  S    PURCHASE. 


586 


■i* 


teilin<»  the  Judj?e  of  his  wants,  and  of  the  destitution  of  himself  and 
his  backwoods  neighbors,  how  readily  he  gave  him  a  seat  at  his 
breakfast  table,  and  went  out  himseli  and  made  a  levy  upon  his 
neighbors  — getting  a  bushel  of  wheat  of  one,  and  a  bushel  of  an- 
other ;  —  and  so  far  as  pay  was  concerned,  he  would  only  receive  a 
dollar  per  bushel,  less  than  the  current  price.  It  is  with  lively  recol- 
lections of  other  and  like  kind  acts,  on  the  part  of  this  early  and  wor- 
thy pioneer,  that  the  author  records  this  veminiscence.  On  another 
occasion,  being  out  of  meat,  Mr.  Stone  walked  oat  with  his  rifle, 
and  a  fine  buck  just  trotting  up  the  bank  from  the  river,  where  he 
had  been  to  drink,  was  transferred  to  the  shambles ;  —  and  as  oppor- 
tunely it  was,  as  the  manna,  in  another  exigency  in  the  world's  his- 
tory. 

Isaac  W.  Stone,  who  has  already  been  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  invasion  at  the  mouth  of  the  rivei,  in  the  war  of  1812,  had 
settled  in  Bloomfield,  establishing  a  clo'Ji  dressing  establishment  on 
Fish  creek,  soon  after  1800.  In  1810  1  ^  purchased  of  Enos  Stone 
five  acre*:  opposite  Blossom's  Hotel,  pon  a  part  of  which  the 
Minerva  block  now  stands ;  erected  a  framed  house  and  opened  a 
tavern.  There  had  began  to  be  a  little  travel  on  the  Ridge  Road, 
though  the  fording  of  the  river  was  often  difficult  and  dangerous; 
and  settlement  it  will  be  observed  had  commenced  on  the  Ridge. 
His  was  the  only  public  house  in  Rochester  during  the  war,  was  a 
boarding  place  lor  several  of  the  early  local  adventurers  —  the  head 
quarters  of  all  military  operations,  while  the  enterprising  landlord 
was  himselt,  by  virtue  of  a  commission,  as  well  as  by  pitriotic  im- 
pulses, the  active  and  principal  leader  in  measures  of  defence.  Re- 
turning from  the  Niagara  frontier,  in  1813,  he  was  taken  ill  upon 
the  road,  and  died  at  the  house  of  Major  Isaac  Sutherland,  near 
Batavia ;  much  regretted,  for  he  had  been  active  and  useful  in  the 
then  trying  crisis.  An  only  surviving  son  became  a  resident  of 
Lockport,  was  for  one  term  sheriff  of  Niagara ;  died  a  few  years 
since  in  Illinois.  The  eldest  daughter,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Artemus 
Bishop,  went  upon  a  mission  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  1827, 
where  she  still  resides.  Another  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Ira 
West ;  another  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Wm.  F.  Curry,  now  a  settled 
minister  at  Geneva;  and  another,  the  wife  of  .Tohn  F.  Bush,  of 
Rochester.  Mrs.  Stone,  who  continued  the  pioneer  tavern  for  four 
years  after  her  husband's  death,  still  survives,  at  the  age  of  70  years, 
a  resident  of  Rochester;  and  with  the  exception  of  Enos  Stone, 
the  oldest  living  resident  of  the  city. 

The  first  public  improvement  upon  the  Genesee  River,  below 
Avon,  was  the  erection  of  a  bridge  upon  the  present  site  of  Roch- 
ester.    In  1809  the  Ridge  Road  becan  to  be  regarded 


prospe 


JToTK.  —  Mr.  Stone  adds,  that  when  bp  arrived  n,t  Zohiilnn  Norton's  mill,  in  McndoD, 
the  old  gentleman  instead  of  taking  toll,  added  a  bushel,  j 
37 


I 


iSG 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S   PURCHASE. 


ly,  as  an  important  thoroughfare,  and  the  citizens  of  what  are  now 
the  northern  towns  of  Wayne  and  Monroe,  began  to  make  move- 
ments te  secure  a  better  crossing  of  the  River,  than  that  of  a  dan- 
gerous fording  place.  A  petition  to  the  Legislature  was  put  in  cir- 
culation, and  favored  by  the  pretience  at  Albany,  of  both  the  elder 
and  younger  Enos  Stone,  a  law  was  passed  for  the  construction  of 
a  bridge,  by  means  of  a  tax  upon  the  inhu.jitants  ot  Genesee  and 
Ontario,  at  the  session  of  1809,  '10.  The  measure  met  with  severe 
opposition  ;  the  dwellers  along  on  the  Buffalo  road,  feared  the  diver- 
sion of  travel  from  that  thpn  main  thoroughfare,  and  the  local  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislatuie,  were  all  from  that  road  or  south  of  it,  ex- 
cept Judge  Rogers,  of  Palmyra,  who  gave  it  his  support.  Samue 
Lawrence,  of  what  is  now  Yates  county,  then  a  member  from  On- 
tario, opposed  the  measure,  as  im])0sing  an  oppressive  tax  upon  those 
who  were  not  to  be  benefitted  by  it,  as  an  unnecessary  and  wild  pro- 
ject. In  the  course  of  his  speech  he  assumed  that  the  region  sur- 
rounding the  cor.tcmplated  improvement,  was  one  frowned  upon  by 
Providence,  and  not  fit  for  the  residence  of  man.  It  is,  said  he,  "in- 
habited by  muskrats,  visited  only  by  straggling  trappers,  through 
which  neither  man  nor  beast  could  gallop  without  fear  of  starvation, 
or  of  catching  the  fever  and  ague."  The  bill  passed  by  a  close  v  ote  ; 
the  bridge  was  commenced  in  1810,  and  finished  jUst  after  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war  of  1812.  The  first  company  of  troops  that 
marched  to  Lewiston,  passed  upon  the  uncovered  timbers.  The 
building  commissioners  were  Dr.  Zacheus  Colby,  of  Genesee,  and 

Caleb  iloikins,  of  Ontario ;  the  builder, Hovey.     The  bridge 

soon  began  to  bring  travel  to  the  Frontier,  upon  the  northern  route, 
and  in  the  absence  of  the  war  would  have  given  an  impetus  to  set- 
tlement. 

Little  beyond  what  has  been  named,  transpired  upon  the  east 
side  of  the  River,  until  the  close  of  the  war ;  but  two  families  were 
added  to  those  of  the  Messrs.  Stones,  and  they  were  not  permanent 
residents. 

Though  Col.  Rochester  and  his  associates.  Cols.  Fitzhugh  and 
Carrol,  had  purchased  the  Hundred  Acre  Tract  in  1802,  it  lay  idle, 
as  it  had  in  long  previous  years,  until  the  summer  of  1811.  The 
delay  in  the  improvement  of  a  site  so  valunble,  is  sufficiently  ac- 
counted for  in  preceding  pages ;  late  as  would  now  sam  the  com- 
mencement, it  was  even  premature,  as  the  re"(ier  will  hove  observed. 
Yet  there  had  began  to  be  an  anxiety  to  see  a  cuinmencement,  the 
Bridge  was  progressing,  public  expectation  and  individual  enterprise 
had  began  to  fix  upon  the  tract —  the  100  acres,  and  the  hydraulic 

UoTK.  —  By  some  means  or  other  tlio  Bridge  matter  took  a  p.irty  turn,  tlie  then 
democratic  iiumibers  generally  voting  for  it.  The  next  year  it  was  brought  into  the 
election  canvass,  find  was  thiMneans  of  defeating  the  deiiiocratic  members.  That  de- 
termined the  complexion  of  the  Legislature  ;  so  the  tii'st  bridge  iu  R-^chester,  cost  the 
democratic  party  the  asceudaucy  iu  the  State. 


rUKLi'S   AXD  GORII All's   PUKC1IA8E. 


687 


facilities  it  L-mbniced- 


■as  the  oligible   spot  in  which  all  hilhertc 


.     ,   ,    ,     .  ,      ,.  .       .       ^  .  - iiiinerto 

projected  business  locahties  in  its-  neighborhood,  was  to  become 
merged.  In  August  1810,  Mr.  Wadswortii.  although  his  interests 
were  principally  at  Charlotte,  and  Castleton,  had  |)robably  i)ecome 
convinc'd  that  neither  was  the  natural  location  of  the  business  he 
saw  ({rawing  otfto  the  lower  valley  of  the  Genesee,  towards  the 
navigable  waters  of  Lake  Ontario ;  and  in  one  of  the  localities, 
sickness  had  began  to  discourage  him  as  it  had  others.  At  this  pe- 
riod he  wrote  to  Mr.  Troup ;  —  "  J  wish  that  tract  of  100  acres 
could  be  purchased  of  the  Maryland  gentlemen.  The  Brid.'e  and 
Mill  seat  render  it  verv  valuable  indeed."  ° 

In  July,  1810,  Col.  llochester  came  down  fronr.  his  residence  at 
Dansville,  and  surveyed  a  few  lots  on  the  River,  along  on  either 
side  of  Exchange  and  Butfulo  streets.  Having  before  °his  return 
home,  constituted  Enos  Stone  his  local  agent,  he  addressed  to  him 
the  following  letter  of  instructions .  — 

Daxsville,  14th  August,  1811. 
Dear  Sib  : 

Inclosed  I  send  you  a  plat  of  tlie  village  of  Rochester,  at  tlie  Falls  of 
Genesee  River.  I  have  sent  on  advertisements  to  the  printers  at  Cnnr.r.daigua  and 
Geneva,  mentioning  that  I  have  laid  out  a  village,  and  that  you  will  shew  the  lota  and 
make  known  tlio  terms  on  whicli  the  lots  are  to  be  sold. 

The  terms  are  for  lots  No.  2,  3,  4,  5,  16,  17,  18,  30,  fifty  dollars  each  ;  for  lots  No.  6, 
7,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  19,  20.  21,  22,  23,  24,  25,  thirty  doUar:5.    No.  1,  two  hundred  doUars, 
the  rest  that  arc  numbered  are  sold.    Tcrsons  purchasing  must  build  a  dwelling  house, 
or  store  house,  not  less  than  20  by  16  feet,  by  the  'irst  of  October  1812,   jr  the  lote 
will  rev<^rt  to  the  proprietors,  and  the  advance  of  five  dollars  be  forfeited.     Five  dollars 
are  to  be  advanced  on  each  quarter  acre  lot,  aud  twenty  dollars  on  lot  No.  1,  the  resi- 
due to  be  paid  iu  two  annual  payments  with  interest  thereon.    If  any  person  wants  a 
lot  above  the  head  of  the  race  or  the  River,  tell  theiu  tliat  I  will  be  down  in  October 
to  lay  out  lots  along  Mill  street  up  to  the  river,  and  these  lots  can  be  had  for  building 
Ware  Houses  on  the  River,  at  tifty  dollars  for  a  quarter  acre  lot.    Brid;;e  street,  Buffalo 
sti-eet,  Mill  street  and  CaiToll  street,  are  sLv  rods  wide,  the  other  streets  are  four  rods, 
and  the  Alley's  twelve  feet.     You  will  observe  that  lots  No.  26,  27,  are  to  be  but  three 
rods  on  Bridge  street,  but  extend  back  more  than  ten  rods,  owing  to  the  angle  in  the 
street.    Wlieu  I  go  down  in  October,  I  shalllay  out  the  streets,  alleys  and  lots  agreea- 
ble to  the  enclosed  plat,  NATHANIEL  ROCHESTER. 

Enos  Stone  became  the  purchaser  of  lot  36  at  850.  Other  sales 
occurred  in  the  order,  and  at  the  pi  ices  named,  commencing  Dec. 
29,1811:  — 

Israel  Scrnntom, 
Luscum  Knapp, 
Hezekiah  Noble, 
Jose{)li  Hughes, 
Ebenezer  Kelly, 
Ira  West^ 

"    50,  115,      260 


Henry  Skinner, 

Lot  No.       1, 

|200 

Hamlet  Scrantcn, 

26, 

50 

Isaac  W.  Sti'ue, 

"      23, 34, 

100 

Abraham  v^iarks. 

20, 

50 

David  C.  Knapp, 
Amasa  Marshall, 

"      21, 22, 

200 

25. 

50 

Apolenus  Jerry 

32, 

125 

Lot  No.  18, 19, 

100 

45, 

60 

5, 

60 

"      15, 62, 

80 

16, 

60 

1    "             3. 

30 

t:( 


li 


li 


588 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAM  S    PURCHASE. 


ElishaEly.  Lot  No,  39, 40, 41, 133,  f  3G0 

Porter  P.  Peck,    Lot  No.         154,  100 

Jo9iahBissell,Jr.,    "        7,13,31,  260 

Stephen  Lusk,          "                   6,  50 
Wm.  Robb,     Lot,  61,  69,  C3,  1 16, 

117, 800 

Miciiael  Cully,    Lot  No.           79,  100 


Cook  &  Bro-WTi.  "  83,  100 

Harvey  Montgomery,  "  88,  250 

Roswell  Hart,  "      8, 56,  :>?,  400 

Chas.  D.  Farman,  '•  129,  300 

Geo.  Ct.  Sill.  "  liJ4,  90 

James  Stoddart,  "  130,  100 

Fabricus  Reynolds,  "  131,  200 


This  will  give  the  reader  a  pretty  good  i '.  x  of  the  range  of  pri- 
ces  of  primitive  locations,  and  bring  pioneer  names  to  mind,  though 
many  of  the  purchasers  did  not  become  permanent  residents.  The 
author  notices  but  one  lot  that  reverted ;  nearly  all  were  paid  for  by 
purchasers,  or  those  to  whom  they  transferred  their  contracts.  The 
list  embraces  nearly  all  the  sales  that  were  made  before  the  close  of 
the  war.  The  lovv  range  of  prices  will  strike  the  reader,  as  being 
almost  unprecedented  in  the  early  history  of  villages  and  cities. 
The  liberal  patroons  seemed  to  have  been  guided  by  the  considera- 
tion that  should  govern  the  founders  of  towns  and  settlements,  as 
well  as  legislation  in  reference  to  our  public  lands :  —  That,  as  it  is 
the  Pioneers,  the  settlers,  that  add  real  to  what  was  before  little 
more  than  nominal  value,  tney  should  be  large  sharers  in  what  they 
create. 


NATHANIEL  ROCHESTER. 


Identified  witb  the  Pioneer  history  of  the  city  of  Rochester,  far  more  than 
in  name,  was  the  late  Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester.  The  acting  resident  co- 
proprietor  of  the  "100  Acre  Tract"  — the  principal  germ  of  village  and 
city  —  we  may  -well  consider  him  the  Patroon  and  Founder  of  the  prosper- 
ous City  of  the  Genesee  Valley.  Thus  blended  with  the  most  prominent 
locality  embraced  in  these  annals,  a  brief  biography  of  him  demands  a  place 
in  thexii ;  and  especially  as  in  other  precedent  instances,  it  may  be  made  to 
embrace,  not  only  interesting  reminiscences  of  our  own  local  region,  but 
those  of  the  Revolutionary  period.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  an  em- 
pire of  freemen  —  our  glorious  Union  —  and  also  one  of  the  founders  of 
settlement  in  one  of  its  most  prosperous  localities. 

Col.  Rochester  was  a  native  of  Westmoreland,  Virginia,  the  son  of  John 
Rochester,  whose  father  was  an  emigrant  from  the  county  of  Kent  in  Eng- 
land. When  thirteen  years  of  age,  his  family  removed  to  Granville  county 
in  North  Carolina .  Two  years  afterwards  he  entered  the  mercantile  estab- 
lishment of  James  Monroe,  in  Hillsborough,  N.  C,  as  a  clerk,  becoming 
after  a  few  years  a  partner  in  the  concern ;  a  third  partner  at  the  time, 
being  Col .  John  Hamilton,  who  was  Consul  for  the  British  government,  in 
the  middle  States,  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  Soon  after  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Revolution,  Col.  Rochester  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 


Note. Many  transfers  took  place  soon  after  purchase.    Lot  1 ,  was  present  Eagle 

Tavern  lot;  26, "site  of  Pitkin's  Block;  2.3,  partly  site  uf  I5iirn's  Block  uud  Arcade  ; 
25,  Arcade  ;  32,  S.  0.  Smiths  Corner  ;  18,  19,  partly  Gould's  Block. 


PHELPS  AND    GORHAm's  PUECnASE. 


589 


i 


committee  of  safety  for  Orange  county  ;  tht  duty  of  said  committee  having 
been,  to  use  his  own  language :  —  "  To  prom  ite  the  Revolutionary  spirit 
among  the  people,  procure  arras  and  ammunition,  make  collections  for  the 
city  of  Boston,  whose  harbor  was  blocked  up  by  a  British  fleet,  and  to  pre- 
vent the  sale  and  use  of  East  India  teas."  In  August,  1775,  he  attended 
as  a  member,  the  first  Provincial  convention  in  North  Carolina.  Among 
the  measures  adopted  was  the  raising  of  four  regiments  of  troops;  the  or- 
ganization of  a  militia  system,  and  enrolling  of  minute  men;  and  the  adop- 
tion of  a  resolution  for  an  adjourned  raeetingin  May  following,  to  frame  and 
adopt  a  constitution.  During  the  setting  of  the  convention  he  received  a 
Major's  commission,  and  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

At  the  meeiing  of  the  convention  in  Ma)^  he  was  appointed  Commissary 
General  of  military  stores  and  clothing  for  the  North  Carolina  line,  which 
was  then  made  to  consist  of  ten  regiments.  As  a  member  of  the  conven- 
tion he  participated  in  the  organization  of  a  State  government  for  North 
Carolina. 

Ou  tiie  adjournment  of  the  convention,  he  entered  upon  the  active  duties 
of  providing  food  and  clothing  for  the  army ;  the  fatigues  incident  to  which, 
accompanied  by  uausual  exposure  in  unhealthy  districts  of  the  country, 
brought  on  disease  so  permanent  in  its  character  as  to  cause  the  resignation 
of  his  office  in  accordance  with  medical  advice.  He  was  not  destined  to 
remain  idle  in  these  stirring  times.  Returning  to  Hillsboro',  he  found  that 
he  had  been  elected  a  member  of  ihe  Legislature,  in  which  he  soon  took 
his  seat;  thus  becoming  a  member  of  one  of  the  earliest  legislative  bodies 
organized  and  assembled  in  defience  of  British  claims  to  dominion.  It  was 
at  this  time,  and  in  this  same  convention  of  Pioneer  legislators,  that  Nathan- 
iel Mason,  then  just  graduated  Irom  college,  commenced  his  long  career  of 
usefulness. 

About  this  period  Col.  Rochester  was  appointed  a  Lieut.  Col.  of  militia, 
and  clerk  of  Orange  county;  in  which  last  office  he  was  the  successor  of 
Gen.  Nash,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Germantown,  In  1777,  he  was 
appointed  a  commissioner  to  establish  and  superintend  a  manufactory  of 
arms  at  Hillsboro' ;  the  iron  necessary  for  which  he  transported  upon  wagons, 
from  Pennsylvania,  a  distance  of  400  miles.  He  was  next  appointed  one 
of  the  board  of  auditors  of  public  accounts.  In  1778,  he  engaged  in  busi- 
ness with  Col.  Thomas  Hart,  the  father-in-law  of  Henry  Clay,  and  James 
Brown,  who  was  afterwards  minister  to  France.  Col.  Hart  was  then  a 
resident  neai'  Hillsboro',  where  he  was  a  large  land  holder,  miller  and  man- 
ufacturer; being  an  active  whig  his  tory  neighbors  depredated  upon  his 
property  to  an  extent  that  induced  him  to  take  the  advice  of  Gen .  Gates, 
then  in  the  command  of  the  southern  army,  and  remove  to  Hagerstown, 
Maryh  nd,  after  a  disposition  of  his  large  estate.  In  1781,  Col.  Rochester 
also  removed  to  Hagerstown  and  settled  on  a  farm. 

In  1783,  the  war  having  been  brought  to  a  close,  Col.  Rochester  went 
into  the  mercantile  business  with  Col.  Hart  at  Hagerstown;  their  business 
embracing  the  manufacture  of  flour,  a  nail  and  rope  factory.  The  part- 
nership continued  until  1792,  when  Col.  Rochester  went  into  business  on 
his  own  account  He  after  that,  filled  successively  the  offices  of  a  member 
of  Assembly  of  Maryland,  P.  M.  at  Hagerstown,  a  Judge  of  the  county 
court,  sheriff  of  the  county,  elector  of  President  and  Vice  President  in  180S, 


590 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM's  PURCHASE. 


President  of  the  Hagerstown  Rank.  In  all  this  time  he  had  not  only  been 
carryinrr  on  extensive  manufocturing  establishments  in  Hagerstown,  but 
had  in  operation  two  mercantile  establishments  in  Kentucky. 

^In  1800  he  first  visited  the  Genesee  counf'v,  in  company  with  Cols. 
William  Fi'zhugh,  Hilton,  and  iUajor  Charles  Ca-rol.  The  measures  taken 
by  Mr.  Williamson  to  attract  the  attention  of  Marylanders  to  this  reoion, 
have  already  been  noticed.  Col.  Peregrine  Fitzhugh  who  had  not  yet  re- 
moved, was  the  neighbor  of  Col.  Rochester  at  Hagerstown,  was  active  in 
promoting  emigration  in  this  direction,  and  it  is  presumed,  the  party  were 
induced  to  take  the  j  )urney  by  him.  They  bore  from  him  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  Mr.  Williamson ;  though  Major  Carrol  had  previously  made  his 
acquaintance.  The  writer  informs  Mr.  Williamson  that  the  fever  and  ao-uo 
is  generalljr  prevalent  in  Maryland,  but  hopes  that  this  country  is  exempt 
from  it,  "  inasmuch  as  a  few  paie  faces  generally  makes  an  unfavorable  im- 
pression upon  strangers."  Before  they  left  the  country,  Messrs.  Carrol 
and  Fitzhugh  made  their  large  purchase  near  Mount  Morris,  and  Col.  Roch- 
ester the  mills,  water  power,  and  a  portion  of  the  lands  upon  which  he 
afterwards  resided  at  Dansville.  In  1802,  the  three  revisited  the  Gen- 
esee country,  and  while  here,  purchased  the  '•  100  Acre,"  or  "Allan  Mill 
Tract,"  in  what  is  now  Rochester,  then  called  "  Falls  Town." 

In  1810,  Col.  Rochester  having  closed  up  his  business  in  Maryland,  re- 
moved to  Dansville,  and  occupied  his  purchase  there ;  erecting  a  paper 
mill,  the  first  in  all  the  Genesee  country,  and  making  other  improvements. 
Disposing  of  that  property  in  1814,  he  purchased  the  large  farm  of  the 
late  Col.  Asher  Saxton,  in  East  Bloomfield,  upon  which  he  resided  until 
1818,  when  he  removed  to  the  locality  that  had  already  assumed  his  name. 
The  subject  of  our  sketch  has  already  been  hurried  through  a  long,  busy 
and  eventful  career;  a  life  of  activity,  of  public  employment,  and  private 
enterprise,  that  has  few  paralels ;  and  yet  a  new  field  of  enterprize—  a  vast, 
successful  one  it  has  proved  to  be  —  was  just  opening  before  him.  At  an 
age  whenmost  men  are  retiring  from  the  active  duties  of  life,  he  was  re- 
engaging in  them. 

Soon  after  settling  at  Dansville,  he  had  taken  some  initiatory  steps  for  the 
commencement  of  operations  upon  the  100  Acre  Tract;  in  August  ISll, 
had  surveyed  a  few  lots  and  was  offering  them  for  sale ;  and  while  residing 
at  Bloonifield,  had  usually  an  agent  upon  or  near  the  property,  making  fre- 
quent visits  to  it  himself.  All  that  was  done,  was  under  his  immediate 
supervision,  until  1817,  when  the  interests  of  the  proprietors  were  separated 
by  a  division  of  the  property,  each  of  them  assuming  the  management  of 
his  own  interest. 

In  1816,  Col.  Rochester  was  for  the  second  time  an  Elector  of  President 
and  Vice  President.  In  181 V  he  attended  the  Legislature  at  Albany  as  an 
agent  of  the  petitioners  for  the  erection  of  what  is  now  Monroe  county; 
which  consumation  was  delayed  until  1821,  at  which  time  it  liad  the  bene- 
fit of  his  active  personal  exertions.  He  was  the  Ihst  clerk  of  the  new 
county,  and  its  first  representative  in  the  legislature,  in  1821,  '2.  In  1824 
he  was  one  of  the  com'missioners  for  taking  subscriptions  and  distributing 
the  capit!)!  stnck  of  the  Bank  of  Rochester,  and  upon  the  organizntiun  of 
the  institution  was  unanimously  elected  its  President;  which  office  was 
accepted  upon  a  condition  dictated  by  a  sense  of  the  increasing  infirmities 


PHELPS   Aim   GOEHMrs   PUECHASE. 


591 


of 


and 


ipaired  phj 


_  _       1  constitution,  that  he  should  resign  the 

place  as  soon  as  the  institution  was  in  successful  operation.     He  resigned  in 
December  following.     This  was  the  last  of  the  numerous  public  and  cor- 
porate trusts  of  his  protracted  and  active  life.     The  remainder  of  his  days 
were  rather  those  of  a  retired  Patriarch,  aiding   by  his   counsels  and  his 
matured  judgment,  all  in  matters  of  local  concern;  manifesting  a  deep 
interest  in  the   prosperity  of  the  then  thriving  and  prosperous  village;  in 
works  of  charity  and  benevolence ;  in  a  contemplation  of,  and  preparation 
for  the  final  close  of  his  earthly  career.     Sustained  by  an  imphcit  relii;iou3 
faith  —  that  of  the  Episcopal  church,  of  which  he  had  been  a  liberal  pat- 
ron, and  at  whose  altar  he  knelt,  "an  humble  recipient  of  its  holy  symbols," 
he  bore  with  patience  and  fortitude,  protracted  and  painful  disease,  which 
terminated  in  his  death,  on  the  l7th  of  May,  1831,  in  the  79th  year  of  his  age. 
If  personal  eulogy  had  been  within  the  scope  and  design  of  this  work,  at 
every  step  in  its  progress  —  when  reminiscences  of  the  Pioneers  of  all  this 
region  were  passing  rapidly  in  review  —  there  would  have  been  occasions 
for  itG  indulgence;  seldom  a  more  fitting  one  than  the  present.     Starting 
in  life  with  but  few  advantages,  as  we  must  infer  from  the  fact  that  he  was 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen,  with  energy  and 
integrity  of  purpose,  a  fearless  self  reliance,  he  had  a  long  career  of  useful- 
ness.    When  but  foirly  under  way  in  private  enterprise,  his  country  de- 
manded his  services  and  he  obeyed  its   requisitions:    alternating  in  its 
financial,  military  and  legislative  affairs.     It  exigencies  terminating,  he  was 
as  zealous  a  co-worker  in  all  that  related  to  the  beneficial  uses  of  free  gov- 
ernment, as  he  had  been  in  its  attainment.     Almost  constantly  filling  im- 
portant public  stations,  he  was  at  the  same  time  the  founder  of  business  es- 
tablishments, the  promoter  of  local  prosperity ;  and  after  having  in  advanced 
life  sought  and  secured  a  quiet  rural  life,  he  broke  out  from  it  and  became 
the  patroon  of  new  settlement  ;  the  founder  of  a  city!     Ihere  are  few 
examples  of  a  so  varied  and  active  life.     What  in  his  case,  especially  in- 
vites remark,  is  the  fact,  that  he  was  well  educated  as  the  manner  in  which 
he  discharged  his  public  duties,  and  transacted  his  private  business,  fully 
proves —  and  yet,  the  reader  will  have  observed,  that  his  school  days  ended 
before  he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years!     All  beyond  that  period, 
was  self  education  and  self  reliance. 

The  late  Wm.  B.  Rochester  was  his  eldest  son.  Educated  at  Charlotte 
Hall,  in  Maryland,  he  prosecuted  the  study  of  law,  first  at  Hagerstown,  and 
afterwards  in  the  ofiice  of  Adam  Bently,  Esq.,  in  Maysville,  Ky.  He 
opened  a-,  office  in  Bath,  Steuben  county,  in  1809;  in  the  war  of  1812,  he 
was  the  aid  of  Gen.  M'Clure,  was  a  volunteer  under  Smyth's  proclamation, 
and  participated  in  the  sortie  of  Fort  Erie.  At  the  period  of  the  adoption 
of  the  new  State  Constitution,  he  had  been  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
Steuben  district,  which  office  he  resigned,  accepting  the  office  of  Circuit 
Judge  of  what  was  then  the  8th  circuit,  which  office  he  continued  to  fill 
until  he  was  put  in  nomination  for  the  office  of  Governor,  in  1 826.  Although 
contending  against  the  strong  current  of  popularity  then  running  in  favor 
of  Mr.  Cluiton.  the  "  Young  Lion  of  the  West,"  as  he  was  then  termed  by 
his  ardent  and  zealous  supporters,  came  within  12U0  voles  of  an  elecliuu. 
He  was  soon  after  appointed  Secretary  of  the  American  delegation  to  the 
Congress  of  Nations  at  Panama;  and  afterwards,  in  succession,  was  Secre- 


592 


PHELPS  AND   GOEHAM  S   PURCHASE. 


tary  of  the  American  Legation  to  Mexico,  and  Charge  D'affaires  to  Guate- 
mala. 

Previous  to  these  latter  events  of  his  life,  he  had  removed  from  Rath  to 
Eochesier.  Upon  the  location  of  a  Branch  Bank  of  the  U.  S.  in  Hufl^ilo,  he 
■was  appointed  its  President,  and  removed  to  Buffalo.  1 1  e  spent  the  winter  of 
1837  at  Pensacola,  closing  up  the  affairs  of  the  Branch  Bank  located  there; 
and  returiiing  in  the  month  of  June,  was  one  of  the  passengers  of  the  ill- 
fcted  Pulaski,  that  was  burned  off  the  cost  of  North  Carolina.  He  was 
drowned  by  the  swamping  of  a  boat,  in  which,  with  the  mate  of  the  vessel 
and  others,  he  was  endeavoring  to  reach  the  land.  James  and  Willifim  B. 
Rochester,  of  Buffalo,  are  his  sons;  a  married  daughter  resides  in  Chicago. 

The  surviving  sons  of  Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester,  are,  Thomas  H.  Roches- 
ter, President  of  the  Rochester  City  Bank,  Nathaniel  T.,  and  Henry  E. 
Rochester;  dauahters  became  the  wives  of  Harvey  Montgomery,  Dr.  An- 
son Coleman,  Jonathan  Childs,  William  Pitkin,  Wm.  S.  Bishop.  Of  the 
daughters,  but  Mrs.  Pitkin  and  Mrs.  Bishop  survive.  John  Rochpster, 
the  2d  son  of  Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester,  was  a  captain  in  the  regular  ser- 
vice in  the  war  of  1812,  attached  to  the  29th  Regiment,  of  which  the  pre- 
sent Gen.  Wool  was  Major.  Retiring  from  the  army,  he  was  connected 
■with  Mr.  Montgomery  in  early  mercantile  establishments  in  Rochester  and 
Parma.     He  emigrated  to  Missouri  in  1818,  where  he  died  in  1831. 


The  brothers,  Dr.  Mathew,  Francies,  and  David  Brown,  were 
originally  from  Western,  Mass.  Dr.  Brown  emigrated  in  early  life 
to  Rome,  Oneida  county,  where  he  remained  many  years  in  the 
pi-actice  of  his  profession.  Francis  Brown,  in  early  life,  resided  at 
Detroit,  with  an  uncle,  Wm.  Brown,  who  was  engaged  in  the  Indian 
trade.  Soon  after  1800  he  was  shipwrecked  on  a  voyage  over  Lake 
Erie,  was  picked  up  on  the  shore,  exhausted  and  nearly  lifeless. 
On  recovering  he  continued  his  journey  eastward,  purchasing  a 
canoe  at  Niagara,  with  which  he  coasted  along  the  south  share  of 
Lake  Ontario.  Passing  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  River  he  was 
driven  in  by  a  storm,  and  while  waiting  for  it  to  subside,  walked  up 
and  viewed  the  Upper  Falls  and  the  site  of  Rochester,  and  became 
sanguine  of  the  prospective  value  of  the  locality. 

Thomas  Mumford  was  from  New  London,  Conn. ;  a  graduate  of 
Yale  College;  studied  the  profession  of  the  law  with  Judge  Samuel 
Jones.  In  1794  settled  in  his  profession  in  Aurora,  Cayuga  county. 
In  1800  removed  to  Cayuga  Bridge. 

In  1810,  the  Messrs.  Browns,  JVIumford,  and  John  M'Kry,  of  Cal- 
adonia,  had  became  by  purchase  of  Charles  Hurford,  Oliver  Phelps 
and  Samuel  Parkman,  the  owners  of  the  200  acres  north  of  and 
adjoining  the  Hundred  Acre  Tract,  embracing  the  main  or  Upper 
Falls.  Mr.  Mun)ford  soon  purchasing  the  interest  of  Mr.  M'Kay, 
he  became  the  owner  of  the  south.  100  acres,  and  the  half  owner 
•with  the  Messr''.  Browns,  of  the  north  100  acres.  In  1812  Benjamin 
Wright,  for  the  proprietors,  surveyed  a  portion  ol"  it  into  village 


PIIELPS  ANB   GORHAm's   PURCHASE. 


593 


lots,  and  made  a  few  sales  before  the  commencement  of  the  war. 
Previous  to  acquiring  this  interest  Mr.  Mumford  had  became  the 
owner,  by  purchase  of  Augu-tus  and  Peter  B.  Porter,  of  a  twelfth 
of  the  20,000  acre  tract,  and  over  2000  acres  in  Brighton  ;  and  the 
purchase  of  the  Messrs.  Browns  of  Charles  Harfoixi  had  included 
a  considerable  tract  of  wild  land  of  the  20.000  acre  tract.  The  sep- 
arate and  joint  purchases  of  the  Messrs.  Browns  and  Mumford,  was 
named  Frankfort. 

The  advent  of  the  Messrs.  Browns  was  in  the  winter  of  1812. 
The  two  brothers  came  by  sleighing,  to  view  their  new  purchase, 
bringing  a  mill-wright  with  them  to  assist  in  projecting  some  im- 
provements. There  was  on  the  Frankfort  tract  the  small  grist  mill 
of  Mr.  Harford,  with  one  run  of  stones,  and  a  saw  mill,  a  block 
house  in  which  Mr.  Harford  resided,  a  plank  house  in  which  his  son 
Benedict  resided,  and  there  was  one  or  two  occupied  log  shanties  on 
the  River  road  before  reaching  Handford's  Landing.  A  son  and 
sor-in-law  of  Mr.  Harford  had  just  penetrated  the  interior  of  the 
20,000  acre  tract,  and  made  smaJl  openings  in  the  forest.  Upon  the 
Frankfort  tract,  there  was  hardly  an  opening  enough  to  let  the  sun  in, 
and  but  a  wood's  road  that  ran  along  near  the  river  bank.  The 
whole  tract  was  a  dense  forest,  the  soil  wet  and  miry ;  a  "  dismal 
looking  place,"  says  one  who  saw  it  at  that  period. 

In  the  spring  of  1812,  Francis  Brown  came  from  Rome,  bringing 
mill  Wrights,  mill  irons,  a  small  stock  of  goods,  and  commenced  im- 
provements. What  has  been  kno  n  as  Brown's  race,  was  con- 
structed, and  the  old  Harford  mill  was  repaired  and  three  run  of 
stones  added.  Artemas  Wheelock  lived  in  the  plank  shantee,  built 
by  the  Harfords,  and  kept  the  boarding  house;  and  the  Browns 
soon  added  a  small  plank  house  for  Ezra  Mason,  who  brought  in  his 
family  and  went  into  their  employ.  The  improvements  named 
were  about  all  that  were  undertaken  during  the  war.  In  1814  how- 
ever, Francis  Brown  gave Chubb,  of  Pittsford,  a  yoke  of 

oxen  for  cutting  out  the  timber  and  grubbing  the  stumps  to  make 
a  three  rod  road,  where  Sta^e  street  now  is.  The  saw  and  grist 
mill  were  kept  in  operation,  the  latter  drawing  customers  from  as 
far  as  Niagara  county  on  the  Ridge  road,  and  from  a  wide  region  in 
other  directions.  The  Browns  kept  up  a  small  mercantile  business, 
in  a  log  store  they  built  on  the  site  of  Frankfort  market.  The  clerk 
in  the  store  was  Gains  B.  Rich,  who  became  an  early  merchant  in 
Attica,  Genesee  county,  and  is  now  a  well  known  banker  in  Buffalo. 

Francis  Brown  continued  to  reside  in  Rochester  until  1821,  when 
upon  account  of  an  asthmatic  affection  he  emigrated  to  Mobile, 
taking  charge  of  an  estate  that  belonged  to  his  father-in-law,  Daniel 
Penfield.  He  died  in  1824.  Ilis  surviving  sons  are,  Daniel  P. 
Brown,  a  merchant  in  Toledo.  Francis  Brown,  a  m.erchant  in  Roch- 
ester ;  a  married  daughter  resides  at  Toledo.  The  author  could 
relate  numerous  instances  remembered  by  the  Pioneers  of  Roches- 


I'l 


594 


PHELPS  AND  QORHAIM's   PURCHASE. 


ter,  of  the  generous  acts  of  Francis  Brown.  "  To  his  strict  integ- 
rity and  honor,  in  all  his  dealings,"  says  Ezra  Mason,  ("his  refusal 
to  receive  another  man's  money,  when  he  could  get  nothing  of  me 
but  the  promise  of  In'ior,)  I  am  indebted  for  my  farm." 

_  Dr.  Mathew  Brown  continued  to  reside  in  Rome,  making  frequent 
visits  to  the  property  until  soon  after  the  war,  when  he  became  a  per- 
manent resident  of  Rochester.  He  still  survives  at  the  advanced 
age  of  86  years.  Infirm  in  health,  he  lives  in  retirement,  enjoying 
a  large  share  of  the  esteem  and  veneration  of  the  dwellers  of  the 
crowded  city  with  which  he  has  been  so  long  and  so  prominently 
identified ;  one  whose  founders  he  may  truly  be  said  to  have  been. 
His  surviving  sons  are,  Mathew  Brown,  of  Toledo,  Henry  H. 
Brown,  of  Detroit ;  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Wm.  Barron 
Williams,  who  was  connected  with  some  of  the  earliest  mercantile 
operations  in  Lockport,  now  among  the  enterprising  business  men 
of  Rochester ;  another,  the  wife  of  Fletcher  M.  Haight,  formerly  of 
Rochester,  now  of  St.  Louis.  Of  the  third  brotherj  David  Brown, 
the  author  has  no  information,  beyond  the  fact  that  he  resided  in 
Rochester  in  early  years,  prosecuting  business  in  connection  with 
the  brothers  Mathew  and  Francis. 

The  elder  Mr.  Mumford  never  became  a  resident  of  Rochester. 
His  resident  representative,  as  early  as  1818,  was  his  son  William 
Mumford.  Philip  Lisle,  who  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Mumford 
tract,  managed  sales  previous  to  1818.  A  partition  between  Mum- 
ford and  the  Browns,of  the  original  Harford  tract,  occurred  soon  af- 
ter improvements  were  commenced.  Silas  Deane  Mumford,  a 
brother  of  Thomas  Mumford,  also  purchased  an  interest  in  early 
years.  Thomas  Mumford  died  at  his  residence  at  Cayuga  in  1831, 
aged  61  years.  Wm.  W.  Mumford  died  in  Rochester  in  1848. 
Elihu  H.  S.  Mumford,  from  whom  Mumfordville  derived  its  name, 
was  killed  by  the  bursting  of  a  steam  boiler,  in  New  York,  in  1844. 
Geo.  H.  Mumford,  of  Rochester,  is  the  surviving  son.  A  daughter 
became  the  wife  of  Dr.  John  G.  Vought,  an  early  physician  of  Roch- 
ester, who  removed  to  New  York,  where  he  died  during  the  first 
cholera  season ;  another  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  I).  Dakin, 
of  N.  York. 

Thomas  Mumford  was  in  an  early  day  proprietor  of  lots  46  and 
47,  below  Frankfort,  which  he  sold  to  the  late  chancellor  Jones,  and 
subsequently  the  late  James  L.  Graham,  of  New  York,  acquired 
an  interest  in  it.  Its  sale  and  improvement  have  been  principally 
under  the  agency  and  management  of  Dr.  Alexander  Kelsey. 

Ezra  Mason,  who  has  already  been  named,  went  into  the  employ- 
meat  of  the  Messrs.  Browns  soon  after  they  had  commenced  opera- 
tions, and  remained  with  them  until  1817.  He  gives  a  graphic  ac- 
count of  Rochester  in  early  davB  ;  the  war  alarms,  llichts  anrl  prep- 
aration  for  flights,  the  rattle  snakes,  and  the  ague  and  fever.  At 
one  period  an  idle  rumor  came  that  the  British  had  landed  "in  40 


one 


PIIELPS   AND    GORIIAm's   PURCHASE. 


595 


boats  at  the  mouth  of  the  Oak  Orchard  ;"  pits  were  dug  to  bury  all 
valuable  effects,  and  in  a  few  instances,  they  were  used.  At  anoth- 
er time  the  flour  was  all  taiien  from  Messrs.  Browns  mills  and  Iiid  in 
the  woods.  When  news  of  peace  came,  there  was  a  jubilee  ;  every 
thing  brightened  up  and  began  to  move  on  briskly.  There  was  a 
rattle  snakes  den  on  the  east  side  of  the  River,  below  Falls  Field, 
and  they  used  frequently  to  visit  the  west  side  of  the  River.  On 
one  occasion,  Mrs.  Mason  found  an  infant  daughter  attempting  to 
pet  a  large  rattle  snake  who  was  giving  "  notice  of  intention"  to 
strike.  Mr.  Mason  and  Mrs.  Mason  resides  upon  the  farm  on  the 
Lisle  Road,  they  commenced  on  in  1817;  and  where  they  have 
seen  the  roughest  features  of  pioneer  life,  but  where  they  are  now 
surrounded  with  smiling  and  productive  fields.  They  have  eleven 
children,  all  of  whom  have  arrived  at  adult  age. 

Hamlet  Scrantom  was  from  Durham,  Conn.;  in  1805  emigrated  to 
Lewis  county  in  this  State,  where  he  remained  until  1812.  In  J811, 
he  visited  Geneseo,  and  having  been  acquainted  with  the  Wads- 
worths  in  Durham,  they  named  to  him  Genesee  Falls,  as  a  locality 
where  a  town  was  likely  to  grow  up.  Henry  Skinner  who  had  pur- 
chased the  Eagle  Tavern  corner,  resided  at  Geneseo,  and  to  encour- 
age Mr.  Scrantom  to  locate  at  the  Falls,  proposed  to  erect  for  him 
a  log  house  uj^on  it.  Men  were  sent  down  for  that  purpose,  they 
erected  the  body  of  a  log  house,  but  before  covering  it  they  were  at- 
tacked with  the  fever  and  ague,  and  obliged  to  quit.  Mr.  Scran- 
torn  arriving  with  his  family  soon  after,  was  allowed  a  shelter  in  a 
shantee  belonging  to  Enos  Stone,  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the 
dwelling  of  Anson  House,  where  he  resided  until  August,  when  lie 
moved  into  the  log  house  on  the  Eagle  corner.  Mr.  Scrantom  be- 
ing by  occupation  a  mi'.ler,  soon  went  into  the  employ  of  the  Messrs. 
Bissell  and  Elys.  He  purchased  two  lots,  one  of  them  being  the 
site  of  the  store  of  O.  L.  Sheldon,  and  the  other,  the  site  of  the  old  tan- 
nery of  Mr.  Graves.  He  built  a  dwelling  on  the  BufTalo  street  lot. 
In  1814  he  purchased  a  farm,  now  the  Hanks  property  near  Mount 
Hope,  for  $i  per  acre,  erected  a  log  house  and  went  there  to  reside, 
to  have  his  family  less  exposed  in  case  of  British  invasion ;  becoming 
the  first  neighbor  of  D.  K.  Carter.  He  removed  back  to  the  village 
at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  became  the  miller  of  the  Messrs.  Browns. 
In  late  years  he  was  an  agent  of  Culver  and  Maynard,  in  the  con- 
struction of  tiie  first  locks  at  Lockport,  where  the  author  knew  him 
as  a  highly  esteemed  and  worthy  man.  He  was  a  trustee  of  the 
first  school  and  school  district,  organized  in  Rochester  and  was  an 
efficient  helper  in  early  religious  organizations;  one  of  the  foundeis 
of  St.  Luke's  church.' 

He  died  in  April,  1S50,  aged  77  years;  his  wife  still  survives. 
His  surviving  sons  are,  Henry  Serautuiu,  uunchunt,  Elbert  Scran- 
tom, late  city  Treasurer,  Edwin  Scrantom,  an  early  printer 
and  editor,  and  now  a  successful  auction  and  commission  merchant. 


596 


PIIELPS  AND  GORHAm's  PURCHASE. 


and  Hamlet  Scrantom,  o  clerk  of  canal  superintendent;  all  of 
Rochester.  Daughters  becaoie  the  wives  of  Jehiel  Barnard,  a 
Pioneer  in  Rochester,  now  a  resident  of  Ogden ;  another,  the  wife 
of  Martin  Briggs  of  Rochester ;  and  there  is  an  unmarried  daughter. 

Abelard  Reynolds  was  from  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  his  occupation  that 
of  a  saddler.  In  1811,  he  travelled  through  this  State  and  the  north- 
ern portion  of  Ohio,  and  made  uj*  his  mind  to  settle  in  Warren, 
Trumbull  county.  Returning  to  Pittsfield,  in  the  spring  of  1812,  he 
was  on  his  way  there  to  make  arrangements  for  removing  his  fam- 
ily and  eflects,  when  in  remaining  over  night  at  Bloomfield,  he  met 
Col.  Hopkins,  of  ^^ittsford,  and  several  other  gentlemen,  who  recom- 
mended him  to  visit  Charlotte,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  River, 
which  they  said,  "being  at  the  outlet  of  the  rich  products  of  the 
valley  of  the  Genesee,  with  its  commercial  advantages,  was  des- 
tined at  no  distant  period,  to  become  a  place  of  unrivalled  impor- 
tance." He  diverged  from  his  route,  enquired  the  way  to  the  vvith 
him,  newly  heard  of  locality,  come  to  the  Genesee  Falls,  finding  in 
the  woods  Enos  Stone,  also  "from  Berkshire,"  who  interested  him 
in  his  relation  of  what  Col.  Rochester  had  been  doing  towards  start- 
ing a  village.  The  most  he  saw  in  the  way  of  improvement  how- 
ever, or  signs  of  civilization,  was  some  remains  of  the  old  Allan 
mill,  the  cabin  that  the  miller  had  occupied,  and  the  unfinished 
bridge  over  the  River.  "  The  whole  aspect  and  appearance  of  the 
place,"  says  Mr.  Reynolds,  "was  then  the  most  undesirable  and 
fovDidding  that  language  can  describe.  Yet  it  was  evident  in  the 
reflecting  mind,  that  the  natural  elements  of  future  greatness  were 
here  combined,  and  lay  concealed  amid  this  chaotic  confusion." 
Mr.  Stone,  as  the  agent  of  Col.  Rochester,  importuned  him  1o  be- 
come the  purchaser  of  a  lot;  but  he  made  up  his  mind  to  see  Char- 
lotte first.  Taking  directions  from  Mr.  Stone  how  to  ford  the  Riv- 
er; and  especially  that  he  must  make  for  the  "large  sycamore  tree 
on  the  opposite  bank,"  his  reliable  horse  carried  him  safely  over, 
though  he  remembers  that  the  story  Mr.  Stone  had  just  told'  him  of 
a  man  who  with  his  horses  and  wagon,  had  but  a  few  days  before 
been  carried  over  the  Falls,  predominated  in  his  mind.* 

Mr.  Reynolds  visited  Charlotte,  continued  on  his  journey  to 
Ohio,  but  the  embryo  village  at  Genesee  Falls,  had  made  a  favorable 
impression  upon  him  ;  he  returned  and  purchased  lots  23  and  24, 
upon  which  the  Arcade  now  stands.  With  the  aid  of  "  oxen  and 
a  stone  boat,"  kindly  furnished  by  Enos  Stone,,  he  drew  stone  (rom 
the  bed  of  (he  river,  made  a  foundation  24  by  36  feet,  erected  a 
frame  upon  it,  and  leaving  it  in  charge  of  a  carpenter  to  be  cover- 
ed and  enclosed,  returned  to  Berkshire.  Coming  back  in  Novem- 
ber, he  found  the  house  in  the  condition  he  had  left  it,  and  erecting 

*  The  reader  will  boar  in  mind  that  at  that  early  period  the  Genesco  River  was  not 
the  diiuiuishud  body  of  water,  ho  has  seen  in  later  years. 


I 


PHELPS   AND  GOEHAm's   PURCHASE. 


597 


a  smaller  frame,  in  a  few  weeks  had  it  tenantable.  It  was  the  first 
framed  building  erected  on  the  Hundred  Acre  Tract.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1813,  he  removed  his  family.  A  brother-in-law  who  assisted  in 
the  removal,  went  back  to  Massachusetts  and  reported  that  he  had 
left  them  in  a  place  where  they  must  "inevitably  starve." 

In  November,  1812,  he  had  been  appointed  P.  M.,  and  had  made 
Mr.  Stone  his  deputy  until  he  got  settled.  The  nett  proceeds  of  the 
office  up  to  April  1,  1813,  was  .f3  40.  With  limited  means,  and 
encountering  a  long  season  of  ague  and  fever,  he  had  a  hard  intro- 
duction to  pioneer  life,  but  with  cou.-age  and  fortitude,  he  "  bore  up 
and  bore  on,"  gradually  reaping  the  reward  of  his  enterprise.  He 
was  the  first  saddler,  the  first  P.  M.,  and  the  first  magistrate  in  all 
of  Rochester,  and'  kept  the  first  public  house  on  the  Hundred 
Acres,  or  original  site  of  Rochester.  He  held  the  office  of  P.  M. 
when  the  nett  quarterly  returns  were  ^34(5 ;  he  surrendered  it  to 
other  hands  in  1829,  when  they  amounted  to  82,105  1(5.  In  1828, 
he  erected  the  Arcade  upon  the  ground  he  hud  originally  purchased 
and  occupied — an  enterprize  of  magnitude,  and  ahead  of  the  times 
then — even  now,  after  a  twenty  years'  march  of  progress,  not  be- 
hind. The  small  plat  of  ground  he  purchased  when  it  was  almost 
in  its  primitive  condition,  is  now  producing  an  annual  rent  which  is 
exceeded  only  by  that  of  but  few  spots  of  equal  size  in  the  most  fa- 
vorite localities  of  the  largest  cities  in  the  Union.  In  the  hands  of 
his  son,  Wm.  A.  Reynolds,  there  has  been  added  to  the  property 
Corintliian  Hall,  a  structure  creditable  to  the  city ;  a  model  even 
for  similar  enterprizes  in  the  older  cities. 

Mr.  Reynolds  is  now  in  the  06th  year  of  his  age ;  his  surviving 
sons  are,  Wm  A.  Reynolds  and  Mortimer  F.  Reynolds,  of  Rochester^ 
the  last  of  whom  was  the  first  born  on  the  Hundred  Acre  Tract' 
after  it  had  been  platted  as  a  village  ;  a  daughter  resides  in  Roches- 
ter, and  another  in  Illinois.  The  Pioneer  wife  and  mother  still  sur- 
vives. 

Hervey  Ely  wao  from  West  Springfield,  Mass.,  the  nephew  and 
ward  of  Justin  Ely,  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  20,000 
acre  tract.  '  In  November,  1813,  at  the  age  of  22  years,  he  cast  his 
lot  with  the  Pioneers  of  Rochester.  In  company  with  his  brother, 
Elisha  Ely,  and  Josiah  Bissell,  he  commenced  selling  goods  in  a  small 
building  that  stood  on  the  Hart  corner.  Bringing  men  and  supplies 
from  Massachusetts,  they  soon  erected  a  saw  mill,  their  boaVding 
place  being  a  stable  of  Mr.  S.  O.  Smith,  which  had  been  cleared 
out  and  fitted  up  for  that  purpose.  In  1817  they  built  the  red  mill, 
with  four  run  of  stones.  The  care  of  the  mill  devolved  upon  Hervey 
Ely  ;  and  thus  becoming  a  Pioneer  miller  in  Rochester,  he  has  con- 


NoTE.— Justin  Ely  took  an  active  part  in  tlic  Revolution  —  principally  in  mustering 
the  militia  for  service.  A  considerable  capitalist,  he  loaned  money  to  Mr.  I'lulps  ancl 
received  Lis  pay  in  lands  in  different  localities  oa  Phelps  and  tJorhams'  Purchsise  ; 
thence  his  proprietorship  in  the  20,000  acre  tract. 


598 


PIIELPS    AND    OORHASI'S   TURCIIASE, 


tinned  in  the  ])usiness,  until  lie  has  seen  it  in  hi.s  own  and  other 
hands,  arrive  at  a  magnitude  considerably  exceeding  that  of  any 
other  locality  in  the  world!  In  1822  he  built  the  stone  mill  now 
occupied  by  Mr.  C.  C.  Winants,  and  in  1828  the  extensive  estab- 
lishment on  the  west  side  of  the  River  adjoining  the  Acjueduct. 
After  being  engaged  in  the  milling  business  for  38  years,  he  is  yet 
in  his  GOth  year,  engaged  in  it  — active  and  enterprising  as  in  his 
early  years.  Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  his  operations  may  be 
gathered  from  the  statistical  facts,  that  with  the  exception  of  the 
late  Gen.  Beach,  he  has  paid  more  canal  tolls  upon  hisownjjroperty 
than  any  shipper  on  our  canals  ;  for  the  first  ten  years  after  the 
Eric  canal  was  completed  he  paid  1  3-4  and  1  1-2  per  cent  of  the 
entire  canal  revenue.  He  pioneered  in  the  business  of  bringing 
wheat  from  the  western  States  to  be  mai.uftictured  in  Rochester,  in 
1828.  He  has  manufactured  from  his  own  wheat,  in  one  year,  80,- 
000  barrels  of  flour  !  Later  comers,  to  be  sure,  are  deserving  of 
credit  for  their  enterprise  —  as  helpers  in  the  work  of  making  Roch- 
ester what  it  is  —  but  it  is  especially  gratifying  to  record  such 
facts,  in  reference  to  a  Pioneer. 

Elisha  Ely  removed  to  Allegan,  Michigan,  in  1834,  where  he  still 
resides ;  is  a  Judge  of  Probates,  and  a  Regent  of  the  University  of 
Michigan. 

James  B.  Carter  was  the  Pioneer  blacksmith,  locating  upon  the 
Hundred  Acre  Tract  in  1812.  He  erected  a  small  story  and  a  half 
house  on  the  corner  now  occupied  by  the  block  of  Dr.  John  B.  El- 
wood.  His  shop  was  on  ground  now  occupied  by  Front  street.  He 
survives^,  a  resident  of  Churchville.  In  March,  1814,  his  brother, 
David  K.  Carter,  removed  from  Lewis  county  and  became  the  oc- 
cupant of  the  houie.  In  the  same  year  he  purchased  the  Mansion 
house  lot  from  second  hands,  paying  for  it  8 lOG  ;  in  1817  erected 
upon  it  a  three  storj  tavern  house.  The  first  lessee  of  it  was  Dan- 
iel Mack,  a  brother-in-law  of  Erastus  Spalding.  Mr.  Mack  emi- 
grated to  Detroit ;  a  surviving  son  is  Charles  S.  Mack  of  the  firm 
of  Mack  &  Van  Valkenburg,  Lockport.  The  next  lessee  of  the 
house  was  John  Christopher, "who  had  opened  a  house  at  Handford's 
Landing,  and  relinquished  it  on  account  of  sickness  there.  He  kept 
the  house  for  fourteen  years  —  and  a  comfortable  one  he  made  of 
it  as  many  an  early  traveller  in  the  old  stage  coaches  over  the 
Ridge  Road  will  remember.  Mrs.  Christopher  still  survives,  a  resi- 
dent with  her  son,  John  Christopher,  in  St.  Louis.  Another  sur- 
viving son  is  Joseph  Christopher,  of  Buffalo. 

In  1817  Mr.  Carter  purchased  of  Augustus  Porter  thirty-two  acres 
on  the  river,  on  either  side  of  what  is  now  Mount  Hope  Avenue,  south 
of  the  canal,  for  $3  per  acre,  upon  which  he  found  but  a  bark  covered 
log  house.  In  1820  he  erected  a  tavern  house,  long  known  as  the 
"Carter  stand,"  on  the  Henrietta  road.  He  died  in  1827;  his 
widow  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Rochester.     There  are  five  sur- 


PlIELPS   AND   GORIIAm's   PURCHASE. 


593 


vivlng  sons  in  five  different  States,  one  of  whom  is  David  K.  Carter, 
a  present  or  late  M.  C,  from  Ohio  ;  Mrs.  Dennis  M'Arthur,  of  Syra- 
cuse is  a  daughter. 

Mrs.  Carter  well  remembers  the  first  meeting  she  attended  in 
Rochester— a  reading  meeting  — held  in  Jehiel  Barnard's  tailor 
shop,  on  site  of  Pitkm's  block.     Old  Mr.  Harford  read  the  Episco- 
pal service,  Silas  O.  Smitiitlie  sermon  ;  Jehiel  Barnard  led  the  sing- 
ing^     "  In  1814  we  got  up  ?   small  school  house,  and  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  we  got  together  about  a  dozen  scholars.     Aaron  Skin- 
ner was  the  teacher."     Mrs.  Carter  observes  that  when  she  firfit 
came  to  llochesterville  there  was  but  small  openings  of  the  forest. 
Dr.  Simeon  Hunt,  still  a  s  ;rviving  practicing  physician  in  Roch- 
ester, has  been  in  practice  in  Monroe  county  forty  years.     He  set- 
tled in  what  is  now  Greece,  his  only  permanent  predecessor,  Dr. 
Zaccheus  Colby,  who  died  in  early  years  ;  his  surviving  sons  are 
Hull  and  Zaccheus  Colby,  of  Greece,  and  Merril  Colby  of  Nunda. 
Dr.  Hunt  is  in  06th  year  ;  surviving  sons,  Anson  M.  Hunt  of  Albion, 
Rev.  T.  D.  Hunt  of  San  Francisco,  who  was  for  five  years  a  mis- 
sionary in  the  Sandwich  islands ;  Mrs.  Moore  of  Rochester  is  a 
daughter. 

Dr.  Hunt  was  a  surgeon  of  Isaac  W.  Stone's  Dragoons  in  the 
war  of  lSl-2,  and  continued  under  his  successor,  Col.  C.  V.  Bout'h- 
ton  ;' was  at  the  sortie  of  Fort  Erie  and  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane.  ° 

Dr.  Jonah  Brown  was  the  earliest  physician  of  Rochester;  he 
still  survives,  a  resident  of  Irondequoit.  Dr.  Orrin  Gibbs,  of 'the 
early  Pioneer  family  in  Livonia,  was  next ;  died  several  year's  since  ; 
his  father,  Deacon  Gibbs,  also  settled  in  Rochester  in  the  earliest 
years. 

Abraham  Starks,  was  so  early  in  Rochester,  that  he  kept  a  small 
grocery  store  in  the  woods,  near  the  present  Mansion  House. 

Jonathan  Child  was  from  Orange  county,  Vermont.  He  came  to 
Utica  as  a  school  teacher,  in  1806,  where  he  became  the  clerk  of 
Watts  Sherman,  a  widely  known  merchant  of  early  years,  an.l  uncle 
of  the  Albany  banker  of  that  name.  In  1810  he  established  him- 
self with  a  small  stock  of  goods  at  Charlotte,  where  he  was  succeeded 
in  a  few  months  by  Frederick  Bushnell.  He  was  next  established 
in  Bloomfield,  in  company  with  Benjamin  Gardner.  In  1820  he  re- 
moved to  Rochester,  and  soon  after  was  engaged  for  several  years 
as  a  contractor  upon  the  heavy  rock  cutting  through  the  Mountain 
Ridge  at  Lockport,  in  the  construction  of  the  Erie  Canal.  To  his 
business  as  contractor,  he  added  at  Lockport,  one  of  the  earliest 
mercantile  establishments  in  that  locality.  He  was  one  of  the  early 
proprietors  of  the  old  Pilot  transportation  line  upon  the  canal.  He 
still  survives  at  the  age  of  60  years  ;  his  wife,  who  it  will  have  been 
observed  was  the  daughter  of  Col.  Rochester,  died  in  1850.  His  life 
has  been  one  of  business,  activity  andenternrize;  success  crowned  the 
enterprises  of  his  early  career  —  then  came  severe  reverses ;  but  he 


600 


PIIKLPS    AND    OORHAMS   PURCHASE. 


was  of  the  material  that  a  large  class  of  the  early  Pinneers  were 
made  of —  and  now,  at  an  a!j;c  when  most  men  are  seeking  ease  and 
retirement,  he  is  in  the  active  management  of  a  new  branch  of  busi- 
ness of  great  magnitude  and  public  utility,  of  which  he  is  one  of  the 
founders;  active,  stirring,  sanguine  persevering,  as  'n  middle  life: 

"  Ills  iige,  liko  a  lusty  winter,  -f  oaty,  but  kindly," 

Samuel  J.  Andrews  was  from  New  Haven,  Conn.,  a  graduate  of 
Yale  College ;  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Moses  Atwater  of  Canan- 
daigua.  On  a  visit  to  this  region  in  1812,  he  purchased  jointly  with 
Dr.  Atwater,  of  Augustus  rorter,  a  tract  of  land  on  the  River, 
adjoining  the  farm  of  Enos  Stone  on  the  north,  embracing  the  Up- 
per Falls.  In  1815  he  brought  on  a  small  stock  of  goods  which  he 
opened  in  the  house  of  Enos  Stone,  and  soon  after  his  family.  Mr. 
Stone  having  laid  out  a  few  lots  on  Main  street,  Mr.  Andrews  pur- 
chased what  is  now  the  corner  of  Main  and  St.  Paul  street,  and  built 
upon  it  a  stone  house,  the  first  structure,  other  than  of  wood,  in  Roch- 
ester. Before  the  close  of  1810  he  had  commenced  the  erection  of 
mills  at  the  Falls.  He  died  in  1832,  aged  64  years.  He  was  the 
father  of  Samuel  G.  Andrews,  under  whose  auspices,  what  has  been 
called  the  Andrews'  Tract,  has  principally  been  surveyed  and  sold 
out  in  village  and  city  lots  ;  of  James  S.  and  Julius  T.  Andrews,  of 
Rochester;  Mrs.  Wm.  P.  Sherman,  of  Rochester,  and  the  wife  of 
Judffe  Joseph  R.  Swan,  of  Columbus,  Ohio.  The  elder  Mr.  An- 
drews had  been  engaged  in  commercial  pursuits,  but  he  readily 
adopted  himself  to  the  work  of  settling  and  improving  a  new  region, 
and  was  always  sanguii-e  in  reference  to  the  destiny  of  Rochester. 
The  original  Andrews  and  Atwater  Tract  —  in  all  140  acres  —  is 
now  mostly  occupied,  principally  with  private  dwellings  ;  is  the 
Sixth  Ward ;  has  been  sold  and  occupied  principally  under  the 
agency  of  Samuel  G.  Andrews.  Mrs.  Andrews  survives,  a  resident 
with  her  daughter,  Mrs  Sherman. 


EVENTS    op    A    LATER    PIONEER    PERIOD, 


So  far,  after  reaching  the  site  of  Rochester,  Pioneer  advents  and 
events,  have  principally  been  confined  to  the  period  immediately 
preceeding  and  during  the  war  of  1812.  Those  that  will  follow  gen- 
erally have  reference  to  a  later  period  —  when  all  of  Western  New 
York  was  reviving  from  the  effects  of  the  war,  and  Rochester  es- 
pecially was  setting  out  upon  its  rapid  march,  and  giving  earnest 
of  its  future  destiny ;  though  the  merging  of  the  periods,  in  some 
degree,  is  unavoidable  :  — 

John  G.  Bond  was  a  native  of  Rockingham,  New  Hampshire,  a 
son  of  Dr.  John  Bond,  a  surgeon  in  the  Navy  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, having  studied  his  profession  with  Dr.  Bartlett,  one  of  the 


PHELPS  AND   GORIIAm's  PTJllCnASE. 


001 


signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,     On  the  matern.il  side 
he  was  of  a  Pioneer  stock      His  grandfather.  Wm.  Moulton.  was 
hefirstse  tier  of  Marietta.  Ohio,  in  1788.  the  women  ,;f  his  family 
the  first  white  females  in  Ohio.     The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bred 
a  merchant  and  in  1799  became  the  partner  of  Gen.  Amasa  Alien 
in  Kcene,  N  H.     In  June  1815,  he  visited  Rochester  upon  a  mixed 
errand  of  exploration  and  business.     Impressed  with  the  advanta<'eg 
ot  the  ocahty,  he  purchased  of  Jehiel  Barnard,  the  lot  now  occupied 
by  1  itkin  s  blocK,  on  which  there  was  a  small  framed  house;  after 
which  he  visited  Buflalo.  Niagara  Falls,  Toronto,   and  returned 
home  via  Montreal.     The  farther  account  of  his  early  advent  —  his 
reminiscences  of  primitive  days  in  Rochester —  the  author  prefers 
to  give  in  his  own  language.     There  are  few  of  the  survivincr  Pio- 
neers ot  Rochester  who  so  well  remember  early  events,  or  more 
largely  i-articipated  in  them. 

In  ISi'i,  Judge  Bond  changed  his  residence  from  Rochester  to 
Lockport  then  a  small  village  in  the  woods,  which  had  sprun-r  up 
after  the  location  of  the  canal ;  where  he  had  a  joint  interest  with 
lis  brother,  Wm.  M.  Bond,  who  now  resides  at  Mt.  Morris,  and  the 
late  Jesse  Hawley,  in  a  tract  of  land  upon  the  original  villa^'e  plat 
He  was  a  good  helper  there  as  he  had  been  in  Rochester,  in  aTl  those 
things  which  are  required  to  give  new  communities  an  auspicious 
commencement.     He  was  one  of  the  early  Judges  of  Niacrara    He 
IS  now  73  years  of  age,  a  resident  of  Niles,  Michigan,  where  he  was 
also  a  1  loneer.     His  wife,  who  was  the  daughter'^of  the  Hon  Dan- 
iel x^ewcomb,  of  New  Hampshire  ;  died  in  1848.     There  are  three 
surviving  sons  residing  at  Niles,  and  an  only  surviving  daucrhter 
Mrs.  Win.  C.  House,  resides  at  Lockport.     A  deceased  dau^'^hter 
was  the  wife  of  Jacob  Beeson,  an  enterprising  merchant  of  Niles. 


... 


EEMINISCENCES  OF  JOHN  G.  BOND. 


In  the  fall  of  1815  having  m  company  with  my  brother-in-law  and  partner, 
Uaniel  D.  Hatch,  purchased  what  was  then  deemed  a  large  stock  of  coeds 
in  Boston  and  New  York,  we  were  fairly  under  wav  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  ''Rochesterville."     Our  transportation  had 'cost  us  84,50  per  100 
from  A  bany.     Enlarging  the  small  house  and  shop  that  Barnard  had  built 
we  made  it  answer  for  our  store.     In  the  way  of  merchandizin-.,  there  had 
preceded  us  Silas  O.  Smith,  Ira  West,  Bissell  &  Ely,  Roswell  Hart      At 
this  period,  (and  within  a  few  months  after,)  the  citizens  of  all  of  what  is 
"«j/^''f.''f«ter,  were,  other  than  the  merchants  I  have  named,  the  Browns, 
Phihp  Lisle,  C.  Harford,  Mr.  Hamblin,  Hamlet  Scraatom,  D.  Carter,  Hast- 
ings R  Bender,  John  Mastick,  Harvey  Montgomery.  Abelard  Reynolds  and 
his  fathers  family,  George  and  H.  L.  Sill,  Deacon  Gibbsanrl  T)r.  Oihh=  D- 
Jonah  Brown,  John  C.  Rochester,  Mr.  Wakefield,  the  widow  King  and  hJr 
two  sons  Bradlord  and  Moses  King.     Ashbel  Steel,   Comfort  Williams, 
38 


602 


PHELPS  AND   GOEHAM'S    PUKCIIASE. 


Daniel  Mack,  Enos  Stone,'  Mrs.  Isaac  V/.  Stone,  Solomon  Close,  Thomas 
Kempshnll,  Seth  Saxton,  Enos  Pomeroy,  Roswell  Babbitt,  Lutlier  Dowell, 
Erastus  Cof>li,  Daniel  Tinker,  Wm.  Rogers,  Kellogg  Vosburgh,  Libbeus' 
Elliott,  Adunijah  Green,  James  Irvin,  A.&  J.  Colvin,  Augustnie  G.  Dauby, 
James  Sheidon,  Henry  Skinner,  Wm.  W.  Jobson,  M.  P.  Covert,  Samuel  J. 
Andrews,  Azel  Ensworth,  Rulufi'  Hannahs,  Chauncey  Mead,  Willis  Kemp- 
shall,  Preston  Smith,  Benedict  Harford,  J.  Hoit.  I  of  course  include  the 
families  of  all  who  had  them;  many  of  those  named  were  unmarried. 

The  population  increased  very  rapidly  in  the  lattjr  part  of  1816.  and  la 
'17  and  M8.  The  timber  was  cut  out  of  Buffalo  street  as  far  as  what  is 
now'"Halsted  Hall,"  in  the  spring  of  1816 ;  at  which  time  there  was  but  a 
wagon  track  on  the  Scottsviile  road  south  of  Cornhill.  The  road  from  Oliver 
Culver's  to  Rochester  was  mostly  a  log  causeway,  rough  as  any  that  may 
now  be  seen  in  the  newest  regions.  It  was  a  good  Hour's  work  to  go  over 
it  with  a  waoon.  There  was,  I  think  less  than  100  acres  of  cleared  land 
on  all  the  site  of  Rochester.  In  all  the  region  around  Rochester,  with  the 
exception  of  a  part  of  Brighton,  Penffeld  and  Pittsford,  there  was  seldom 
but  the  primitive  log  house,  small  openings  of  the  forest.  The  now  fine 
town  of  Henrietta  looked  little  as  if  I  should  live  to  see  it  what  it  now  is. 

In  February  1816,  I  brought  my  own  family  and  that  of  my  partner, 
Mr.  Hatch,  from  New  Hampshire,  changing  from  runners  to  wheels,  and 
finally  arriving  when  asuddenthaw  had  left  the  roads  in  a  horrid  condition. 
Houses  were  scaice  and  rents  high.  In  less  than  a  year  I  changed  my 
residence  four  times.  I  first  went  into  house  built  by  Francis  Brown, 
the  same  that  the  good  old  gentleman  Dr.  Brown  now  lives  in ;  next  a  house 
built  by  John  Mastick  on  the  Brighton  side;  next  into  the  house  of  Iru 
West  on  west  side  of  State  street :  next  into  a  house  owned  by  John  Roch- 
ester, a  little  south  of  the  Roche. ler  House.  I  built  the  house,  the  late 
residence  of  Gen.  Matthews  on  Washington  street,  in  1817;  and  had  previ- 
ously, in  1816  built  the  store  which  Dr.  Pitkin  occupied  for  manyyearsas  a 
druooist  shop,  and  which  now  stands  in  rear  of  his  fine  brick  block.  The 
oldlhop  I  had  bought  of  Jehiel  Barnard,  and  converted  into  a  store  was 
used  successively  by  Dr.  Jabcz  Wilkinson,  Dr.  Backus,  and  John  A.  Gran- 
ger, as  a  drugstore.  ,   TT    1    •     ,r,,n       T   1    J 

What  was  then  a  very  serious  fire,  occurred,  Ithink  in  1819,  which  des- 
troyed several  shops  and  stores  on  the  Arcade  lot  and  my  lot  ;  and  the  only 

printing  office.  .     ,,  ,         ,„,,    i.      i 

When  I  began  on  Washington  street,  m  May  or  June,  181b,  to  clear 
away  the  native  forest  for  the  purpose  of  building  my  house,  my  neighbors 
expressed  some  astonishment,  that  I  should  think  of  building  so  far  back  in 
the  woods.  I  told  them  that  within  twenty  or  thirty  years,  I  expected  to 
see  it  in  the  midst  of  a  great  city.  They  mostly  demurred  to  my  proph- 
ecies and  said  if  the  population  ever  reached  the  number  of  2,500  it  would 
be  more  than  they  were  looking  for.  In  1816  myself  and  Hervey  Ely  plant- 
ted  suo-ir  maple  and  other  trees  along  on  the  west  side  of  Washington 
street  "the  first  trees  for  ornament  set  out  in  Rochester.  There  was  no 
house  west  of  Sophia  street,  before  I  built  mine.  On  the  ground  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  Stone  Market,  I  erected  a  large  adiery  as  early  as  1815. 


Previous  to  December,  1813,  our 


mail 


was  brnu 


rht  from  Canandaiffua  on 


horseback.     Capt.  Elisha  Ely  and  myself  concluded  to  make  an   attempt 


Ill 


PIIELPS   AM)    GORHAm's   PURCHASE. 


603 


to  raise  a  company  to  run  a  stage  to  Canandaigua.  We  went  alons  the 
route  and  succeeded  m  getting  Wca.  Hildreth  and  other  tavern  keepers  on 
It  to  engage  in  the  enterprise.  Jn  January.  1816,  the  mail  was  first  brought 
to  Rochester  in  a  four  horse  coach,  or  rather,  a  coach  body  upon  runnfrs 
We  followed  up  the  enterprise  by  a  journey  to  Lewiston  on  the  Rid<.e 
i?  \i  r''  K  '  "^^^y^ '"/^aching  Lewiston,  and  we  broke  down  our 
sleigh  three  times,  by  running  foul  of  snags  on  the  track.  We  succeeded 
in  enL^ting  upon  the  route,  (principally  Messrs.  Barton  and  Fairbanks  of 
Lewiston,)  a  sufficient  interest  to  extend  the  Canandaigua  route  over  the 
Ridge  Road.  In  June,  1816  a  tri-weekly  four  horse  coach  was  put  upon 
t.  This  was  thought  to  be  far  ahead  of  the  times-some  said  ei^ht  or 
ten  years  at  least -but  within  a  year,  there  was  often  the  necessity  of 
sending  out  three  or  four  extra*  m  a  day,  and  soon  the  Ridge  Road  became 
a  great  thoroughfare,  °  cvomo 

We  early  citizens  of  Rochester  had  a  great  difficulty  in  gettin<r  the  new 
county  o  Monroe.  The  old  counties  of  Ontario  and  Genesee  were  mostly 
opposed  to  dismemberment.  I  was  often  with  others,  in  Canandaigua  and 
Ba  avia  o  promote  the  object.  We  were  told  in  those  localities^  that  it 
was  a  wild  and  foolish  project  to  think  of  having  a  new  county  in  the  back, 
sparsely  settled  Lake  region.  In  answer  to°some  unkind  Remarks  of  a 
pntiemanat  Canandaigua  _  language  of  contempt,  touching  the  aspir- 
S£;Tl  -."Tr"^  young  village  of  Rochester- Dr.  Brown  ventured  to 
foretell  Us  destiny,  and  promise  that  it  would  soon  reach  a  position  that 
would  command  respect  instead  of  contempt  and  derision 

In  the  year  1816  and  '17,  Rochester  had  a  rapid  growth,  a  large  addi- 

IZT  ""^  f /'  !t'  ^TJ'^^^'^I-  ^*  ^^^  ^'''''^'  "«t  only  the  principal 
wheat  market  for  the  whole  valley  of  the  Genesee,  but  for  most  ot' what  is 
now  Ontario,  Wayne,  Orleans  and  Genesee.  The  crowding  in  of  teams 
sales  of  wheat,  made  store  trade,  and  with  new  comers  dropping  in,  build- 
ings going  up  &c  the  young  village  was  a  scene  of  activity  and  enter- 
prise Hanford  s  Landing  was  the  principal  shipping  point.  Vessels  be- 
gan to  make  regular  trips  to  the  mouth  of  the  River  and  Hanford's  Land- 
ing  from  all  the  ports  below.  Flour  and  wheat,  pot  and  pearl  ash,  whis- 
key and  staves,  were  the  principal  articles  of  commerce.    In  '16   some 

Sm  If  i"^  ^TT.  ^'f""  ^^  ?'  ?"'"•  Population  was  increasing  so 
rapidly  that  we  had  to  enlarge  the  building  in  which  we  had  our  school, 
and  held  our  meetings.  ' 

After  the  canal  had  been  located  as  far  west  as  Montezuma,  it  became  a 
question  where  it  should  cross  the  Genesee  River.  Carthage  below,  and 
some  point  above  -  Black  creek  I  think,  -  were  proposed  While  this 
was  a  mooted  question,  the  Oswego  route,  Lake  Ontario,  and  a  canal  around 
the  balls  of  Niagara^  was  revived,  and  became  a  powerful  competitor. 
News  ciinae  that  the  Canal  Board  were  divided  upon  the  question  of  over 
land  and  Lake  route.  This  created  a  good  deal  of  stir  with  us,  and  alarm 
It  may  be  added.  A  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Rochester  was  convened  in 
my  counting  room,  a  handbill  was  drawn  up  by  Enos  Pomerov,  signed  bv 
many  ctizens,  printed  and  circulated  far  and  wide.  It  was  headed  "Canal 
m  Danger!'  This  was  just  pending  the  State  election.  The  handbill 
favored  the  election  of  Mr.  Clinton.,  as  Governor,  and  of  his  friends  to  the 
Legislature.    It  was  a  close  vote  as  all  wiU  remember,  between  Clinton  and 


I'  f\ 


604 


PHELPS  AND   GOEHAM's   PUECHASE. 


Tompkins,  and  I  think  the  Rochester  movement,  its  stirring  appeal  by 
handbill,  to  the  local  interests  of  Western  New  York,  decided  the  contest.* 
An  early  adventurer  in  Rochester,  I  had  from  the  first,  high  anticipa- 
tions of  its  future  greatness,  and  espoused  its  cause  with  an  ardent  zeal, 
as  many  of  my  old  friends  will  remember.  My  predictions  were  sometimes 
looked  upon  as  "  castles  in  the  air,"  but  they  have  proved  to  be  upon  terra 
firma  —  made  of  real  and  substantial  brick,  stone  and  mortar,  as  all  may 
now  see.  I  visited  the  scenes  of  my  early  enterprises  and  associations, 
during  the  last  season,  and  my  heart  was  warmed  in  taking  by  the  hand 
my  old  neighbors  and  co-workers  of  Pioneer  times ;  in  talking  over  the 
events  of  early  days,  and  witnessing  the  evidences  of  prosperity  spread 
out  upon  every  hand.  Where  I  had  in  years  of  maturity,  helped  to  clear 
away  the  forest,  was  a  population  of  near  40,000 ;  wealth,  prosperity  and 
all  the  happiness  that  a  high  degree  of  civilization  and  refinement  can  in- 
sure, was  spread  out  upon  every  hand;  and  more  than  all,  with  me,  was 
the  recognition  of  old  friends,  whom  1  had  encouraged  to  cast  their  lot  with 
me,  in  the  primitive,  rough  and  forbidding  locality  —  whom  I  had  seen 
struggling  in  early  years,  with  hardships  and  privations — in  the  enjoyment 
of  health  and  competence,  in  their  declining  years.  May  God  bless,  and 
continue  all  this,  is  the  hope  and  the  prayer  of  a  surviving  non-resident 
Pioneer. 


Richard  Kempshall  with  a  large  family,  was  an  emigrant  from 
England,  locating  in  a  neighborhoxl  of  chiefly  English  families  in 
what  is  now  Pittsford,  in  1806.  He  died  in  less  than  a  year,  of  the 
prevalent  disease  of  the  new  country,  after  having  expended  all  of 
his  small  means  in  emigrating,  making  the  first  payment  upon  a  tract 
of  new  land,  in  erecting  a  log  house,  and  defraying  other  incidental 
expenses,  leaving  a  wife  and  ten  children  in  indigent  circumstances. 
With  no  ability  to  make  the  payments  still  due  upon  their  lands, 
they  were  obliged  to  let  it  revert,  aiul  destitute  even  of  a  home,  the 
support  of  the  large  family  devolved  upon  the  widow,  and  the  eldest 
son,  Willis,  who  was  then  but  eighteen  years  of  age.  The  family 
was  broken  up,  but  through  the  extraordinary  exertions  of  Willis, 
mostly  found  good  homes  under  the  roofs  of  the  more  fortunate  Pio- 
neers.    Of  the  ten  children,  six  still  survive. 

Willis  Kempshall,  having  acquired  from  his  father  the  trade  of  a 
carpenter,  was  as  early  as  1813  in  the  employ  of  the  Messrs.  Browns, 
in  Frankfort.  He  became  a  permanent  resident  in  Rochester  as 
early  as  1814,  where  he  has  since  mostly  resided  until  quite  recently, 
he  has  purchased  a  farm  in  Wyoming,  Wyoming  county,  upon  which 
he  now  I'esides  with  a  large  family. 


*  The  autlior  has  been  favored  by  Judge  I^ond  with  a  copy  of  tlic  famous  handbill ; 
an  interesting  historical  reniiiiiscence.  It  i.s  signed  by  Roswell  Hart,  Ira  West,  Thos. 
Keinjishall,  Russell  Ensworth,  Cluis.  J.  Hill,  Raljjh  Parker,  D.  D.  llatdi,  J.  Ludden, 
Jollli  G.  Uoud,  CluiB.  llarioid,  Benjuniiii  iilossoni,  Eno8  Blossom,  isolonioii  Close, 
Anson  House,  Samuel  J.  Andicws,  Oliver  Culver,  Enos  Stone.  Azel  Ensworth, 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAm's  PUECHASE.  605 

Thomas  Kempshall  the  more  immediate  subject  of  this  brief  bio- 
graphical  sketch,  worked  with  his  brother  in  early  years  •  in  the 
wmter  of  1813.  '14,  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  placed  fn  the 'store  of 
that  early  Pioneer  merchant  and  excellent  man,  Ira  West,  to  whose 
examples,  councils  and  friendship,  he  was  largely  indebted  for  a  good 
H  busmess  education  and  moral  attainments  which  prepared  him  for 

fl  eiXd  w^h %TwT7  T^'P'-'^'l^'^^  usoililness.*     The  clerkship 

ended  with  Mr.  West,  he  became  his  partner,  at  a  period  when  his 
business  had  become  largely  extended  and  profitable.     Mr    West 
retiring  in  1821,  Mr.  Kempshall  continued  the  business  on  his  own 
account  for  several  years,  when  John  F.  Bush,  who  had  been  a  clerk 
in  the  establishment,  became  his  partner.     The  business  was  prose- 
cuted for  a  few  years  under  the  firm  of  Kempshall  &  Bush,  when 
It  was  changed  to  that  of  an  extensive  furnace,  and  mill  furnish- 
mg  establishment,  under  the  management,  mainly,  of  Mr.  Bush 
1  his  business  vvas  discontinued  about  ten  years  since.     In  1826' 
Mr.  Kempshall  formed  a  business  connection  with  Gen  E  S  Beach 
and  the  two  erected  the  Aqueduct  Mill,   an  extensive  flouring  es- 
tablishment at  the  west  end  of  the  Aqueduct,  fronting  Child's  Basin 
It  was  put  in  operation  in   1827,  and  carried  on  under  the  firm  of 
Beach  &  Kenipshall,  until   1834,  when  Mr.  Kempshall  became  the 
sole  owner  and  manager.     He  prosecuted  the  business  until  he  was 
obliged  to  suspend  it  in  consequence  of  losses  sustained  durino-  the 
severe  financial  revulsion  of  1838, '39,  '40.     The  pronertv  i  "issed 
into  the  hands  of  Gen.  Beach  ;  Mr.  Kempshall  contTnuinl'hi   cTn 
nection  with  it  until  the  present  time. 

Uninterrupted  success,  wealth,  had  rewarded  his  early  enterprise, 
and  long  years  cf  close  application  to  business,  when  reverses  and 
embarrasments  came  upon  him  under  which  he  has  strugHed  with  a 
beanngof  nianliness,  fortitude,  and  an  integrity  unimpaired,  that  have 
.  commanded  respect  and  esteem.  The  orphan  boy  of  a  foreign  em- 
igrant, thi  own  upon  his  own  resources,  unaided  but  by  tfie  patron 
Who  nad  tlie  discrimination  to  discover  merit,  and  a  heart  larcre 

w'!fb?hV^''''".r.'S''^  ","'"1^  '''^^  ^'^"  S'"'^^^^'^   ^»d  strengthened 
with  the  streng  h    of  the  locality  where  his  lot  was  cast.     E^iterin^ 

It  \vhile  as  yet  the  forest  had  not  receded  from  its  now  main  thorouah° 
tares  and  the  sites  of  its  costly  public  edifices,  it  became  an  incor- 
porated village,  and  he  became  one  of  its  officers  ;  it  became  a  city 
and  in  progress  of  time,  he  became  its  Mayor. 

Andnot  less  intimately  or  honorably  is  hia  history  blended  with 
that  of  the  wiiole  county  of  Monroe.  The  occupant  of  a  locr 
cabin  when  it  was  "a  region  of  log  cabins,"  the  boy  and- 
man,  the  primitive  region,  the  populous  and   wealthy  county,  had 


■    - 

! 


*  Hitherto  fliorc  li.'is  liof'ii  but  !"''''i>!'^"!  •illvi-v-- i^  Tvn  TV  -'      t.    i      u  i        ,,    . 


606 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's   PURCHASE. 


kept  pace  with  each  other,  in  the  march  of  progress  ;  and  in  1838, 
the  one  bore  the  relation  to  the  other,  of  its  Representative  in  our 
nationnl  councils. 

Rochester  has  many  examples  among  its  Pioneers  and  founders, 
of  self  made,  (and  well  made,)  men  ;  and  when  its  history,  and  their 
histories,  are  so  blended  as  in  this  instance,  it  is  a  pleasing  task  to 
turn  aside  and  for  a  few  moments  dwell  upon  the  analogy.  Were 
this  not  the  history  of  a  wide  region,  instead  of  a  single  locality,  far 
more  would  be  said  of  the  early  men  of  Rochester. 

Mr.  Kempshall  still  survives,  his  enterprise  and  industry  unabated 
by  misfortune,  or  declining  years. 

Josiah  Bissell,  Jr.,  had  a  business  connection  with  the  Elys  in 
their  primitive  advent  in  1813,  but  he  did  not  become  a  resident 
until  1817.  He  was  previously  a  merchant  in  Pittsfield,  Mass.  He 
was  an  early  and  efficient  helper  in  church  organizations  ;  was  the 
principal  founder  of  the  3d  Presbyterian  church ;  and  also  of  the 
six  day  line  of  stages,  the  object  of  which  was  to  avoid  the  desecra- 
tion of  the  Sabbath  occasioned  by  the  seven  day  lines.  There  are 
few  names  and  memories  more  closely  identified  with  Rochester. 
In  1827  he  purchased  in  company  with  Ashbel  W.  Riley,  of  Enos 
Stone,  with  small  exceptions,  all  of  the  unsold  portion  of  his  origi- 
nal large  farm.  Erecting  his  dwelling  —  which  is  now  a  part  of 
the  fine  mansion  house  of  Dr.  Levi  Ward,  in  "  The  Grove" —  in  the 
midst  of  the  purchase,  a  large  addition  to  the  city  was  made  under 
his  auspicies  ;  new  streets  laid  out,  and  dwellings  erected.  He  died 
in  the  prime  of  life,  at  Seneca  Falls,  where  he  was  engaged  in  a 
business  enterprise,  in  1830,  aged  40  years.  His  surviving  sons  are 
Josiah  W.  Bissell,  of  Rochester,  a  broker;  Charles  P.  Bissell,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Eagle  Bank  of  Rochester;  George  P.  Bissell,  Cashier  of 
the  Western  Bank,  Pittsfield,  Mass. ;  Champion  Bissell,  of  New 
York.  An  only  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Willard  Parker,  Professor 
of  the  University  of  New  York. 

In  1817,  Elisha  Johnson  removed  from  Canandaigua  to  Roches- 
ter. He  was  a  son  of  Capt.  Ebenezer  Johnson,  who  was  an  early 
Pioneer  in  Chautauque  county  ;  a  brother  of  Dr.  Johnson,  who  is  so 
closely  identified  with  the  history  of  Buffalo.  His  profession  was 
that  of  an  Engineer.  On  coming  to  Rochester  he  purchased  of 
Enos  Stone  all  the  unsold  portion  of  his  original  farm,  (and  but  little 
had  been  sold  previously,)  lying  upon  the  River  and  extending  back 
to  North  street.  This  purchase  embraced  the  water  power  upon 
the  east  side  of  the  River,  principally  above  the  Upper  Falls,  and 
about  80  acres  of  what  is  now  a  compactly  occupied  and  built  up 
portion  of  the  city.  Mr.  Johnson  paid  $10,000  for  the  yiroperty, 
and  before  the  close  of  the  first  year  expended  upon  it  $12,000  in 
the  erection  of  a  dam  across  the  river,  and  the  construction  of  a  race. 
Orson  Seymour,  of  Canandaigua  soon  became  a  joint  owner.  Tliis 
may  be  said  to  have  been  the  starting  period  of  all  that  portion  of 


the 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM's  PURCHASE. 


607 


the  city  lying  east  of  the  river,  as  but  little  had  been  done  there  pre- 
vionily.  The  name,  and  enterprises  of  Mr.  Johnson,  are  probably 
more  closely  associated  with  what  used  to  be  called  the  "  Brio;hton 
side" — now  almost  one  half  of  the  entire  city —  than  those  of  any 
other  individual. 

He  was  the  Mayor  of  the  city  in  1838 ;  an  Elector  of  President 
and  Vice  President  in  1844.  One  of  his  many  business  enterprises 
was  the  formidable  work  of  constructing  the  tunnel  ot  the  Genesee 
Valley  Canal  at  Portage,  or  prosecuting  it  until  the  work  was  sus- 
pended by  the  State.  He  is  now  in  his  66th  year,  yet  in  active  life, 
a  citizen  of  East  Tenessee,  where  his  only  son,  Mortimer  F.  John- 
son also  resides.  His  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Chauncey  L, 
Grant,  of  Ithica,  Elihu  H.  S.  Mumford,  Benj.  F.  Young,  Edward  B. 
Young. 

CARTHAGE. 


Elisha  B.  Strong  was  from  Windsor,  Conn.,  a  descendant  of  the 
Pioneer  colonists  of  that  town.  After  graduating  at  college,  in 
1809,  he  made  atrip  to  Niagara  Falls,  was  pleased  with  the  country, 
located  at  Canandaigua,  entering  the  office  of  Howell  and  Greig  as 
a  law  student.  Admitted  to  practice  in  1812,  he  was  for  several 
years  the  law  partner  of  Wm.  H.  Adams,  who  was  his  successor 
in  business  at  Canandaigua.  In  1816  he  purchased  in  company 
with  Elisha  Beach,  1000  acres  embracing  the  site  of  Carthage,  of 
Caleb  Lyon,*  who  had  been  settled  there  for  several  years,  had 
made  a  small  opening  in  the  forest,  and  erected  a  few  log  cabins. 
The  few  families  upon  the  tract  were  mostly  squatters.  Nearly  all 
of  what  is  Irondequoit  was  a  wilderness  ;  Mr.  Greig  was  offering 
some  of  the  poorest  lands  at  50  cents  per  acre ;  for  the  best  he 
asked  ^5.  Sylvester  Woodman,  a  retired  sea  captain,  was  the  first 
purchaser  of  a  farm  ;  those  that  preceded  him  had  been  squatters 
engaged  principally  in  lumbering.  In  1816,  there  was  no  access  to 
the  site  of  Carthage  or  the  mouth  of  the  River,  from  the  east  and 
west  Brighton  road,  other  than  the  "  Merchants  road,"  made  prin- 
cipally by  the  merchants  of  Canandaigua  some  years  before,  which 
left  the  Brighton  road  a  little  east  of  the  farm  of  Oliver  Culver,  and 
a  woods  road,  with  blazed  trees  as  guides,  that  had  been  made  by- 
Mr.  Lyon,  on  the  River,  to  the  Brighton  road. 

In  1817,  a  bridge  was  projected  and  commenced  across  the  Gen- 
esee River  at  Carthage,  by  a  joint  stock  company  consisting  of 
Elisha  B.  Strong,   Elisha  Beach,  Heman  Norton  and  Francis  Al- 


*  Tlic  father  of  "Caleb  Lyon,  of  Lyonsdale,"  the  newly  elected  Senator  from  Lew- 
is and  Jeft'ersou.  After  aclliiig  here,  the  old  gentleniao  purehaseJ  a  large  tract  of  laud 
in  the  Black  river  country,  and  became  a  patroou  of  settlement  there. 


608 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAm's  PURCHASE. 


bright.  It  was  completed  in  Feb.  1819  ;  the  architects  were  Brain- 
ard  and  Chapman.  Considerinjr  the  period  of  the  enterprise,  it 
was  one  of  great  magnitude,  and  would  have  proved  one  of  great 
public  utility  had  it  been  permanent.  "It  consisted  of  an  eni  ire  arch, 
the  chord  of  which  was  352  feet,  and  the  versed  sine  54  feet.  The 
summit  of  the  arch  was  19G  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water. 
The  entire  length  of  the  bridge  was  718  feet,  and  the  width  30  feet,  be- 
sides four  large  elbow  braces,  placed  at  the  extremity  of  the  arch,  and 
projecting  15  feet  on  each  side  of  it."  *  The  bridge  stood  and  was 
crossed  a  little  over  one  year  —  loaded  teams  with  more  than  1500 
weight  had  passed  over  it ;  and  it  was  traveled  over  with  a  feeling 
of  security,  until  it  gave  way,  when  there  was  no  weight  upon  it  ; 
the  fault  in  the  construction  having  been  a  want  of  bracing  to  pre- 
vent the  springing  up  of  the  arch.  It  was  crossed  about  18  months. 
The  Ridge  Road  broken  by  the  River  and  the  deep  wide  gorge,  the 
Bridge  was  designed  as  a  connecting  link.  A  facility  for  crossing 
Irondequoit  Bay  v»'as  a  part  of  the  plan  which  contemplated  the 
making  of  the  long  continuous  natural  highway,  a  main  eastern  and 
western  thoroughfare.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  proprietors  of 
Carthage,  a  store  house  and  wharf  was  constructed  upon  the  River, 
and  a  road  mad^  leading  down  to  them. 

The  main  design  of  the  proprietors,  was  the  forwarding  of  a  de- 
pot for  the  commerce  of  the  Lake  and  the  erection  of  mills  and 
machinery,  using  the  hydraulic  power  of  the  Lower  Falls.  Aside 
from  the  failure  of  the  bridge  there  were  other  early  untoward 
events:  —  The  failure  of  the  old  and  hitherto  substantial  firm  of 
Norton  &  Beach,  which  threw  the  enterprise  pretty  much  upon  the 
hands  of  Judge  Strong;  an  interruption  of  the  trade  with  Montre- 
al ;  and  most  of  all  perhaps,  the  sudden  and  rapid  start  of  a  power- 
ful rival.  When  the  decision  as  to  the  place  of  crossing  the  River 
with  the  canal  was  i)ending,  that  locality  was  a  competitor  ;  a  route 
was  surveyed,  and  the  estimates  of  an  aqueduct  made.  Mr.  Holley, 
the  acting  commissioner,  at  one  period  offered  to  receive  proposals 
for  the  work  ;  a  re-estimate  however  of  the  cost  of  an  aqueduct  to 
span  the  deep  and  wide  chasm,  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the  route.f 

In  addition  to  the  improvements  named,  the  proprietors  of  Carth- 
age and  the  Bridge,  erected  a  public  house  which  was  opened  by 
Ebenezer  Spear,  who  has  been  named  in  connection  with  Palmyra 
and  Penfield.  He  was  succeeded  by  Justin  Smith.  Harvey  Kim- 
ball and  Oliver  Strong  opened  mercantile  establishments.  Levi  H. 
Clark,  a  lawyer  settled  there  as  early  as  1818.     He  was  the  partner 


Can 


*  Jesse  Hawlp-''-,  in  Rochester  Directory,  1827. 

t  Those  who  hnd  become  interested  in  Rochester,  were  divided  upon  the  question  r 
uiiil  hication  ;  a  portion  of  tlieni  being  of  opinion  that  the  diversion  of  water  froi 


of 
,,  „     -    iipinion  that  the  diversion  of  water  from 

nulls  and  tnacliinery  to  i'i>oi\  the  (anal,  ^vould  not  Iiave  its  equivalent  in  anj'  advanta- 
ges that  would  grow  out  of  the  near  proximity  of  it  to  their  business  sites. 


PIIELPS    ANDGOEHAJi's   PURCIIASE.  609 

of  Dr.  y/ard,  in  the  purchase  of  the  residuary  land  interest  of  the 
State  ot  Connecticut  Returning  to  the  east  after  a  residence 
there  of  a  few  years,  he  was  at  one  period  a  reporter  at  Washin^r. 
ton;  died  a  few  years  since  in  New  York.  John  W.  Stroncr  was°a 
resident  of  Carthage,  as  early  as  1818;  was  an  early  prmninen^ 
merchant  in  Rochester ;  removed  to  Detroit  in  1830  ;  is  niw  a  clerk 
of  the  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office.  Oliver  Stroncr  was  con- 
"'?i'lo'/^^  "]^.''^^"tile  and  milling  business  with  Judge  Stroncr 
until  183-2,  in  which  year  he  died  at  Detroit.  He  was  at  one  period 
the  Major  General  of  a  Rifle  Brigade.  Horace  Hooker  was  early 
at  Carthage,  engage^  in  mercantile  and  distilling  business  He 
still  resides  there.  Francis  Babcock  built  a  flouring  mill  at  the 
Lower  Falls  as  early  as  1824  ;  built  the  dwelling  now°occupied  by 
Ansel  Frost ;  eaving  here,  he  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits ;  was 
captured  and  k-illed  by  pirates  on  the  coast  of  Africa     Capt   Cru- 

!uy  of  Ne'w  Y^"rk  ""^^  ''''  ''''^  ''  ^'''^''^^  '  "°^"  ''''''^''  "^  '^'^ 
Heman  Norton  was  the  son  of  Nathaniel  Norton,  the  early  Pio- 
neer  o  Bloomfield,  and  merchant  of  Canandaigua;  married  a  sis- 
ter  ot  Judge  Strong.  He  removed  to  the  city  of  New  York,  where 
he  died  several  years  since.  His  sons  are.  Professor  Wm.  P  Nor- 
on,  John  Aorton,  a  Merchant  in  New  York.  A  daughter  became 
the  wife  of  Walter  Griffith  of  New  York.  Eilsha  Be^ach  who  uTs 
a^son-in-law  of  Nathaniel  Norton,  died  in  Monroe,  Michigan,  in 

Elisha  B.  Strong  has  continued  to  reside  in  Carthage  since  his 
early  advent ;  witnessing  and  participating  in  its  rise  and  decline 
and  surviving  to  see  the  village  that  became  its  successful  rival' 
grovv  into  an  overshadowing  city,  and  generously  embrace  it  in  its' 
limits.  That  portion  of  the  original  site  of  Carthage  remainincr  in 
his  hands,  and  for  many  years  constituting  his  farm,  is  now  sehincr 
in  lots  ot  100  feet  front,  at  from  $100  to  -$500.  He  i.s  now  in  hil 
b^dyear.  He  was  a  member  of  Assembly  from  Ontario  in  1819 
^?  ixT  ^^^^21,  when  the  application  was  made  for  the  erection 
ot  Monroe,  from  parts  of  Ontario  and  Genesee,  he  was  in  attend- 
ance at  Albany,  and  contributed  essentially  in  thwarting  a  stroncr 
opposition,  and  bringing  the  measure  to  a  consummation.  He  was 
appointed  First  Judge  on  the  organization  of  the  courts  of  Monroe 
holding  the  office  until  succeeded  by  Judge  Samson. 

Capt.  John  T.  Trowbridge,  now  residing  in  Racine,  Wisconsin 
long  known  in  connection  with  the  commerce  of  Lake  Ontario  re- 
sided at  Carthage  as  early  as  1820. 

All  of  what  is  now  Irondequoit  was  slow  in  settling.  The  lands 
especially  between  Ridge  and  Lake,  being  mostly  pine  nlains,  the 
soil  light  and  sandy —  "barrens,"  they  used  to  be  called.  But  a 
change  has  come  over  them,  such  ns  has  been  noticed  in  other  lo- 
calities.    1  heir  present  value  is  from  $50  to  8100  per  acre. 


610 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM  3    PUECHASE. 


The  early  proprietors  of  that  portion  of  the  city  on  the  east  side 
of  the  River,  between  the  Andrews  and  Atwater  tract,  and  the 
Carthage  tract,  were  John  W.  Strong,  who  after  making  a  farm  and 
residing  there,  sold  his  possessions  to  Martin  Galusha,  under  whos^. 
auspices  it  has  been  platted  and  sold  ;  Caleb  Lyon,  who  owned  32 
acres,  and  sold  it  to  Elon  Huntington.  The  whole  space,  the  Carth- 
age plat  included,  affords  some  of  the  most  eligible  building  grounds 
within  the  city,  overlooking  the  River  and  its  romantic  scenery,  and 
the  lower  part  of  the  city  on  the  east  side  of  the  River.  It  is  fast 
filling  up. 


Ashbel  W.  Riley  emigrated  from  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  in  1816; 
^vas  in  early  years  extensively  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  ;  in 
1835  was  one  of  the  principal  founders  of  a  six  day  transportation 
line  upon  the  Erie  Canal,  and  at  the  same  time  was  the  joint  propri- 
etor with  Josiah  Bissell  in  real  estate  operations,  which  have  been 
named.  The  last  ten  years  of  his  life  has  been  principally  devoted 
to  the  temperance  reformation,  in  which  cause  he  is  a  widely  known 
and  popular  public  lecturer.  His  military  title  is  derived  from  the 
holding  of  the  c9mmission  of  Major  General  of  the  3d  division  of 
Riflemen, 

Gideon  Cobb  was  a  young  adventurer  to  the  Genesee  country 
from  Vermont,  just  previous  to  the  war  of  1812 ;  a  travelling  ped- 
lar of  scythes  and  axes ;  temporarily  making  some  improvements 
on  a  tract  of  wild  land  among  the  hemlocks  of  the  western  portion 
of  Wyoming  county ;  serving  a  brief  season  upon  the  frontier ; 
then  a  travelling  dealer  in  hollow  ware;  until  1814,  when  he  went 
into  the  employ  of  the  Messrs.  Browns,  at  Frankfort.  He  estab- 
lished the  first  "  public  conveyance,"  in  Monroe  county :  —  a  four 
ox  team  which  went  twice  a  week  from  Rochester  to  the  mouth  of 
the  River,  principally  to  do  the  transportation  for  the  primitive  mer- 
chants of  Rochester.  He  used  to  get  his  beans  and  pork  "cooked 
by  Mrs.  Culver  except  in  warm  weather,  when  his  beans  would 
get  sour,"  and  he  "had  his  cooking  done  twice  a  week."  He 
finally  got  board  with  Willis  Kempshall,  but  had  "  to  sleep  under 
the  work  bench."  He  cleared  the  timber  from  North  and  Monroe 
streets.  And  all  these  were  but  a  part  of  his  early  industry  and 
enterprise.  He  is  now  61  years  of  age,  "  hale  and  hearty,"  the 
owner  and  occupant  of  one  of  the  largest  farms  in  Brighton ;  and 
as  if  he  knew  not  how  to  suspend  labor  and  enterprise,  is  building 
for  the  county  of  Monroe,  the  splendid  edifice  for  its  courts  and 
public  offices,  at  a  cost  to  county  and  city,  of  $60,000. 

William  Cobb,  a  brother  of  Gideon,  had  been  connected  with 
Dr.  Matthew  Brown  in  the  axe  and  scythe  manufactory,  near  Rome. 
In  1816,  the  business  was  transferred  to  Rochester,  and  commenced 

machine 


upon 


now  occupied  by  Lewis  Seely' 


UUiiS 


Ill: 


PHELPS   AOT)    GORIIAm's    PURCHASE. 


611 


shop  was  added.  In  1820,  in  partnership  with  Lawson  Thayer,  he 
purchased  the  site  now  occupied  by  D.  R.  Barton,  to  wiiieli  the 
business  of  scythe  manufacturing  was  transferred.  The  rear  of  the 
lot  was  occupied  by  Thomas  Morgan,  with  the  first  manufactory  of 
the  cut  nail  started  west  of  the  Hudson.  Mr.  Cobb  left  Roches- 
ter previous  to  1830,  under  an  engagement  with  the  late  Nathaniel 
Allen,  of  Allen's  Hill,  to  take  charge  of  a  tool  shop  connected  with 
the  contract  for  constructing  the  canal  around  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio 
at  Louisville.  The  employer  and  the  employed  —  two  valued  cit- 
izens of  western  New  York— both  died  at  Louisville.  Three  dauc^h- 
ters  reside  in  Michigan,  one  in  Buffalo,  and  one,  (Mrs.  Wm.°J. 
Hanford,)  in  Rochester. 

P^;-  John  Cobb,  of  Ogden,  who  was  a  brother  of  Gideon  and 
William,  was  a  settled  physician  in  Ogden,  as  early  as  1816. 

Chauncey  Dean  was  an  early  citizen  of  Rochester  —  was  a  broth- 
er of  L.  Q.  C.  Dean,  of  the  present  wife  of  David  Thomas,  of 
Aurora ;  was  of  one  branch  of  the  Pioreer  family  of  the  name  in 
Thelps.  He  was  the  founder  of  mills  on  Black  creek,  in  Chili.  He 
died  soon  after  1825.  His  wife,  who  was  the  sister  of  Austin 
Wing,  of  Michigan,  is  a  resident  with  her  sons  at  Monroe. 

The  following,  as  near  as  the  author  has  been  able  to  ascertain, 

were  the  pioneer  mechanics,  other  than  those  already  recognized: 

Erastus  Cook,  established  silver  smithing  and  watch  repairing  in 
1815;  still  survives,  and  continues  the  business.  Salmon  Scofield, 
soon  after  him ;  died  in  early  rears.  In  1816,  Jonathan  Packard; 
still  survives,  and  continues  b,  iness.  In  1817,  Samuel  W.  Lee; 
still  survives,  carrying  on  chiefly  the  manufacture  of  silver  ware. 

Ebenezer  Watts  started  copper,  tin  and  sheet  iron  business,  in 
1817,  to  which  was  added  in  process  of  time,  an  extensive  hardware 
establishment.  He  still  survives,  retired  from  business.  He  is  the 
father  of  John  H.  Watts,  broker,  of  Rochester.  Frazer  &'  Shel- 
don, were  early  in  the  same  business.  Mr.  Frazer  removed  to  Al- 
bany. Josiah  Sheldon  died  in  1849  ;  Benjamin  Sheldon,  of  Roch- 
ester is  a  son  of  his. 

Preston  Smith  had  established  a  small  cabinet  shop  previous  to 
1816  ;  he  still  survives.  In  that  year,  William  Brewster  commen- 
ced the  business.  In  1819  Frederick,  Starr.  Both  survive,  and 
are  at  the  head  of  establishments,  that  in  magnitude,  and  work- 
manship, vie  with  the  best  establishments  of  the  kind  in  the  older 
cities  of  the  Union. 

Isaac  and  Aldridge  Colvin  were  first  to  start  the  manufacture  of 
hats  ;  they  still  survive,  are  farmers  in  Henrietta.  John  and  Will- 
iam Haywood  followed  them  ;  John  Haywood  still  survives  and 
continues  the  business.  Next  to  Mr.  Reynolds,  I'elatiah  West,  a 
brother  of  Ira  West,  started  the  business  of  a  saddler  and  harness 
maker.  He  removedto  Palmyra,  where  he  died  8  or  10  years  since. 
John  Shethar  was  early  in  the  same  business ;  died  at  Seneca  Falls. 


G12 


PHELPS   A]VfD  GORIIAJIS'   PUUCHASE. 


John  H.  Thompson,  started  the  manufjicture  of  looking  glasses,  as 
early  as  18\21.  '2  ;  still  survives  and  continues  the  business. 

After  Jehiel  Barnard,  the  principal  early  tailors  were  Smith  & 
Holden.     In  fact  theirs  was  the  fu'st  considerable  establishment. 

Jacob  How  started  a  bakery  as  early  as  1815,  continued  it  until 
his  death ;  was  succeeded  by  'his  son,  "Jacob  IIovv,  who  still  contin- 
ues the  business. 

Jacob  Graves  and  Samuel  Works,  emigrated  from  Vermont  in 
1816,  purchased  a  small  tannery  that  had  been  started  by  Kcllofr 
Vosburgh.  In  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Graves  &  Works,  and  in  later 
years,  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Graves,  the  business  has  been  one  of 
great  magnitude.  It  is  now  carried  on  by  Jacob  Graves  &  Sons. 
Mr.  Works  is  a  resident  of  Lockport ;  was  an  early  and  efficient 
helper  in  advancing  the  prosperity  of  Rochester  ;  has  in  later  years 
filled  the  offices  of  a  State  Senator,  and  Canal  Superintendent. 

The  early  master  builders  were,  Daniel  Mack,  Phelps  Smith, 
Robert  and  Jonathan  King,  the  last  two  of  whom  survive  and  are 
residents  of  Rochester.  Philij)  Allen  was  an  early  builder;  was  the 
fether  of  Asa  K.,  and  of  the  early  forwarder  upon  the  Erie  Canal, 
Pliny  Allen.  The  Allen  family,  some  years  since  emigrated  to  Wis- 
consin, to  a  locality  now  called  "  Allen's  Grove,"  where  the  old 
patriarch,  surrounded  by  over  an  100  descendants,  died  in  1845, 
aged  88  years.  He  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Samuel  W.  Lee,  of 
Rochester. 

Charles  Magney  was  the  pioneer  cooper  ;  Eggleston  was 

early  in  that  branch  of  business.  Mrs.  Jewell,  of  Rochester,  is  a 
daughter  of  Charles  Magney ;  a  street  of  the  city  takes  its  name 
from  him. 

Although  he  was  preceded  by  others,  in  a  small  way.  in  the  boot 
and  shoe  business,  Abner  Wakelee  was  the  first  to  establish  a  shoe 
store.  He  is  now  a  farmer  in  Brighton.  Jacob  Gould  was  earlv  in 
that  branch  of  business  ;  commencing  when  Rochester  was  a  small 
village,  his  establishment,  in  his  hands  and  those  of  George  Gould 
&  Co.,  has  kept  up  in  the  march  of  progress.  The  early  mechanic, 
Jacob  Gould,  has  been  a  prominent  citizen  of  Rochester,  and  an 
efficient  helper  in  its  prosperity.  He  has  held  the  military  rank  of 
a  Major  General,  has  been  Mayor  of  the  city  :  in  later  years,  Mar- 
shall of  the  Northern  District  of  N.  Y.  He  is  now  President  of 
the  Farmer's  and  Mechanic's  Bank.  Thomas  and  Jesse  Congdon, 
were  early  shoe  dealers. 

Brown,  established  the  earliest  regular  machine  shop ;  was 

the  first  to  set  up  the  engine  lathe  in  Rochester.  Thomas  Morgan, 
who  is  named  as  the  founder  of  a  nail  factory,  was  an  ingenious  and 
enterprising  mechanic,  worthy  of  being  the  predecessor  of  the  host 
of  enterprising  men  who  have  made  Rochester  almost  a  city  of  me- 
chanics and  manufacturers.  His  wife  and  familv  still  resides  in 
Kochester.  " 


PIIELPS    AND    GOmiAM'S   PURCHASE. 


613 


The  early  lawyers  of  Rochester,  were  John  Mastick,  who  was 
the  first  in  the  county.  He  studied  law  with  George  llosmer,  of 
Avon  ;  was  admitted  to  practice  and  settled  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  previous  to  1811;  removed  to  Rochester  during  the  war, 
opening  an  office  in  a  small  wooden  building  near  the  site  of  Gould's 
shoe  store.     He  died  childless,  in  1828  or  '9. 

Enos  Pomero^  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts  ;  studied  law  in  the 
office  of  Gen.  Kirkland,  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1815,  and  in 
the  same  year  opened  an  office  in  Rochester.  He  still  survives, 
residing  upon  a  farm  in  Brighton,  at  the  age  of  GO  years.  He  is 
succeeded  in  practice  by  his  son,  John  N.  Pomeroy  ;  another  son 
was  recently  in  Engineer  corps  on  the  Genesee  Valley  canal. 

Jo.?eph  Spsncer  was  from  Hartford,  Conn.,  a  son  of  Isaac  Spen- 
cer, the  Treasurer  of  the  State  at  one  period ;  graduated  at  Yale 
College  ;  commenced  practice  in  Rochester  in  1816.  He  was  at 
one  period  in  the  Senate  of  this  State.  Possessed  of  fine  talents, 
with  the  promise  of  professional  success  and  eminence,  he  had  but  a 
short  career;  dying  previous  to  1830.  His  wife  was  the  sister  of 
Samuel  L.  and  Henry  R.  Selden.  She  is  now  the  wife  of  Capt.  Eaton 
of  the  U.  S.  Army,  a  son  of  Professor  Eaton. 

Roswell  Babbit  was  from  Lewis  county  ;  studied  law  in  Lowville  • 
died  at  Saratoga  Springs  soon  after  1830.  Charles  R.  Babbit,  of 
Rochester  is  his  son. 

Hastings  R.  Bender,  was  from  Vermont ;  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth ;  he  left  practice  15  or  20  years  since,  and  went  upon  a  farm 
in  Parma,  where  he  now  resides. 

Anson  House  was  an  early  Attorney  and  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
but  engaged  in  business  enterprises,  has  been  but  little  known  in  his 
profession.  He  was  the  founder,  and  is  still  the  owner  of  the  Mi- 
nerva block. 

Moses  Chapin,  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  in  1811 ;  studied  his  pro- 
fession in  Albany  with  Jones  &  Baldwin;  in  181G  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Rochester ;  was  the  Frst  Judcre  of  Mon- 
roe, from  1825  to  1830.  He  still  survives  in  the  praclice  of  his 
profession. 

Ashley  Samson  was  a  native  of  Addison  county,  Vt.,  a  graduate 
of  Middlebury ;    studied  his  profession  in   part  with  Col.  Samuel 


Note.  —  Mr.  Pomeroy  remarks  that  the  project  of  a  new  county  was  started  as  early 
as  1818  ;  himself,  Col.  Rochester,  Judge  Strong,  were  at  Albany  at  the  same,  and  at 
ditterent  periods,  to  promote  it.  The  opposition  to  the  measure  at  Canandaitnia  Batavia 
and  all  along  the  old  Buffalo  road,  was  formidable,  and  retarded  the  consummation" 
Crowded  calendars  at  the  courts  of  the  old  countlos  of  Ontario  and  Genesee  helped  the 
matter  much.  This  was  the  result  of  the  financial  revulsion  that  commenced  in  1817 
Johri  C.  Spencer,  of  Canandaigua,  and  P.  L.  Tracy,  of  Buflido,  commenced  each  an" 
hundred  suits  in  one  year  in  court  of  common  pleas.  In  both  counties  protracted 
sessions  of  the  court  had  to  be  held.  Judge  Howell  of  Ontario  would  sometimes  open 
his  courts  before  d.-iy-light.  A  specimen  of  his  dispatch  of  busiiKss :  —  -  Mr.  Dixon 
do  you  expect  to  prove  any  thing  more  in  this  case  V"  '-Well  Sii-  I  can  hardly  tell 
how  that  will  be."    "  Clerk,  enter  a  non-suiti"  '' 


614 


PIIELrS  AlfD  0OIinA]\l's   PURCHASE. 


Young,  at  Ballston ;  commenced  practice  as  a  partner  of  Simon 
Stone,  2d.,  in  Pittsford  in  1817;  in  1810  removed  to  lloclK'ster.  In 
1823  he  was  appointed  First  Judj^e  of  Monroe  county  ;  resij^ned  in 
1825;  was  re-appointed  in  1838,  and  held  the  office  until  1813. 
He  was  an  early  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  Brighton  ;  and  was  a  re- 
presentative in  the  Legislature  from  Monroe,  in  1844.  He  atill 
survives,  mainly  retired  from  the  ])rofession  on  account  of  physical 
infirmity,  but  with  mental  faculties  unimpaired,  enjoying  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

The  courts  of  Monroe  were  organized  in  1821  :  the  first  term 
held  in  that  year  at  the  "house  of  Azel  Ensworth."  There  were  then 
added  to  the  bar  of  Rochester,  and  soon  after:  —  Wm.  W.  Mum- 
ford,  Melancton  Brown,  Wm.  Graves,  Daniel  D.  Barnard,  Timothy 
Childs,  Vincent  Matthews,  Ebenezer  Griffin,  Wm.  B.  Rochester, 
Charles  R.  Lee ;  and  it  may  bo,  others  whose  names  have  escaped 
recognition. 


VINCENT  MATTHEWS. 


Though  not  a  resident  of  Monroe  county  early  enough  to  be  termed  a 
Pioneer,  lie  bore  that  relation  to  all  the  western  portion  of  this  State,  and 
as  early  as  1810,  was  a  resident  upon  Phelps  and  (lorham's  Purchase. 
He  was  the  first  lawyer  located  in  practice  west  of  Utica;  at  the  period  of 
his  death  had  been  fifty  si.^  years  in  practice.  In  reference  to  age,  his  ex- 
tended years  of  residence,  and  professional  life,  he  was  a  Father  of  the 
Bar  of  Western  New  York;  and  lio  was  well  entitled  to  that  distinction 
by  his  dignified  professional  e.xaraples,  and  the  deference  that  was  award- 
ed to  his  legal  opinions  and  personal  character,  by  his  cotemporaries. 

He  was  of  Irish  descent ;  a  paternal  ancestor  was  an  officer  in  the  Brit- 
ish army  stationed  at  Albany,  when  the  Dutch  surrendered  New  York  to 
the  English.  His  grand  father  emigrated  to  America  in  1702,  becoming 
a  Pioneer  in  Orange  county,  settling  upon  a  tract  in  the  then  wilderness, 
back  of  Newburg,  which  took  the  name  of  "  Matthew's  Field." 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  son  of  James  Matthews;  was  born 
m  1766;  was  one  of  a  family  of  six  sons  and  six  daughters,  all  but  one  of 
whom  lived  to  adult  age,  and  became  heads  of  families.  In  1781  he  left 
his  paternal  home,  and  became  a  student  in  an  Academy  at  Newburg,  of 
which  Noah  Webster,  the  afterwards  renowned  lexicographer,  was  the 
Principal.  He  was  afterwards  a  student  in  an  Academy  at  Hackensack, 
of  which  Professor  Wilson  was  Principal.  In  1780  he  entered  the  law 
office  of  Col.  Robert  Troup  in  New  York  and  after  four  years  of  study,  in 
1790,  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court.  The  fame  he  ac- 
quired in  after  life  as  a  sound  and  thoroughly  educated  lawyer,  may  in  a 
great  measure  be  attributed  to  a  long  and  severe  course  of  study,  and  to 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  uiember  of  a  society  of  students  (most  of  whom  be- 
came emincat  ia  their  profussioii,)  instituted  for  practice.     Coui  ts  were 


PHELPS  AND  OORIIAM's    PURCHASE. 


616 


organized  in  which  Brockholst  Livingston,  Judge  Jones,  Robert  Troup, 
presided  as  Judges;  feigned  issues  were  made,  and  tijus  the  youno-  aspir- 
ants to  professional  excellence  were  enabled  lo  make  theory  and  practice 
go  hand  in  hand.  And  it  should  also  be  observed,  tliat  his  law  studies  did 
not  end  with  the  obtaining  of  his  diploma,  but  continued  through  life.* 

In  the  winter  of  1700,  '01,  the  counties  of  Tioga  and  Ontario  were 
erected  from  Herkimer.  A  friend  of  his  who  had  emigrated  to  tlie  new 
region,  and  located  at  what  is  now  Elmira,  importuned  him  to  join  him 
there,  and  commence  his  professional  career  in  the  backwoods.  He  had 
married  soon  after  the  termination  of  his  studies.  Leaving  his  wife  be- 
hind until  he  had  pioneered  the  way  himself,  he  got  credit  for  a  horse, 
which  he  mounted,  and  mado  the  journey  to  the  newly  established  county 
site  at  Newtown  Point,  now  Elmira,  The  embryo  village  then  contained 
but  three  or  four  log  buildings,  one  of  which  was  used  as  a  court  house. 
Obtaining  board  with  a  new  settler  three  mile.-'  vvn  the  River  from  the 
county  site— at  a  place  then  called  Tioga,  he  opcai^l  :m  office;  thus  becoming 
the  Pioneer  in  his  profession,  in  all  the  region  west  of  Utica  — if  indeed 
there  was  any  there  as  early  as  1791.  His  practice  soon  extended  to  On- 
tario county.  He  was  present  at  the  opening  of  the  first  court  in  Canan- 
daigua. 

In  1793,  '4,  he  was  the  representative  of  Tioga  in  the  Legislature.  In 
'96  he  was  a  Senator  from  the  Western  District  Before  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  service,  he  was  appointed  one  of  a  board  of  commissioners  to 
settle  questions  of  disputed  land  titles  upon  the  Military  Tiact,  some  ac- 
count of  which  has  been  found  in  a  preceding  chapter.  He  was  elected 
to  Congress  in  1809.  From  1812  to  1817  was  District  Attorney  of  Tioga. 
_  Like  nineteen  twentieths  of  all  the  early  adventurers  in  the  western  p'or- 
tion  of  this  State,  he  had  commenced  poor;  in  debt  for  the  horse  he  rode, 
and  for  a  portion  of  his  acndemical  education;  but  at  the  end  of  twenty 
years  he  had  not  only  gained  professonal  eminence,  but  had  accumulated 
what  was  then  regarded  as  a  large  estate;  a  portion  of  which  was  a  valua- 
ble tract  of  land,  which  embraces  a  part  of  the  site  of  Elmira.  At  an  un- 
fortunate period  he  embarked  in  the  mercantile  business,  which  venture 
proved  disastrous,  even  to  the  extent  of  the  loss  of  his  entire  property. 

In  1816  he  changed  his  residence  to  Bath,  Steuben  county,  and  formed 
a  partnership  with  the  late  Wm.  B.  Rochester,  in  the  practice  of  law.  In 
1821  he  removed  to  Rochester,  where  he  practiced  until  a  few  months 
preceding  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  23d  of  September,  1846. 

He  was  District  Attorney  for  IVIonroe,  for  several  years;  in  1826  one  of 
its  representatives  in  the  Legislature,  His  military  rank  of  a  Brigadier 
General  was  attained  through  the  several  gradations,  commencing"  with 
the  command  of  a  company  of  cavalry  in  a  regiment  of  which  Thomas  Mor- 
ris was  Major.  He  was  a  General  at  the  early  period  when  the  beat  of 
his  Brigade  was  all  of  the  territory  lying  west  of  a  line  north  and  south  al- 
most through  the  centre  of  the  State. 

The  deep  sensation  that  his  death  produced  in  the  city  of  Rochester  — 

*  The  anecdote  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Parr,  would  apply  to  his  case  :  — '<  When  did 
you  fiuisli  your  studifs,"  s.iid  .i  vord.iiit  Rtiident  tc.  Ins  jiiecoptor,  Or.  Parr.  "  Nerer 
aud  I  never  expect  to  finish  them,"  was  his  lacouic  answer  and  reproof. 


I 


61G 


PHELPS  AND   GORIIA]m's  PURCHASE. 


the  demonstrations  thnt  followed  its  announcement  —  are  already  recorded 
witnesses  of  the  esteem  and  respect  entertained  for  him  by  his  immediate 
neighbors;— and  in  fact  throughout  the  wide  region  with  which  he  had 
been  so  long  and  intimately  blended,  there  was  heartfelt  sorrow;  a  feelincr 
that  an  eminently  exemplary  and  useful  life  had  terminated.  A  nionu° 
ment  erected  in  ih^t  well  ordered  and  beautiful  city  of  the  dead  — Mount 
Hope  — erected  with  the  spontaneous  offerings  of  all  classes  of  his  fellow 
citizens;  his  venerable  features  preserved  upon  canvass,  and  hung  un  in 
the  court  room;  are  additional  evidences  of  the  manner  in  which  his  mem- 
ory is  cherished. 

'I"he  remarks  made  by  his  friend  and  professional  cotemporary.  Judge 
Samson,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Bar  immediately  following  the  announc'e- 
ment  of  his  death,  deserves  a  more  enduring  record  than  that  affored  by 
newspaper  tiles :  — 

"Mr.  Chairman:  —  The  event  we  are  met  to  consider  and  take  action 
upon,  has  not  come  upon  us  suddenly,  or  by  surprise,  and  may  be  thought, 
therefore,  to  lack  some  of  the  impressive  solemnitv  which  attends  an°un- 
expected  and  afthcling  dispensation.  Death  has  been  in  our  midst  and 
taken  away  a  most  dear  and  esteemed  friend.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
deceased  was  fifty  six  years  in  practice.  I  am  regarded  by  associates  as  an 
old  man,  and  certainly  my  feelings  go  strongly  in  corroboration  of  this 
opinion;  and  yet,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  was  born  the  year  our  venerable  broth- 
er was  admitted  to  the  Bar. 

"In  his  death  crowned  as  it  was  with  years  and  honors,  he  resembled 
an  ancient  oak  falling  mighty  and  majefctic  to  the  earth,  after  braving  the 
storms  ot  uncounted  winters.  He  c<  onded  long  with  disease,  but  the 
last  enemy,  death,  prevailed,  and  he  jwed  his  venerable  head  and  died. 
His  pure  and  useful  life  affords  an  impressive  lesson  to  the  profession. 
He  confined  himself  mainly  though  not  exclusively  to  the  single  object  of 
professional  pursuits.  Sometimes  indeed  he  listened  to  the  call  of  his 
countrymen,  and  entered  publiclife,  but  he  always  leturned  with  alacri- 
ty to  his  professional  labors. 

"  One  feature  in  his  character  I  desire  particularly  to  notice.  He  was  a 
Christian.  Though  much  occupied  by  hi.  ordinary  pursuits,  he  did  not 
neglect  the  higher  interest  of  his  soul.  Even  before  he  made  a  public 
profession,  he  was  known  often  to  leave  his  bed,  not  to  prepare  his  briefs, 
but  to  peruse  the  oracles  of  eternal  truth.  In  process  of  time  he  publicly 
acknowledgedthe  Lord  Jesus,  and  connected  himself  with  the  Episcopal 
church,  to  which  his  preferen^-es  inclined.  He  was  no  technical  theologian, 
or  mere  sectarian. 

In  a  conversation  I  had  with  him  a  few  days  since,  his  eye  lighted  with 
unusual  brilliancy  when  I  adverted  to  the  glorious  hopes  of  the  gospel, 
and  he  expressed  his  undoubting  trust  in  the  cross  of  Christ.  To  a  friend 
who  called  upon  him  when  near  his  end,  he  declared  that  he  relied  solely 
upon  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ, 

"  In  conclusion,  I  cannot  conceal  from  my  brethren  of  the  Bar,  my  solici- 
tude that  wo  may  one  and  all  imitate  his  example,  and  that  this  bereavement 
may  be  sanctified  to  us  all." 

Mrs.  Mathews  died  at  her  residence  in  Rochester,  in  December  1850. 


PHELPS  AiVD  GORHAM's   PURCHASE.  617 

nL°?!!  '""'  f^^^'u  ^'  '^^^"'^«^^«'  resides  near  the  Lake  shore  in  Somerset 
Niagara  county,  where  he  was  an  early  merchant  and  h>,^ZJn  f^^^^^' 

iZ;  hTT'"^.^^'  useful  citizen.'  The  surWvTng  £gt  ers ITJ 

Albert  H.  Porter,  of  Niagara  Falls,  Mrs  William  Fv?rotf   „    ? 

ried  da„gh,er,  residing  iAloebeste'r.    S.UmZI:,!^:^^ ZS:::Z' 


Frederick  F.Baokus,M.D.,  is  a  native  of  Richfield  countv  r„nn  . 

a„f*''phM°/v"'''&'"'''»"°,'  f"^'"^  ^^  profession  in  NeS^'fc 
and  Philaclelpliia.  He  settled  in  Rocliester  in  1818,  wlferehe  has 
continued  in  practice  until  the  present  time.    In  addWon  to  loV.,1 

Ts  one  oi-  ,h? .- f '  h'  •"=  '•"/  ^'™ .''  T"''"  <"■  *•=  State  Snate  He 
inmost  of'dl  itfl'i;'  ""  "'^'   --P-»-'y  identified  with  i^ 

Dr^^l^hS,  ^  cVr:;tV;-^SS  a-Etj'!!; 

|rf„;Rote«,.-Li"rB'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

Wilkenson,  Dr.  Dyer  Ensvvorth.  Dr.  Jonah  Brown;  and  Dr  Mat 
thew  Brown,  and  the  elder  Dr.  Ensworth,  practiced  occasbnlv   as" 
exigency  required.     Dr.  Gibbs  died  four  or  five  years  si^ceVr 

early  aa  1817.     He  died  15  or  16  years  siiu  \ 

nei.-lv  tl  IT'^-'^'"  '"'"''''"''  ''^^'".S  been  in  practice  in  Rochester 
n.n^  u^  ''''  f '  '  ~  \'f'  ""^  usefulness,  and  somethinc.  of  em- 
inence in  his  profession  ;  while  in  other  respects  he  has  maintained 
a  prominent  and  influential  position.  Infil™  health  a  TwveTrs 
since  induced  him  to  make  a  winter's  residence  in  Flor  da  vJhere 
he  met  with  a  serious  accident,  with  which  the  public  wer^  made 
famdiar  a   the  time;  from  which  he  has  mostly  recovered 

Comfort  Williams  was  the  first  settled  clergvman  in  Rochester 
His  charge  being  that  of  the  First  Presbyterian  churc  1,  vhfch  uas 
1^  first  organized  rel.giou.  society  of  Rochester,  in  th;  earlvVea? 
1814.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale.  Ministering  to  but  fevv  and 
most  of  those  but  illy  able  to  contribute  to  his  support  he  labeled 
dilhgently  "  with  his  own  hands."  Purchasing  40  acre  of  land  in 
the  then  woods,  on  what  is  now  Mount  Hope  Avenue  he  wa'thp 
firs  after  Messrs  Carter  and  Scrantom,  to  make  i  np^overnts  in 
that  portion  of  the  c  ty.     He  died  in  earlv  vp-ir«      ^''"/^'"eV^s  m 

sonsare,Alfi.dMyi,liam:,ctriL'H.'^^^^^^^^^ 

hands  ofthpf  ■'?*.''^  u"^  ^''  purchased  has  remained  in  the 

hand,  of  the  family,  and  has  been  mostly  sold  out  in  city  lots  under 
the  auspices  of  Charles  H.  Williams.  ^ 

The  Carter  tract  in  the  same  neighborhood,  mostly  went  into  the 


I 


618 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAM's    PURCHASE. 


hands  of  Lyman  Muncrer,  under  whose  auspices  much  of  the  im- 
provements along  on  Mount  Hope  Avenue  have  been  made.  That 
locality,  where  the  reader  will  have  seen  Mr.  Scrantom  placed  his 
family  that  they  might  not  be  found  in  the  event  of  British  invasion  ; 
a  dark  and  gloomy  forest,  as  many  will  recollect  who  used  to  ap- 
proach the  falls  and  the  mouth  of  the  river,  via.  the  Henrietta  road, 
is  becoming  the  especial  pride  of  the  city.  There  are  there,  Mount 
Hope,  a  resting  place  for  the  dead,  scarcely  inferior  to  any  enter- 
prise of  the  kind  in  the  older  cities  of  the  Union  ;  and  to  say  noth- 
ing of  other  attractions,  beautiful  private  residences,  &c.,  there  are 
the  extensive  grounds  of  those  tasteful,  practical,  and  enterprising 
nurserymen,  horticulturalists,  and  florists,  Messrs.  Ellwanger  and 
Barry. 

Augustine  G.  Dauby,  who  had  served  his  apprenticeship  with  Ira 
Merrill  of  Utica,  first  introduced  the  printing  press  into  the  county 
of  Monroe.     He  established  the  Rochester  Gazette  in  1816.     John 
Sheldon  and  Oran  Follett  were  early  associated  with  him.     Mr. 
Dauby  returned  to  Utica,  was  for  a  long  period  the  editor  and  pub- 
lisher of  the  Utica  Observer,  and  P.  M.  of  Utica.     He  still  resides 
at  Utica,  retired  from  business.     John  Sheldon  has  since  published 
a  paper  at  De-lroit,  in  Wisconsin,  has  held  a  government  office,  been 
a  reporter  at  Washington  ;  still  resides  at  the  west.     A  daughter 
of  his  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Nott.     Mr.  Follett,  who,  with  his  family, 
are  noticed  in  another  connection,  resides  at  Sandusky.     In  1818, 
Everard  Peck,  &  Co.,  —  who  had  established  in  1816  the  pioneer 
bookstore  in  Rochester  —  established  the  Rochester  Telegraph.  Mr. 
Peck  si  ill  survives,  enjoying  a  competence  of  wealth,  and  the  es- 
teem of  his  fellow-citizens.     He  is  now  the  President  of  the  Com- 
mercial Bank.     The  mechanical  department  of  the  paper  was  con- 
ducted by  the  two  brothers,  Derick  and  Levi  W.  Sibley.     In  1824 
Thurlow  Weed  became  its  editor;  in  1827,  ass'i'-iated  with  Robert 
Martin,  he  purchased  the  establishment,  and  the  two  issued  it  semi- 
weekly  until  1828,  when  it  was  published  daily  by  Mr.  Martin.    The 
Sihleys  were  the   successors  of  Dauby   &  Sheldon.      Levi  W. 
Sibley  died  in  Rochester  in  1844  ;  Derick  Sibley  resides  in  Cincin- 
natti.     Edwin  Scrantom,  who  is  named  in  another  connection,  was 
the  first  apprentice  to  the  printing  business  in  Rochester.     In  1820 
Luther  Tucker  vvho  had  served  a  portion  of  his  apprenticeship  in 
the  first  office  established  at  Palmyra,  issued  the  Rochester  Daily 
Advertiser,  the  first  daily  in  Rochester,  and  the  first  west  of  the 
Hudson  river.     Henry  O.  Rielly  became  its  editor.     In   1829  the 
two  daily  papers  were  united,  and  a  paper  published  by  Tucker  & 
Martin,  called  the    Rochester   Daily  Advertiser  and    Telegraph. 
Luther  Tucker  is  the  widely  known  and  highly  esteemed  proprietor 
and  editor  of  the  Albanv  Cultivator.     Jessee  Peck,  David  Hovt,  S. 
D.  Porter,  Thomas  W.  Flagg,  Elihu  F.  Marshall,  D.  D.  Stevenson, 
Daniel  N.  Sprague,  Erastus  Shepard,E.  J.  Roberts,  Elisha  Loomis, 


PHELPS  AND   GORHAM's  PURCnASE. 


619 


Albert  G.Hall  Peter  Cherry,  John  Denio,  Alvah  Strong,  Nahum 
Goodsell  Franklin  Covvdery,  Sidney  Smith,  George  Dawson,  Samutl 
ileron,  George  Smith,  Thomas  Barnum—  are  names  blended  with 
the  history  ot  printing  and  newspapers  in  Rochester. 

Add  here  the  author  must  leave  the  Press  of  Rochester,  as  all  else 
must  be  left,  in  this  history  of  the  beginning  of  thinffs ;  — with 
something  more  than  usual  reluctance  — for  it  is  of  his  own  craft  • 
and  no  where  is  the  whole  history  of  its  progress  marked  with  greater 
enterprise  or  more  creditable  to  the  "Art  preservative  of  all  Arts  " 
Koswell  Hart,  was  of  the  large  family  of  that  name,  in  Clinton, 
uneida  county.  He  commenced  mercantile  business  in  Rochester 
as  early  as  181G  ;  died  in  1824,  aged  37  years.  His  surviving  sons 
are,  Thomas  P.  Hart  and  Roswell  Hart,  of  Rochester,  and  Geo.  W 
Wart,  ot  iM.  Y.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  the  Rev.  Francis 
• ,  .T'^S-.  now  of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan  ;  Henry  E.  Rochester, 
and  M  F  Reynolds,  of  Rochester.  Thomas  Hart,  a  brother  of 
Koswell  Hart  settled  in  Rochester  in  1820 ;  still  survives.  Seth 
baxton  was  the  early  clerk  of  Roswell  Hart,  subsequently  his  partner 
and  that  of  his  brother  Thomas  Hart.  His  widow  still  survives 
and  three  daughters,  one  of  whom  has  recently  become  the  wife 
ot  Major  Sibley,  of  the  U.S.  Army,  now  stationed  in  Santa  Fee. 

Charles  J.  Hill  was  in  Rochester  as  early  as  1816;  he  still  sur- 
vives ;  one  of  the  many  enterprising  millers  of  the  "  city  of  mills  " 
He  erected  in  1821,  in  company  with  Mr.  Leavitt,  and  occupied 
himself,  the  first  brick  building  in  Rochester,  on  Fitzhugh  street,  the 
present  residence  of  Wm.  Ailing.  Mr.  Hill  observes:  In  point  of 
health,  the  settlers  immediately  upon  the  site  of  Rochester,  suffered 
less  than  would  be  supposed,  as  it  was  literally,  most  of  it,  a  swamp 
without  drainage  ;  still  they  were  no  strangers  to  sickness  and  suf- 
tering,  and  occasionally  from  fevers  of  a  very  malignant  type. 

Solomon  Close,  who  it  will  be  observed,  was  one  of  the  signers  of 
the  handbill— "  Canal  in  danger"— was  a  deputy  sheriff  of  Genesee ; 
resided  in  early  years  in  Greece ;  and  was  also  an  early  resident  in 
Rochester.     He  removed  to  Michigan  in  early  years. 

John  Odell  was  a  merchant  in  Rochester  as  early  as  1819  ;  had  a 
small  store  on  site  now  occupied  by  the  Talman  block;  emigrated 
to  Michigan  in  early  years. 

Harvey  Montgomery,  who  was  an  early  merchant  in  Rochester, 
the  partner  of  John  C.  Rochester,  still  survives.  He  is  the  father 
of  Thomas  Montgomery,  an  Attorney,  and  Dr.  Harvey  Montgomerv 
of  Rochester.  j  o         j 

Eli  Stilson,  was  from  Fairfield,  Conn.,  emigrated  to  Cayuga  coun- 
ty as  early  as  1800.  He  was  an  early  surveyor  in  Cayuga,  a  school 
teacher,  and  had  much  to  do  in  the  early  organization  of  schools  in 
bcipio  and  its  neighborhood.  He  removed  to  the  town  of  Brighton 
in  1817;  in  1829  became  a  resident  of  what  is  now  Rochester,  on 
the  east  side  of  the  river ;  was  a  surveyor  of  a  large  portion  of  the 


620 


PHELPS   AND    GOEHAM's   PURCHASE. 


City  east  of  the  River,  of  lots  and  streets ;  was  at  one  period  the 
agent  of  Bissell  &  Riley,  in  the  prosecution  of  their  enterprise  up- 
on the  tract  purchased  of  Enos  Stone.  He  still  survives  at  the 
age  of  78  years.  His  surviving  sons  are,  Daviu  Stilson,  and  Eli  L. 
G.  Stilscn,  an  Attorney  of  Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  Jerome  B.  Stil- 
son, division  engineer  upon  the  Erie  Canal,  George  D.  Stilson,  a 
contractor  on  the  Erie  Rail  Road.  Daughters  became  the  wives'  of 
Dr.  Caleb  Hammond,  and  Gen.  A.  W.  Riley,  of  Rochester,  Ros- 
well  Hart,  of  Brighton ;  another  the  second  wife  of  Gen.  Riley,  and 
another  the  second  wife  of  Roswell  Hart. 

William  Atkinson  was  early  on  the  east  side  of  the  River,  the 
founder  of  the  mills  now  carried  on  by  Charles  J.  Hill.  Hobart 
Atkinson,  of  Rochester,  is  a  son  of  his ;  the  widow  is  now  the  wife 
of  the  Rev.  Chas.  G.  Finney.  William  Nefus  came  in  as  the  mil- 
ler of  Mr.  Atkinson ;  his  widow  still  survives ;  his  daughter  is  the 
wife  of  Nelson  Curtis.  Mr.  Nefus  was  an  early  tavern  keeper  on 
the  east  side  of  the  River. 

In  1817,  there  was  residing  on  present  city  limits,  on  the  Brighton 
side,  other  than  those  already  named,  Aaron  Newton,  Moses  iHall, 
Ebenezer  Titus.  In  that  portion  of  the  now  city  there  was  not 
tvyenty  acres  of  cleared  ground.  There  was  little  else  than  prim- 
itive wood's  roads  in  any  direction.  Along  where  iSt.  Paul  street 
now  is  there  was  a  dense  forest  of  evergreens,  hemlock,  spruce 
and  cedar. 

The  brothers,  M'Crackens,  were  as  early  as  1805  or  '6,  Pioneers 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Batavia.  They  removed  to  Rochester 
soon  after  the  war.  Dr.  David  M'Cracken  was  a  prominent  citzen 
of  the  old  county  of  Genesee.  A  tract  of  land  he  purchased  near 
Deep  Hollow,  on  the  River,  is  now  embraced  in  the  city.  He  died 
at  an  advanced  age  five  or  six  years  since,  childless.  Wm.  J.  Mc- 
Cracken,  was  an  early  tavern  keeper  in  Frankfort,  still  survives,  a 
resident  with  his  son-in-law,  Henry  Blanchard.  A  daughter  of 
Gardner  M'Cracken,  is  the  widow  of  "Capt.  Scott,"  the  afterwards 
Col.  Scott,  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  who  was  killed  in  the  Mexican  war. 

Other  early  landlords  in  Rochester,  who  have  not  been   named, 

Charles  Millerd,  Henry  Draper, Elliott.     The  daughters  of 

Dr.  Ensworth  who  has  been  named  in  another  connection,  became 
the  wives  of  John  Shethar,  Benjamin  Campbell,  and  Rufus  Meech. 
George  Ensworth,  an  only  surviving  son,  resides  in  New  York. 

Warham  Whitney  was  from  Northampton,  Mass.;  removed  to 
Rochester  in  1820;  was  one  of  the  early  enterprising  millers;  a 
flourishing  portion  of  the  city  on  the  west  side  of  the  River,  south 
ot  what  was  Frankfort,  has  grown  up  on  his  farm.  He  died  in 
JSt-"  ^'^  surviving  sons  are,  George  L.  Whitney  and  James 
Whitney,  of  Rochester.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  John 
Williams  and  Samuel  G.  Andrews.  John  Whitney,  a  brother  of 
Warham,  preceded  him  in  Rochester  ;  has  in  later  years  been  a  res- 


PHELPS   AND  GOKHAm's   PURCHASE. 


621 


ident  of  Orleans  county,  and  Ohio;  is  a<rain  a  citizen  of  Rochester, 
rfalph  Parker  was  a  native  of  Salisbury  Conn.;  a  resident  of 
Vermont,  he  was  for  fourteen  consecutive  years  a  member  of  the 
btate  Legislature.  In  1816  he  emigrated  to  Rochester,  where  he 
stilJ  resides,  at  the  advanced  age  of  79  years.  He  was  one  of  the 
Judges  of  Genesee,  before  the  erection  of  Monroe  county  His 
surviving  sons  are,  Daniel  P.  Parker,  of  New  York,  Medad  P.  and 
Ralph  A.  Parker,  of  Rochester,  Phineas  Parker,  Beaver  Dam,  Wis- 
consin. Mrs.  James  H.  Gregory,  of  Rochester,  and  Mrs.  Richard 
Ayres,  ot  Levviston.  are  his  daughters. 


So  much  m  reference  to  Rochester,  has  been  incidental  to  the 
I'loneer  History  ot  the  whole  region  to  which  it  bears  so  important 
a  relation.  It  ,s  hoped  that  no  reader  of  the  work  had  anticipated 
a  history  of  Rochester ;  such  has  not  been  the  desian  ;  and  it  would 
have  been  incompatible  with  the  plan  of  the  work.^  A  wide  rec^ion 
ol  primitive  settlements,  of  towns  and  villages,  has  been  embraced  • 
a  long  series  of  events  recorded  that  preceded  settlement ;  brevity' 
the  quitting  of  one  locality  to  hasten  to  another,  has  been  an  imper- 
ative necessity  that  the  author  has  had  often  to  regret. 

In  another  form  — in  a  work  especially  devoted  to  the  locality  — 
It  would  have  been  gratifying  to  have  passed  the  pioneer  period,  and 
step  by  step,  from  event  to  event,  and  from  year  to  year,  to  have 
traced  the  progress  of  Rochester  from  a  primitive  village  to  a  popu- 
lous city  ;— a  scene  of  wealth,  enterprise  and  prosperity,  creatines 
wonder  and  admiration,  even  in  an  especial  era  of  enterprise  and 
progress. 

The  "Falls  of  the  Genesee,"  to  which  the  reader  has  been  intro- 
duced when  It  was  a  lonely  and  secluded  spot  in  the  wilderness  — 
visited  but  by  an  occasional  tourist  —  after  that,  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  the  abode  of  but  one  solitary  family  of  our  race,— the  local- 
ity that  remained  a  dense,  unbroken  forest,  for  vears  after  there  had 
been  a  near  approach  of  considerable  settlements  and  improvements ; 
has  now  a  popuhuion  of  nearly  forty  thousand,  and  even  that  is' 
but  an  imperfect  indication  of  its  prosperity,  the  triumphs  it  has 
achieved  !  The  "  Hundred  Acres,"  the  germ  of  village  and  city, 
has  had  added  to  it,  first,  other  plats  or  separate  surveys,  then  farm 
after  farm,  in  succession,  until  it  has  expanded  to  over  four  thou- 
sand ACRES,  nearly  all  of  which  is  occupied  with  streets,  business 
establishments,  public  edifices,  and  private  dwellings.  The  lots  that 
the  venerated  Patroon,  Col.  Rochester,  in  1811,  with  moderate  an- 
ticipations, and  liberal  views,  instructed  his  agent  to  sell  at  from  -f  30 
to  ^200,  are  now  worth  from  5,000  to  S25,000.  There  are  annual 
rents  derived  from  the  buildings  upon  some  of  those  lots,  from  ^3,000 
to  12,000.  Of  the  staple  article  of  home  trade  and  commerce  in 
most  of  the  civilized  world,  Rochester  manufacturers  more  than  is 


622 


PHELrS  AND   GORHAM  3   PURCHASE. 


manufactured  in  any  other  locality.  Its  mills  are  capable  of  manu- 
facturing the  flour  consumed  by  the  entire  population  of  the  state  of 
New- York;  and  this  is  but  a  part  of  its  nianutacturinir  enterprises. 
In  other  respects  it  is  pre-eminent.  There  is  no  other  city  in  this 
prosperous  Union,  where  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  population  are 
house-holders ;  none  where  active  employment,  industry,  so  gener- 
ally prevails.  In  it  the  idler  is  out  of  his  element ;  the  "  man  of 
leisure"  feels  as  if  he  was  not  at  home.  While  at  the  same  time 
it  naay  be  added,  that  no  where  are  the  institutions  of  religion,  edu- 
cation, moral  and  intellectual  improvement,  better  provided  tbr  by 
an  equal  cnmount  of  population.  "  As  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree  is 
mchned,"  is  as  applicable  to  the  growth  of  communities  as  to  phys- 
^al  and  moral  youth  and  age  :  —  The  impress  of  the  Pioneers  of 
Rochester  in  all  this,  is  as  indellible  as  would  have  been  a  record 
chiseled  upon  its  palisades  of  rock ! 

And  what  of  the  future  ?  There  are  no  clouds  in  its  horizon  — 
no  breakers  in  its  path  of  progress.  Never  in  any  period  of  its  his- 
tory has  there  been  less  to  create  doubt,  or  justify  croaking  auguries 
and  misgivings  ;  never  a  period  of  so  much  promise  of  rapid  advance 
and  continued  prosperity.  To  a  fortunate  locality  —  a  combination 
of  advantages  seldom  excelled,  the  enterprise  of  Its  citizens  has  ad- 
ded,  and  is  adding,  what  else  was  and  is  requisite. 

Lake  and  canal  commerce  tend  to  it  almost  with  a  seeming  favor- 
itism ;  Railroads  connect  and  are  connecting  it  with  the  Atlantic 
sea  board,  and  the  long  chain  of  Western  Lakes  ;  a  Railroad  is  con- 
structing which  will  bring  it  still  nearer  to  the  Great  West,  and 
make  its  connection  with  it  far  more  intimate;  a  canal  facilitates  its 
intercourse  with  the  rich  valley  of  which  it  is  the  emporium  ;  plank 
roads  reach  out  from  it  and  i  vite  increased  intercourse  with  natural 
tributaries.  But  one  enterprise  more  would  seem  to  be  required, 
and  that  can  hardly  fail  to  enlist  the  co-operation  of  her  public 
spirited  citizens.     The  march  must  be  onwaud,  and  onward  ! 

The  Pioneer  period,  in  reference  to  Rochester,  has  already  been 
passed  and  the  whole  work  is  becoming  larger  than  was  originally 
designed.  Briefness —- little  more  than  a  chronology  of  events  — 
blended  with  a  few  statistics,  must  suffice :  — 

1817.— The  village  was  incomomted  iindir  the  name  of  Roclicstcrvillc  —  The  first 
Inistooa  were  Francis  Brown,  David  J^vr)\  William  Cobb,  Evcrard  Peck,  and 
Jehiel  Barnard  —  The  first  public  hou..  J  worship  wiw  built—  William  Atkin- 
son built  tlie  yellow  miU  on  JohiLson's  Race  — An  Episcopal  church  was  or- 
ganized, taking  the  name  of  "  St.  Luke's  Church,  Genesee  Falls,"  by  the  Rev. 
Henry  U.  Onderdonk,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania  —  The  Rev.  Francis 
H.  Cuming  became  its  first  settled  clergyman—  A  I'^rieiid's  meeting, or  society 
was  organized  — A  Lodge  of  Master  Masons  was  installed. 

1818.— Gilmau  <fe  Sibley  erected  a  imper  mill  near  Atkinson's  flouring  mill—  In  Sep- 

w°'^^;'n*"°''  """^''  °*^  '^^^^  ^'^  contained  in  these  brief  statistics,  the  author  is  indebt- 
ed to  Elisha  Ely's  "Rochester  Directory,"  for  1827,  and  Mr.  O'Reilly's  "Sketches 
of  Rochester."  "^ 


PIIELrS   AND    GORHAm's   rURCHASE. 


623 


1819 
1820 


1821 


1822 
1823 

1825 

1826. 


1837.— 


tomher  the  flecond  conaua  of  the  viUaffo  was  Mken;  population  10 10 -First 
:•  T'o^.S"^  organized-  First  Baptist  Chur,  a  wak^orfani^ed"  coulLting^E 
.-At\v-iit..r  Androws  and  :\ruinford,  built  a  toll  l.ii.kro  over  tl.o  (Jimiuscc  Rivor  a 

■    w.(s     a-Ved-F,'  sru.n'''7-1'r  "  'T'"''"*'""  ^^•'■'•'^  '■'"--«^'  L"k'^'H  Church 

^  f  n-S^^  Hon.;  Kev^oha 

.-A  law  pa.s,sed  in  the  State  L.^gislature  erecting?  the  eounty  of  Monroe  from  nnrta 
Ontario  an.l(Jene.see  -  Courr,.  were  ..rff.ani^Jed  in  Maf    The  Bene    o.Fsist- 

cer  Assistant  justice.     Eiius  Pomerov  Joseph  Snciici.r    \^l.l,.v  <3n.,,    '        ' 
apr.uute.1  to  draft  rules  ..f  Court ;  ^oi^^r^^;!^  :^  J,^  ^    Q  ::!:Z 

-a^XlT\Ti:'^':T'  I'^h^'""'"-  ^'■•^ Sl'^'riff- The  A,,ueduct  was  eo  «e  " 

-Oct  aDth,  the  hrst  Canal  Uoat  left  the  village  for  Little  Falls,  laden  wiu'  W 

-Census,  Septeniber;  population  2,700 ;  including  laborers  on  public  wSs^ 

■~7tl,!'i"'  year  Canal  navigation  was  opened  from  Albany  to  Rochester  -  Oct 
7  h  he  Aqueduct  was  completed,  and  the  event  of  the  p.4*,ge  of  boats  over  it 

of  tJi'e  viilal?.'  ^"'°''-'''""  "^  '""'""^  '="'"I"'""^'^'  ^^'^'>''^'  .soeietiesand  citLei 
.—Census  of  the  village  in  February  ;  i)opulation,  4,274 -Census  of  the  vilh<rp 
LofkS''  P"^'"'"''""'  'o>^'3.-ln  thisi-ear  CanaHiavigation  was  exlended !o 
-On  the  acth  day  of  Oetober,  the  Canal  was  finished  in  its  whole  extent  and 
t lie  passage  of  a  fleet  of  JJoats  from  Lake  Krie  to  Sandy  Hoc,k,  con  memo™  edbv 
s  icccssiou  ot  celebrations  throughout  the  entire  distance.  There  ~davs  of 
J:,?"f ;  P.>'Wi.--  receptions,  procession.s,  cannonading,  music,  dan  nrand 
joyous  hilarity.  Never  upon  any  occasion  has  all  this  been  excelled  Con 
niencmg  at  luffido,  a  boat  havinj,^  on  boar.l  Gov.  Clin.,,n,an,lX  State  offil 
cers,c,,mmittees,  delegations  from  many  counties  of  the  State,  &c,  started  off 
Jdlowed  by  a  flee  ,,t  boats.  Tlie  departure  was  announced  bv  a  siS  gun 
and  came.1  ah.ng  from  gun  to  gun,  statione.l  throughout  the  entire  dista  cf  T« 
one  hour  and  twenty  minuUs  the  news  was  receive.l  at  San.ly  Hook,  that  a  boa! 

iSiSjcSi'"  ""t"  ""'"'  """^  ^T  'T  '^^  ^^'  ""'averBinJ  a  new   St.,  S 
Atlantic  Ocean."     1  hen  ommenced  a  long  .series  of  recepti.,ns  and  celebrations 
along  the  whole  line.     Rochester,  then  a  young,  aspiri.lg  village  .'    1.' s  tC 
8  M)0  inhahitan  s,  as  ,f  s..me  insp  re.l  prophet  had  forcitoLlthat  it  was  the  dawn- 
T^.Vl!     ^■•■'I''7'y  largely  re;d.ze.l  d..stiny,  caught  the  .s..iritof  the  wh.,le  thing  ! 
In  their  own  L.cality,  at  Buftalo,  and  at  other  pla.'es  af..ng  the  line  ;  and  at  the 
gran,   hnale  ujH.n  the  waters  of  the  Bay  of  New  York,  tlu^v  were  ■'present  and 
assisting."     Vlhen  th..  fleet  from  the  west  arme.l  at  theif  vdhig.  "^JuTe  wo 'e 
under  arms,  eight  uniform  coin]ianies,  and  an  immense  cncourse  of  citizens 
Jesse  Hawley  nia.le  an  a.l.lress  ^yhicll  was  replied  t.,  by  G.)v.  Clint.)n  an.l  John 
C.  bpencer ;  exercises  w.-re  had  at  the  Fresbyterian  Church  —  the  Rev  Jlr 
1  enney  ofhciatmg ;  Timothy  Childs  delivered  an  a.l.lress  ;  Gen.  Matthews  nre- 
Bided  at  a  .linner  at  the  Mansi.m  H.^use,  assisted  by  Jes.se  Hawley  ami  JonatW 
<-  lui.is  ;  in  .he  .venmg  there  was  a  ball  an.l  a  general  illumination.     Those 
will)  ccime  after  us  may  consummate  acliievements  of  greater  mao'iiitude  than 
theLrieCana    but  non.^  of  mor.^  practical  dift'usive  utility;  ancF never  in  all 
]ir.)b;ibihty  will  iher.'  be  another  such  a  "teoi-lk's  .ji'iulee''" 
-R.Kjhester  was  incorpr))ate.l  as  a  city  in  the  spring  ..f  18,34.     TJio  first  oflicers 
of  the  citv  were  as  t.iiows ;- Jonathan  Child,  Mayor;  Erasmus  ]).  Smith 
ADraham  M.  bcheniierli.irn.  Supervisor  elected  by  general  ticket  •  the  Alder- 
men were,  Lewis  IJiooks,  Thomas  Kempshall,  Fre.leriek  F.  Backus  A  W  Rilev 
Ja<M.b  (irav.s;  Assistants,  J.,hn  Jones,  Elijah  F.  Smith,  Jac.b  Thorn".  Lansin.^ 

•  n'' vl^  ?"r-T  ^''^^'""^''y'    •^'•"'^  f:""l'l.  A.  M.  Schermerhoru,  Thomas  Kempt 
sliall,  iilisha  Joliuson,  were  May  ore  in  succession.  ^ 


624 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM's  PtJRCnASE. 


CENSUS  OF  MONROE  COUNTY,  1850. 


NAMES  OF  TOWIfS  AND 
WAIID8. 


RociiESTEK,  Ist  Ward, 
2(1 


3d 

4th 

5tli 

6th 

7th 

8th 

9th 


Total,. 

Penfield, 

Webster, 

IBrighton, 

Iroudequoit,  .  .. 

Henrietta 

Rush 

Mendon, 

Perrinton 

PittBford, 

Gates, i 

%•% 

Wheatland, 

ChiU 

Sweeden, 

Greece 

Ogden, 

Parma, 

Claikson 

Total,. 


No.  of 
families 


No.  of 
liouse.3. 


G8-26 
605 
467 
458 
441 
425 
314 
611 
508 
347 
375 
364 
501 
396 
651 
746 
495 
558 
862 


15950 


White 
males. 


6142 
575 
450 
429 
440 
422 
313 
611 
508 
347 
375 
364 
501 
396 
595 
705 
476 
543 
835 


15027 


1538 
1761 
2098 
1729 
1848 
3408 
1633 
1440 
2339 


Wliito 
females. 


Total  of 
whites, 


17794 
1639 
1247 
1665 
1241 
1.355 
1082 
1752 
1514 
1001 
1053 
1135 
1534 
1197 
1785 
2179 
1307 
1496 
2407 


44443 


1453 
1848 
2221 
1770 
1804 
3582 
1648 
1416 
2341 


18083 
1536 
1162 
1431 
1156 
11.57 
933 
1593 
1373 
997 
951 
1024 
1380 
1050 
1804 
2022 
129] 
1445 
2142 


42530, 


2991 
3609 
4319 
3499 
36.52 
6990 
3281 
2856 
4680 


35877 
3175 
2409 
3096 
2397 
2512 
2015 
3345 
2887 
2058 
2004 
2159 
2914 
2247 
3589 
4201 
2598 
2941 
4549 


87973 


Colored 
popl  'n. 

62 
21 
172 
12 
53 
71 
55 
64 
16 


526 
10 
37 
21 

1 

8 
4 
3 
1 


34 

18 

5 
6 


Total 
pop!  'n. 

3053 
3630 
4491 
3511 
3705 
7061 
3336 
2920 
4696 

36403 
3185 
2446 
3117 
2397 
2513 
2015 
3353 
2891 
2061 
2005 
2159 
2917 
2247 
3623 
4219 
2598 
2946 


88650 


CONTENTS  OF  SUPPLEMENT 


CHAPTER  I.—  [Commences  page 497.]  —  Wheatland  —  Riga  —  Reminiscences  of 
Ehlm  Church,  of  Henry  Brewster  — Ogden —Parma  — Reminiscences  of  Levi 
Talmadge,  of  Samuel  Castle— Greece  — Charlotte —War  of  1812  — Gates — 
Penfield  —  Reminiscences  of  William  Mann  —  Pittsford  —  Perrrinton  —  Mendon 
—  Rush  —  Reminiscences  of  Joseph  Sibley  —  Henrietta. 

CHAPTER  II.  —  [Ci>m.  page  513.]  —  M onis'  Reserve  —  Tlie  Triangle  —  Le  Roy  — 
Names  of  Early  Settlers  on  Triangle  —  Reminisenees  of  Simon  PierHon  —  Levi 
Ward  — Bergen  — Swecden  —  Clarkson  — Reminiscences  of  Dr.  Baldwin  and 
Giistavus  Clark  —  Connecticut  .Tract  — Names  of  Early  Settlers— Brigliton  — 
Cliili. 

CHAPTER  III.  —  [Com .  page  571.]  —  Early  glimpses  of  the  Genesee  Valley  —  The 
Falls  of  the  Genesee  and  their  immediate  vicinity  —  General  condition  of  all  West- 
ern New  York  —  Pioneer  History  of  Rochester. 


taf- Omission.  — A  topographical  skeic];  of  Mumford  and  its  neighborhood,  and  an 
account  of  recent  discoveries  of  ancient  remains  near  Le  Roy,  referred  to  in  the  body 
of  the  work,  are  necessarily  omitted.  The  former  will  appear  in  the  volume. "  Livintr- 
8ton  and  AUegany."  " 


Total 
popl  'n. 

3053 
3630 
44yi 
3511 
3705 
7061 
3336 
2920 
4696 

36403 
3185 
2446 
3117 
2397 
2513 
2015 
3353 
2891 
2061 
2005 
2159 
2917 
2247 
3623 
4219 
2598 
2946 
4555 

88650 


inces  of 
of  Levi 

^atos  — 
Vlcndon 

Roy- 

—  Levi 
'ill  and 
liton  — 

—  The 
llWest- 


and  an 
le  body 
Liviiig- 


y 


